The Truth About Automatic Litter Boxes
The Truth About Automatic Litter Boxes
Automatic litter boxes: are they really worth the hype? In my decades of experience working with cats – many of whom have litter box issues – I’ve found them to create more problems than they solve. From the risk of potential malfunctions to the dangerous stripping away of your ability to monitor your cat’s health, in my opinion it’s just not worth the risk! As cat guardians, we should avoid making decisions that take the power out of our hands when it comes to our cat’s well-being for the sake of convenience. Have you ever used a self-cleaning litter box? I’d love to hear your thoughts so comment below!
0:00 Intro
1:28 Overview of Litterboxes
1:47 Litter Robot
2:04 Littermaid
2:52 Omega Paw
3:16 Purina Breeze
4:16 Territorial Signposts
6:07 Report Card
7:23 Malfunctions
8:51 Enclosures
10:14 Still Gross
10:44 Embrace the Box
Litter Box Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLAJvHNBwbBNuzFZeHRkBmQaiPG-sqZjIZ&si=M0IO2UA-7Gc-iOdE
My Favorite Litter: https://bit.ly/3uUJFoE
——————————————————————————————-
🔔 Don’t forget to subscribe and ring that bell! 🔔
Join this channel to get access to perks:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCheL-cUqfzUB8dfM_rFOfDQ/joi
😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺😺
🐈⬛ Calling all pet parents! 🐈⬛
Share your video moments with me…and maybe the world!
Upload your clips here ▶︎ https://www.jacksongalaxy.com/submit
😺 My Favorite Cat Products (naturally!) 😺
►http://jacksongalaxy.com
🐈 Follow Me Here! 🐈
INSTAGRAM ► https://www.instagram.com/thecatdaddy
FACEBOOK ► https://www.fb.com/JacksonGalaxy
TWITTER ► https://twitter.com/JacksonGalaxy
TIKTOK ► https://www.tiktok.com/@jacksongalaxy
REDDIT ► https://www.reddit.com/user/jackson-galaxy
😻 The Jackson Galaxy Project 😻
We make a difference for at-risk animals and the people who care for them. Join us!
► http://www.thejacksongalaxyproject.org/
#JacksonGalaxy #Cat #Advice
Ok but during the toddler stage having an enclosed litter box does help keep little hands out.
WHAT!?! Dogs & cats living together!? Sounds like total chaos.
I used a littermaid for a while and didn’t like it. The solid waste stuck to the tines sometimes. You have to keep the level of the litter between certain lines. It was fairly loud.
I think the issue with a lot of these “solutions” is they feed into complacency. If you want to be lazy with a pet, get sea monkeys.
I have 2 cats n 1 litterbox.ok only. Not smelly. Once they shit just clear. Don’t be lazy
With all due respect Jackson, you’re a unique individual if you get something out of scooping litter out of your special box. For the rest of us that just see it as an ugly chore, automatic is a godsend.
I have had a Litter Robot for about 2 years now, and I absolutely wouldn’t be without it. As for "checking" the litter, you must know that we still have to clean out the trap, which gives us the perfect opportunity to check it’s contents. You do you and have fun scooping. I have better things to do, like play with my cat.
You mentioned a "lap top". What is that?
Completely biased to sell his own product.
Biggest goofball I’ve ever seen lmao😅
I am reading the comments, and I see people are justifying these death trap automatic boxes because it’s easier for themselves, the human. If you cannot take care of a cat, don’t have one. They do not deserve to be harmed in those inhumane boxes. Yes, they’re better off in the wild than stuck with a human who cannot care for them. If you can’t squat down to clean a litter box, how can you justify that you are able to care for the cat? It’s not about you. It’s about the cats. If you can’t squat down to clean a box, you can’t squat down to clean the cat carrier. You can’t squat down to pick the cat up. You can’t squat down to put the cat in the carrier in an emergency. You can’t squat down to take the cat to the vet. You can’t squat down to play with, pet, groom, or feed the cat. So if you cannot squat down for a moment to clean the box, you cannot take care of a cat. We all will grow too disabled to care for ourselves and others one day. Such is life. Be humble and know when you cannot hold onto that illusion of being able to do it all.
