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Who likes cleaning out a litter box? No one we know, so it seemed like a great idea when LitterMaid came up with a self-cleaning box. Only trouble is, it doesn't seem to work very well. Despite that, even the most ravenously dissatisfied customers keep coming back like cats to catnip, buying one derelict pooper scooper after another.
A few of the more recent complaints ...
Paul of Crestline, OH June 11, 2008
Paul of Crestline OH (06/11/08)
I bought two 9250 heavy duty littermaid boxes and both the metal rack broke. They have a pastic roller on the end that keep the rack line up man its junk. The plastic roller is design to lift. It need to be a steel roller that screws on or something. but I can't get them to replace them
just can't use them without that rack so they become a very expense 200. cat box that you have to rack out by hand. might as will buy a 99 cent cat box Jim of El Paso, TX June 5, 2008
Jim of El Paso TX (06/05/08)
I have had them for 3 years and have gone through 6 of them (3 have been replaced by littermaid and I have 2 in use. The 3 suggestions are: 1. Use ONLY TIDY CATS SCOOP, MULTIPLE CATS. I have tried every other litter made and this is the only one that works. No sticking to the bottom, excellent clumping. 2. Do not overfill - This is the major cause of the contineous run. It is better to have a little less litter than too much. 3. If you have a contineous run problem, it is probably the switch at the front of the unit, left side, facing the unit). If you place a piece of paper (folded is better) in the slot in front of the switch, it will work. You may have to put a little super glue to hold it in place. I used a thin piece of rubber. The main cause of motor problems is too much litter in the box.
I have followed the above for the past 5 months. I empty the two boxes twice a week, add a little litter and thats all! I have 2 very large male cats. Gary of Allison Park, PA June 5, 2008
Gary of Allison Park PA (06/05/08)
I bought one of the older littermaid boxes for 110.00 at Target about 3 years ago. The product worked for about 2 months and then the thing just got stuck. After getting stuck, a tremendous noise was coming from the box. I ran over to see what was going on and saw that the rake was broken and hanging by the string. I took this one back and bought another, after 4 months the cord broke. I knew something was bound to happen because it was already missing the track and making a squealing noise.
So as senseless as I am, I purchased one on ebay the Elite Model for about 145.00 or so. At first I thought this was going to solve all of my problems, but actually this is more of a piece of crap than the old versions. First off, I spent so much time cleaning the waste off the rake and having to reset it back in the tracks. Also, I saw that there was so much waste on the side of the receptacle and underneath the box. I blamed my cat like some of the other posts I have read. Thought it was the little one, but now I know this thing was designed by a moron. The two biggest problems with this machine is this.
First off, when you fill the box all is fine and dandy, until the rake runs its cycle, then it ends up returning about 90 percent of the waste behind the metal rake, which you will be lifting the rake and scooping behind it continuously. Also it does a fine job of neatly raking the litter, makes it look neat on top ha! But, underneath is where the waste is and it does not touch this until most of the litter is out of the box. By the time it reaches the bottom(litter box will be near empty by this point) the waste is stuck to the bottom and you need a bulldozer to scrape it off. After many days of coming home from work wanting to relax, I had to constantly clean this thing. Underneath the machine, the receptacle the sides, the rake. After looking all shiny and new for so many months, took about 3 days and would have to do it again and again.
Anyway, finally the thing got really stuck and made a noise and of course the cheap plastic roller broke off one side of the rake. I applied some superglue to this, even managed to superglue my fingers to the rake, which i quickly pulled them off. When the wheel was finally reattached, it worked about 3 cleaning cycles and then it broke off again beyond repair. If you think about it, this product is very poorly designed, does not do what it is supposed to do.
And if Littermaid continuously sells these, they should write on the box telling the customer This product is not completely automatic, some maintenence may be required on your part in keeping your machine in somewhat of a working condition. This product can possibly malfunction and cause side effects, some side effects or affects can result in a headache, possible fire, and many nights of lack of sleep which could result in depression or anxiety. Linda of High Point, NC June 1, 2008
Linda of High Point NC (06/01/08)
the small roller broke off one side of the rake now it want work, My I buy a new rake ?
Mary of Portland, OR May 25, 2008
Mary of Portland, OR (05/25/08)
I have purchased three littermaid automatic cat boxes and I thought that maybe I was doing something wrong. The first one lasted one year and a half and it seemed to have a strong motor. The second one lasted less than a year. The third one has a horrible motor and lasted probably 5 months.
I started looking for another one and found that they are not sold in stores. I usually have a reason for purchasing one like right before a long trip and leaving my cat in the care of a kind neighbor that I don't want to have scoop the litterbox. I have started researching the catbox on the internet and find that these automatic catboxes by LitterMaid are just not worth the money. TOO bad. Although I will say that they should have kept the better motor as in the older models.
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