My formerly feral cat will not use his Litter Robot correctly. He perches on the rim, and pees or poops into it. Using it that way does not trigger the weight sensor that starts the timer so it can cycle. He won’t use it a second time if it has anything in it. If I don’t notice he has used the Litter Robot he will go elsewhere next time. Does anyone have experience with a non Litter Robot automatic litter box? Right now he has two regular litter boxes which I always have to keep clean. Obviously he thinks any litter box can only be used once and then must be cleaned. Suggestions and experiences appreciated. Thanks!
I have two Popurs and love them, but won’t recommend them unless you are amazingly type A, and reasonably tech savvy. They sold the company, and now quality and customer service are a bit suspect. But one of my machines cleans itself 10ish times a day and has for 2 years on end.
Check out One Man Five Cats youtube channel … he’s a pro tester (and really loves the LR4, seeming to have made peace with the quirks and feeling like everyone else should as well). He hates the Popur, but that is (imho) also because his ego got involved in a pissing match with the then-company-president. It is entirely safe for an adult sized cat, despite his protestations otherwise. NO AUTOMATIC LITTER BOX IS SAFE FOR KITTENS. (Sorry for shouting, just my PSA in case anyone is reading and needs a quick takeaway.)
Anyway, he has really in-depth testing/videos of all the major automatic cleaners.
Neakasa might be a good choice (maybe - I haven’t done a ton of research beyond the initial) as it is the other “open top” design and cats/people like it well enough. It’s really tall, so the cat(s) will definitely want a step in front.
Finally, never get anything that closes/rotates on the Y axis (so rotates front/back) that has an enclosure - there WERE some machines that trapped and killed cats (there are videos on the channel going into that. These machines are dangerous - Neakasa and Popur really aren’t.
HTH!
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We got one from Amazon but couldn’t tell you anything about it as I haven’t set it up yet! It’s on the to do list but hoping the cats like it.
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I found that adding the set of steps accessory to my Whisker Litter-Robot 4 changed the game for one of my reluctant cats. After spending over $800 on the litter robot, the steps seemed inexpensive, and certainly less than throwing in the towel and buying another brand of litter box to replace the litter robot.
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I still have an OG Litter Maid, which works like a charm. But I know I’ve been lucky, because newer models are cranky and maybe aren’t even being made anymore?
We’ve got two of these, been very happy with them. My mom’s older cat took right to it when she moved in with us last week.
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I have two Litter Robots 3, bought used off Marketplace. I have a Catlink box from Amazon which is currently $319 that I am very happy with except my 20+ lardbutt cat cannot get in it, even though they claim a 22 pound cat can use it. I’ve had it about 3 years now and it just keeps working without any hangups like the Litter Robots.
Lardbutt cat, a/k/a Zorro was dumped and was very skinny when he joined the family. He’s quite sure there will never be another meal and has doubled his weight. Too bad they don’t make grazing muzzles for cats!
This looks nice! May need to try a couple for our three.
Apologies if everyone already knows it, but some of those generic no-name robot boxes can kill a cat with a guillotine effect. Google for more info.
https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/1fbwlqw/this_generic_automatic_litter_box_sold_under/?rdt=35238
Do you have the fence? There’s two - one is small and one is pretty big. The OG fence didn’t do squat for my large cat who was convinced he couldn’t fit (and would toss the litter every which way), but the new fence is larger, requiring full commitment to get in. Alternatively, they have a shield that might be worth looking into:
I commiserate. I have a cat (one above) that seems to enjoy using the LR4 in every way except how it is intended. 
I don’t think my cats are huge but space is tight in the LR4 for them.
I might buy the shield and report back. I have 5 cats and 4 litter boxes (1 LR4, 3 reg litter boxes). I actually just bought a second LR4 yesterday.