I’m putting the song on my ringtone.
What litter is everyone using for the litter robot 4? My guy has sticky mess on floor that wont fall off with the Tidy cats.
Sad news for you. ppl tend to like their auto-scooping litter boxes. maybe two complained out of 50 you liked it. you are not winning anyone to your side but more likely alienating viewers.
ok. SO. i agree wholeheartedly on the thoughts and sentiments about pet care in this video. i actually don’t mind scooping. in fact, i view it as yet another nurturing role i play in my cats’ lives. that being said, i’m single and have three in a small studio apartment. (not so small that it’s bad for them, but small enough that things like odor and mess as well as keeping things sanitary and germ free is a tad more challenging.) i’m considering a robot bc i don’t want these poor guys having to step in each others land mines to go to the bathroom while i’m at work for 8-12 hours a day when the box starts to fill up. (and i say box singular bc unless i can devise a lofting situation, there’s just nowhere to put multiple boxes for them here.) AND it would ideally keep poop from getting tracked outside of the box and onto my floors, bed and couch if/when they do. trying to find the most cost effective, cleanest most comfortable solution for all of us! but really i have their best interest and comfort at the forefront. i’m really not ecstatic about the cleanliness of the liner on the robots – i prefer to keep my regular scoop litter boxes spotless DAILY for my guys – so looking into other models like the neakasa open top M1. really hopeful that i can find a good solution soon!!
Please Jackson Galaxy, please see AngelusGaston’s comment below regarding the dangers of AMZTOY cat litter boxes and those boxes that are similar have killed countless cats. Please let people know!
I really like the Breeze system because when I pull out the pee pad I can judge kidney function. If it’s a little red..oh,oh. UTI. Also, if you capture that pee and keep it from fecal it keeps the odor way down. And lasts a pretty long time. If I need to get a urine sample for the vet, I just pull the pad and collect.
I would argue on the “report card” part. Automated litter boxes often provide an app, where you can actually see which cat visited, and the rough weight of what they left in the litter box, so you can track how often each your cat peed, which you don’t get with multiple cats and standard litter boxes (unless you watch it all day))
And if you need a sample – you just disable the automatic clean, and you still can get info on which cat pooped. So to me it seems it is better in many ways (though absolutely not near necessary 😅)
After watching your video I have changed my mind about getting a automatic box . Thank you for the information.
Love this channel. All good points
My experience is that with monitoring the litter robot 4 is great.
1) have the little troubleshooting techniques licated on the l website easily available for when something appears to have gone awry which is either blining light .. this instructs which buttons to press to restart
2) always check the contents. I still see the poo and the amount of pee. I agree that paying attention to the waste is auper important
3) check it once morning and night before goig to sleep.
4) Empty it regularly. Dont let it get so full it wont work.
5) CLEAN THE INSIDE on a regular basis. I just bought a perfectly good one for less than half the price because the sellers never cleaned it . They also never bothered with the very easy teoubleshooting.
5) I like to use the cassava based litter sustainably yours large grain as it clumos well.
6) IF you notice that pee clumps stick to it at all i occasionally put a tiny ( one drop) of avocado oil ona paper towel and swip the part the litter rests on.
The main thing is don’t be lazy. Be responsible. Yes this is a great machine. I have five cats and it is easy ! But I do these things and it works great. But if I didn’t troubleshoot if I didn’t clean it sometimes if I didn’t check it morning and night and then empty it before it’s too full, this would not work.
Like a car, it needs maintenance but is xlso worth it.
PS.i dont own stock in this company. Also i use the biodegradable 13 gallon trash bags rather than the plastic ones the company sells..
