The Poop Scoop on Litter Maid
Written: Jul 12 '01 (Updated Aug 24 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: No more scooping poop! Litter is always clean.
Cons: Daily dumping of the canister. Noisy. Gets stuck sometimes.
The Bottom Line: The lesser of two evils. You no longer have to scoop, but now you have to dump the tray. Worth a try if you hate litterbox duty. (and who doesn't?)
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| scenery's Full Review: Litter Maid Advanced Deluxe Litter Maid Litter Box |
Dirty Deeds
Anyone who loves cats knows the dirty job I'm about to describe. Everyday, grab nasty plastic slotted scooper, dig around in nasty clumpable litter, find nasty cat "brownies", scoop into plastic bag, take smelly plastic bag to the outside trash, wash hands, and repeat. After an unusually "productive" day my two cats had, I decided to invest in a Litter Maid.
What it is and What it does
The Litter Maid Advanced Deluxe is an electric catbox with motion sensors, a "rake" mechanism, and disposable plastic trays. How it works; when kitty gets into box she activates a motion sensor. If there is no further activity for five minutes after she leaves, a rake sweeps from the back of the box through the litter, picking up the clumps as it goes. Next, the rake lifts the lid of the plastic tray (located in the front of box) and then tilts to deposit clumps in the tray. Finally, the rake reverses, lets the lid back down, and on its way back smooths the litter back down to combed perfection. (the litter now resembles one of those sandy Zen Gardens!) I have to admit, it is kind of cool to watch.
My New Least Favorite Job
Once the plastic container is full, you have to remove it. (unfortunately) You have to push the lid down, snap it to the bottom and hope that nothing escapes as you unsnap it from the base. The plastic is flimsy, so on more than a few occasions I have bent it and spewed some of the nasty clumps across the room! Good thing I didn't throw out the trusty old scoop...
What My Cats Thought
My cats didn't know what to think of the Litter Maid at first. I forgot to mention it has a carpeted ramp, designed to catch litter from little cat feet. My cats would stand on the ramp, stare into the box and get back down again. They did NOT want to use it. They would give me a confused look and meow, like "What in the heck is this?" I imagine that if suddenly someone replaced my standard toilet with a much bigger model that required a ramp for me to climb on, I would be pretty darned confused, too. So I gave it some time, and they finally decided to try it.
The Noise Factor
The Litter Maid is pretty loud. I would describe the sound as slightly less noisy than your average coffee grinder. This was enough to scare the crap out my cats, literally.
Once they figured out it was their new box making the noise, and that it actually moved by itself, they decided to use the bathroom rug instead. Fortunately, this only happened for one day. I scolded them, and kept the bathroom door closed, so they got the message. Next thing I knew, they were using the Litter Maid exclusively.
The Show
After "doing their business," my cats would sit in front of the box and watch the Litter Maid in action. This lasted for about the first two weeks. Now, their ears just perk up whenever they hear the loud motor.
The Scoop
If I don't dump the tray once a day, the Litter Maid gets stuck. If I fill the box with too much litter, the Litter Maid gets stuck. Once in a while, some of the nastiness gets caught in the rake. (a little brush is included to remedy this) Despite the downfalls, my days of the twice daily digging and scooping by hand are over and the cats are happy they don't have to tiptoe around a dirty box. If you hate poopage scoopage as much as I do and have a little bit of extra patience (and cash) give the Litter Maid a go or rather, let your cats!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
scenery
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Reviews written: 25
Trusted by: 65 members
About Me:
Wading through potty reviews...
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