I have both the Robot and the Genie ('cuz I have 8 cats + 1 new kitten, all indoor cats). I love them both, and the cats use both though they do seem to prefer certain ones.
Oddly, my bigger boys seem to like the Robot, and mine doesn’t have the rear window expander thing. The loose stools aren’t a problem if you keep enough litter in the hopper and don’t use cheap stuff. Even if the cat doesn’t cover it gets well coated as the ball turns. If there should be a problem the thing is really easy to clean. The ball just sits on top of the base with no attachments so you just lift it off, dump the clean litter in something temporarily, and take it outside to hose off. Or at least that’s what I do with mine.
The Genie is a little bit persnickety about how it’s set up in that the drain hose needs to be able to have a little bit of a bump in it (hard to describe, but the directions are really clear) and the whole thing needs to be level. I’ve had one or two minor problems in the 4? years I’ve had them and their customer service is really helpful. Once when the processor unit wasn’t working right they fedex’d me a new one so I wouldn’t be without for too long, and said just send the old one back when you get a chance (it was during holidays). I didn’t have to pay a thing.
I have 2 of the Genies and one plugged up once. No leaking catastrophe, just a warning beep and lights. I followed their troubleshooting directions and while a not-short process, it wasn’t hard to do and the thing’s worked great ever since.
I do have one cat who insists on a standard box, so I’ve got a small regular box too filled with pellet horse bedding. I am spending FAR less time on box maintenance now with the 9 cats than I did when I had 3 and regular boxes & litter.
And the kitten thinks the Genie is the greatest TV ever LOL!
Oh yeah, part of the cycle is pretty noisy, though it sounds worse in this echo-ey bathroom.