Does that all sound like a lot of work? Well it’s not really cuz once you get the hang of it, it’s still 1000% better than scooping three times a day. I am fastidious about clean litter boxes. Also, I feed my cat such a healthy diet that their poo literally doesn’t smell. I’m not kidding if it smells. That means something is wrong with them. They’re sick so their pee of course still smells and the litter robot must be cleaned but otherwise I am in heaven. I have five cats + it is so easy and they use both litter robots and when I have a larger house I’ll probably have one more little robot
The omega box seems really cool! You still have to do the work but it seems very efficient. Im getting a car again (finally my husband agreed after our other baby disappeared 😢) and i used to struggle to scoop all the debris and i hated feeling like i wasnt doing a good enough job. With the rolly one its literally using gravity. Now i do agree the robot ones seem too scary.
Thank you Jackson! I got my cats nearly 10 years ago, and I followed your guidance from the start. You were always right about litter boxes, the simpler the better! I actually despise complex boxes (extremely difficult to clean!!), and my cats hate them too! They adore basic boxes.
"Welcome to Cat Crapopolis! We have something for all of your cat’s lavatory needs. Our latest product is called the Litter Shredder 295! It serves two purposes, and even sweeps the clumped litter out of the cat box. Too many cats? NO PROBLEM! Just change the settings in your Litter Shredder phone app, and the next time an unsuspecting cat walks in… CRAP! Plus, it’s only $2095.00 USD…"
I bought a knock off brand and it was a pain to clean. My oldest cat now 15 refused to use it. It smelled bad and you had to stick your head inside to clean it out since it was one giant circle. My kittens loved it but they ripped up the bottom interior with their nails and they went to the trash. They leaked and had to use a pee pad under them. Not a fan at all. I went back to old faithful.
Weird flex but okay
So what regular litter box do you recommend?
When I discovered dogs eat can poop, that made my decision to never own a dog! 😂
Cat geni, the worst ever.
I mean… the automatic boxes still make plenty of smell. That signpost is bright and shining. And you still can see the report card when you open the drawer. As for the thing going off with the cat in there…I have been reading a lot of reviews–plenty of them negative–and I’ve seen exactly zero accounts of it going off accidentally. I’m not even trying to defend the things, because they are ridiculously expensive. It’s just that I haven’t seen the support for these points.
Jackson, I have been a fan of yours for literal decades. I’ve seen every episode of My Cat from Hell, and consider your series to be highly informative. But this video is shockingly superficial. This is almost "old man yells at kids" level of highly opinionated rationalization of your dislike of automated boxes. Not all are created equal, and the Amztoy design, for instance, is absolutely horrible and fundamentally flawed. The design is unsafe, and the small handful of sensors are not capable of adequately protecting the cat. Others, like the Litter Robot and the Neakasa (to name two) have designs that cannot injure a cat, and multiple sensors to back that up– weight, presence detection, configurable delays, and interrupts that leave the box in a safe condition if a cat (or anyone else) comes near. You completely skipped over any benefits, including tracking one or more cat’s health, and it’s apparent you’ve never used one of the better automated systems– in fact, your list only included two automated litter boxes!!!
Personally, I have a heart problem that the doctor’s haven’t quite nailed down. Cleaning the (multiple) litter boxes sometimes leaves me literally gasping for air. Do I re-home my furry friends that have lived with me for nearly a decade? Or do I try to find a solution that improves their lives and mine?
Do some research. Demonstrate you have more than a passing familiarity with the topic before you pass judgement.
I don’t think you do your position justice if can’t even say "poop"! Ha, ha!!!
I’ve had cats nearly all of my life, so scooping comes with the territory unless you’ve taught your cat to use a human toilet.
