LitterMaid vs. Cat Genie

Cat litter and litter boxes are showing improvements in order to satisfy your indoor cat's natural instincts in scratching and covering waste as well as your need for a clean, odor-free home. The worst part of having an indoor cat is cleaning the litter box, but two popular products--LitterMaid and Cat Genie--have taken most of the work out of this task. Each has a different process of removing cat waste.

  1. LitterMaid Process

    • The LitterMaid litter box uses standard clumping litter from the grocery store. Your cat uses the litter box and, upon exiting, a timer starts. Ten minutes later an automatic rake rakes the clumped litter into a sealed waste container in the back of the box. You dispose of the waste container about once a week and add more clumping litter as needed. An ionic air cleaner emits a nice scent to cover any odors, and the rake has a safety bar preventing operation if your cat enters the litter box. The litter tray is detachable for easy refilling and it includes a night timer so that it may be turned off for eight hours at a time.

    Cat Genie Process

    • The Cat Genie litter box uses permanent washable granules in lieu of cat litter. This model connects to your water supply in either the bathroom or the laundry room and uses your toilet or laundry drain to dispose of waste. After your cat exits, the liquid waste drains through the granules into a container below. The solid waste is raked into the container, a sanitary solution swirls the two together to liquefy the solids, and then it is flushed out into the drain line. Water and a feline safe sanitary solution join the granules and they are swirled to sanitize the granules. A hot-air blow dryer activates and dries the washable granules to be ready for your cat's next visit.

    Size

    • The LitterMaid automatic litter box is available in four sizes. The smallest is for single-cat families and is 22.5 inches long by 16.5 inches wide and 8.75 inches tall. The other three sizes include a paw-cleaning ramp, which removes particles of litter from your cat's paws upon his exit. The three larger boxes are for multiple cats or large cats and the largest is 31 inches long by 19 inches wide and 9 inches tall. The toilet-shaped Cat Genie is 24 inches deep by 19 inches wide and 21 inches tall at the back. It is available with a privacy hood attached.

    Price

    • As of 2009, the LitterMaid models started at $109.99 for the single-cat style, increasing to $199.99 for the Elite Mega model, which is the largest. The Cat Genie was $329.00 for the basic model and $399.99 for the privacy model.

    Considerations

    • The Cat Genie has limitations as to its installation area due to its requirements of a water line and drain line. You can install a new water and drain line anywhere you would like to enable it for use in a different area, but that is quite a bit of work. The Cat Genie includes absolutely no handling of waste but does require purchase of the sanitizing chemicals.

      The LitterMaid models can be placed anywhere you choose, but you have to dispose of the waste container weekly and add more clumping litter to the base, which you may want to clean occasionally.