Anyone ever buy one of those automatic litter boxes?

[nolabear]

My husband and I are considering it, you know, the superduperpooperscooper variety that costs a lot but drops the various clumps into a bag where you can just pop them into the garbage. I'm pretty frugal but I'm also pretty lousy at the daily scoop and I'd really like one. Worth it?

OR, if that's too specific a question, what's the best gadget for a pet you've ever gotten?

[HopeHoops]

1. If I were a cat, that would scare the shit out of me before AND after using it.

Don't waste your money.

[csziggy]

5. They do have a delay or can be set to clean at specific times

You can set it to delay up to a certain amount of time after the box is used. Or put it on a timer to operate.

I still didn't like it. The cat liked it most for the ramp into the box - but that made for a huge floor area taken up by the thing.

[Old Troop]

2. I found that even the largest models were too small for me.

[Roon]

3. They wear out in about a year

we just quit wasting our money and went back to manual scooping. They did come in handy for when we went on vacation and left the cats alone for a few days.

[csziggy]

4. We have one that we quit using.

Two problems - hubby's old cat did huge pees and the large clots of litter were more than the machine could handle. Second - the thing was more of a pain in the a$$ to clean that a regular litter box, especially when the first problem messed it up.

I got a litter box that has three layers - two regular boxes and a "sieve" layer. You put the sieve layer in the bottom, cover with litter. To clean, lift out the sieve, dump the clumps out, put the sieve into the second regular box, pour the clear litter into it and clean out anything that stuck in the bottom of the first box. It takes longer to explain than to do, especially since we just carry ours out in the field to dump.

For me, that works so much better than any other system I have ever had.

Here is one like the one we have:
http://www.amazon.com/Framed-Cat-Litter-Pan-Assorted/dp/B0002ASCFS/ref=sr_1_12?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1286934124&sr=1-12

[Generic Brad]

6. No, but my cat craps automatically

In her box. In my shoes. Behind the sofa. She craps wherever she happens to be when she gets the urge.

Best gadgets I ever bought were the rubbing alcohol and cotton balls I use to clean up all the crap stains after turd removal is complete.

[emilyg]

7. I'm laughing - you

described one of my cats. After I clean up I use Extreme Stain and Odor Remover. Best stuff I've ever, ever used.