This is the way I look at it:
Have you ever walked into a bathroom stall and found the toilet unflushed from the previous user? Those who have had this experience, what is your very first thought? DISGUSTING! Followed by, "How can someone NOT flush the toilet behind themselves?," along with maybe a few choice words or thoughts. With this in mind, I used to clean my cat’s litter at least once a day. It was among my morning chores. Anyone who has had a cat or cats long enough knows that they will gravitate towards the cleanest litter box because they don’t want to use a dirty litter box just as you wouldn’t want to use an unflushed toilet. (I say this in past tense because I lost my sweet kitty 5 months ago. I still feel broken-hearted and I miss him terribly. )
To me, it’s much less offensive when you only have 3 or 4 scoops that you can easily see, to clean the litter box than having to scoop all over the litter box, looking for poo and pee clumps. I had a Maine Coon and so he had a very large litter box.
For those who are disabled and for whom scooping is difficult, it makes sense to have an automatic litter box, heed the suggestion from one of the comments posted here. Keep your automatic liter box off and turn it on manually to keep your precious babies safe. Thank you, nephxio and others who have mentioned the same idea. If I ever need an automatic litter box, I’ll do the same.
I have to get boxes with a lid because my cat fully refuses to use them unless they are close
I have the petsafe automatic clumping little box. Any insight on that one? I’ll be honest I got it because I commute for your so some days I’m gone all day and want them to have a clean box to use.
My cat jumps into the litter robot when it starts turning like it’s some kind of carnival ride.
Did he do Ozembic©?
Yeah I know I’m supposed to be respectful in the comments and all but this is an incredibly stupid take there are plenty safe automatic litter boxes and some of us don’t want to stare at cat poop
With how often this guy has mentioned his own litterbox, I feel like he’s just bashing others to help sell his own litterbox.
Robot litter boxes are labor intensive to clean!! They have to be disassembled and either washed out with soap or wiped out with anti-bacterial wipes every 1 to 2 weeks, which is a major pain to my back muscles! I much prefer a litter box with liner and scooping every day… much easier!! Scooping every day is quick and keeps the litter box smell at bay.
If cats could read and write, what would we call the products?
Litterature
Yeah, the litter robots have always seemed like the next swing at a better mouse trap ("mouse" being code for cat crap).
But my struggle is with cats who are 24" from nose to butt. Yeah, plural. Yeah, I know they’re big. But you haven’t lived until you can cuddle a pet who you can wrestle (and lose to) in the same living room.
But I get a lot of butts hanging out of large litter boxes. NO ONE will voluntarily go into one with a lid. With 24" cats, forcing the issue is let’s just say unadviseable.
My problem is having enough interior space to accommodate a box/suite large enough for both of them to feel comfortable walking in, locating their personal region, and puttin’ some stink on it before casually returning to the open flor plan like we all didn’t just watch them. Ideally, they want a quarter of my living room as their personal potty.
And I got what I feel is a pretty clever idea. It’s the one with two "trays’, and a sieve that I just lift out, and it sifts the unclumped litter so I just dump the clumps into a bag, then put the sieve into the empty tray and pour the remaining litter out of the other tray, on top of the empty one with the sieve. It takes a couple of minutes, but it’s too small for my big boys. (I’m so scared here alone…).
I don’t know what other options I have besides teaching them to use the toilet and bidet.
So I actually have two different automatic litter boxes. I have the one where it rakes it and you have to use a crystal litter. And then this year I finally bought the spinning. Plus I have a regular box if they would prefer that. This you being? I would like to say I clean it every time like they go but I don’t. My cat s do like the automatic box but something you had said does make me think I want to keep the spinning one on kitten mode and that way I can make sure no cats are in it when I clean the box everyday. And it doesn’t disappear into The ether. I can see the poop and how much they’re going because it has a counter just as much as a regular box. Plus the spinning one also monitors my cat’s weight.
I disagree with the scent soakers part. If your cats are indoor cats their scent is already everywhere. Its unrealistic to be able to have a regular litterbox in you’re house and it not stink. Plus it still needs to be deep cleaned with soap and water anyways so theyre scent just gets washed away. With a safe automatic litterbox you dont have to worry so much about the smell when they poop or the idea of pee soaking in the plastic after being at work or cleaning house or even just being gone for an hour or two. I have two cats who currently live in my small bedroom that they share with my pups and me and they are the most comfortable, relaxed and lovable cats i have had. They get access to high up areas and have a shelf to themselves as i do understand cats need and want their own space and they like to be high up. But scent soaking should be completely out of the question. This coming from someone who doesn’t have an automatic litter box yet but i am absolutely planning on getting one so i dont have to bask in the scent all night and cant hardly be in my room when i get off work even after cleaning it out. Plus having to air out my room for that scent to fall into the hallway 🤮. I get these are your opinions but some people have different views on the subject and it seems more like your trying to educate rather then put your own opinions in.
Also would like to point out that their scent will always be in the litterbot. Just because they dont have poop in it doesn’t mean they wont still have their scent or the poop smell on the clean litter. As its not possible to completely get ride of every litter piece that touches the poop. It just makes it more manageable for the owners.
I would also like to point out as for the litterbox report card from a vets eyes you can still see their poop. You still have to empty out the tray that it goes into. So checking to see if their poop is healthy or not is still doable and can still be managed like normal. When you have animals checking their poop and watching them poop to make sure they aren’t having a hard time or making sure it’s healthy is still something I personally will always do. If people dont do this naturally then they wont do it even when cleaning the litter box as by the time they clean it all the litter is completely covering it. So again just pointing out that factor-
As for the litterboxes messing up. The Litter robot 4 has some of the best quality sensors and it doesn’t have doors that can close on the cat. It also can scence if a cat goes out of it or in it right after another cat or if it does make a scensor and start moving while the cat is in there it automatically stops and waits for a few minutes to let you cat relax for a moment. (This video wasn’t put out when this litterbox was made so i completely understand your views on this topic but we do have better auto boxes now) It also moves super slow so it shouldn’t scare or bug your cats too much.
As for the box like designs they aren’t very boxey anymore (at least not all of them) litter robot is a sphere design that has a completely open front to it. So if your cats regular litter box is in a corner its pretty much the same concept as its inclosed on two sides. Although i will say you make a good point here but not every cat is the same. As my two cats leave each other alone and practically ignore each other completely unless they’re snuggling up.
As for the mess it is recommended you do deep cleans. And wiping out a small bit of poop with a wipe or wet paper towel in my opinion is still better then having to bask in the cat stink. Opening up a tray twice or three times a week is still better then having that smell in your room every day all day all night.
And oh boy "get a goldfish"…….. You realize how much work any and all animals have right? Every animal has their downside care-wise but if you can eliminate the major problems then you can enjoy it a little better. That gave me the "ew" you recommending people get an animal that needs a fuck ton more care and attention. You dont shove goldfish in a small bowl of water. They need a big tank preferably 10 gallons per goldfish as they can and will get huge (unless you enjoy stunting their growth and causing them serious health issues) they also need a filter, bubbler, heater, and regular water changes. Please dont choose one animal over another, do your research or dont get pets.
Again these are just my opinions on your views and opinions on this subject. I do actually really like how you educate people on things and the point where cleaning a litterbox also shows people the responsibly they need to take care of animals is just a huge factor in it alone. But ive had cats my whole life and the majority of them were indoor outdoor (its been a fight with my mom over her letting the cats go outside for a while) now that i have my own two cats i know what not to do and what to do because of you. There will always be disagreements on certain things with every educator or social media influencer but thats what makes the world work. And remember not every animal is the same so some things can be different for different people and different pets. The animal world isnt a "one size fits all" we all have opinions and the fact your helping people make the safer decision on litterboxes is huge to me. If you have the experience to try new things i definitely recommend giving it a go but make sure your animals are confident before assuming its ok to try out for your pet.
I believe you have two demographics at play here. Some folks with " more money than sense" as my Father used to say and another group seeking to maintain their family dynamic. Your video is very informative, but I am sure those seeking to try and maintain their babies "good life" also make good points. It was very informative from both sides. I am edified by all of it. Thank you Mr. Galaxy, Your video and the comments were all outstanding. It must be very uplifting for you to interact with a following of intelligent, listening, understanding and responsive individuals. Kudos Chap!
I’ll tell you this for free. I DON’T need anything else that uses a smart phone app, bluetooth, wifi, or attaches to my Amazon Echo. The last thing I need is for Alexa to break in during dinner and say "Terry, a cat has depositted a proper steamer in box 2, in great room. shall I scoop?" or some dumb thing.
I am sorry, your presentation was to long. You talk a lot and lost my attention. Can’t finish the video
Bro, you are way off, think about your car? What? Bro, litter robot has one motor, 3 sensors and thats it, you cant compare it to car, wtf. And your report card? Open the draw and you see it.jeeez….i guess you never had more than 2 felines or so. This video absolutely sux
It’s in the bag ??? How is it gone
Litter robot is cool but I still have to clean it once a month.
I have the breeze box, and it is a love hate relationship. It IS amazing marketing to not only have to buy the pellets, and also the pads. I was very against it for a long time. It is not cost effective at all at face value. But it was life changing when I found out my cat has Asthma. The breeze pellets are completely dust free. Not 99.99 % dust free, completely dust free. Because they are rocks. Breeze pellets are made from zeolite. You can find cheaper versions of them and not even buy the tidy cats ones. But what tidy cats doesn’t want you to realize.. they are washable. They are reusable for quite a while. Throw them in a bucket of water and dawn, rinse them with the garden hose, let them dry and then put them back in the box. The pads are annoying, and expensive, and if you miss emptying day, or the cats have used it more than average and it overflows the pad, that can be kinda messy. But its the only "litter" that doesn’t cause asthma attacks in my boy. And it is in no way an automatic litter box. I don’t know anybody that uses one that would call it that. You still scoop poop, you just don’t scoop pee. When done properly there is less odor, and I find it in general easier to manage than regular litter. But yeah, if you replace the pellets every month like tidy cats says to, the cost is insane. You really don’t need to do that though. I buy a new bag of pellets maybe once every 6 months to a year because a bit gets thrown out stuck to the poops. The pads I usually use a bag of them once a month. So if you do it that way it is more comparable with normal litter. Their marketing team did a great job with that one, but it is a game changer for cats with asthma.
I have now had mine 7 months. I couldnt love it any more. I started with one bot and 3 cats….well….one cat went to use it and it was occupied so he peed elsewhere. I had him checked out, had a UA done and he was fine so i got a second Litter Robot…..everything has been amazing being able to track my cat’s weight, how often they go and yes they can still smell that that is their box just like they would another box after you scrape it. You still see whats in the drawer and can open it at any time(which I do to make sure the poops are solid and not too firm seeing I have one cat that tends to get constipated).
The ultimate test was recently, my cat had surgery and needed to wear the cone of shame. He could maneuver and go to the bathroom in the litter robot but it was extremely difficult with the cone of shame especially considering he’s already a 14 pound cat. I put out a regular flat box to make it easier for him. He will use it but all three cats still use the litter robots the majority of the time even with access to a basic litter box.
The cats prefer the litter robots and i prefer them also. Ive heard of them getting stuck upside down before which was another reason i got a second one to avoid any issues like that but that seems to be an issue with the LR3. I have not had any issues with either of my LR4s. You can also buy a backup battery for when the power goes out to avoid the drum getting stuck upside down if the power goes out. I tested the batteries and they work great. I cannot say enough about the litter robot 4! Its been a game changer to wake up in the morning and know your cats had a clean box all night
You’re point about not being aware of your cats pooping is way off. I have one of these gadgets and I know the frequency, duration, cat’s weight, time of day of every event. If I want to look at the output to get even more info it’s right there in the tray.