Litter Robot LRII Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Beige
Review by R. Vieira "BERTZ" : Minor learning curve, but best of the bunch by far...

Getting everything running just right took just a bit of learning (particularly how much litter is too much). I have 1 older cat and 2 kittens. All three easily made the transition to the Litter Robot, and all other litterboxes are out of my house.NOTE: The manufacturer's instructions recommend that the Litterbot not be used with cats under 5 pounds. I missed seeing this prior to having the unit running a day or two. I have seen no issues with my kittens (both are still well below 5 pounds - perhaps 3.5#)Pros:It is very economical on litter. I haven't had it long enough to have a clear measurement on it, but I'm guessing I'm going to spend about 50% less on litter than I was spending with a conventional cat box and sifting cat scoop.Cats adjusted well to it.It is self enclosed, which seems to keep both dust and odor downThe used litter drawer pulls out easily, and after your first time of figuring it out, the bags are easy to change. Just remove the old and toss it, and take perhaps 30 seconds to hook up the new bag.Subject to having it set up right (see Cons below), it works pretty much flawlessly - no jams like I've seen with the LitterMaid products.Neutral:Expensive. Now this may seem like a con, but as I mentioned earlier, it seems to use substantially less litter over time, so I expect the litter savings to make up the difference.Litterspray. Other reviewers have seen issues with a lot of litter being kicked out of the unit as the kitties came out. I've actually seen less of an issue with this than with my other catboxes. I'm not sure why I'm not seeing the problem - my guess is that it is specific to how your cat chooses to exit the box (Mine seem to use the catch stair just fine).ConsAs other reviewers have suggested, it is a tad sensitive to overfilling. Perhaps the biggest issue with this is that, if you are just over what you should be, it can be difficult to figure out what is wrong. As the cats naturally push litter around in the unit, they will create high spots in the litter that can trip the sensor (making it think there is a cat in it when all it is is a high pile of litter). You look in the unit and everything seems fine, but the "in use" light flases - indicating that the unit's sensor has been active too long. Pressing the "cycle" botton will not fix this - you must manually level out the litter and wait 15 seconds for a reset. It will then go back to operating normally. The easy fix here is don't overfill (and how much to fill it with is easily learned).LOUD. Other reviewers have mentioned this, but I again want to stress that this isn't the litterbox for you if it is going to be in the same room where you want any kind of quiet. Mine is kept in the laundary room, and isn't that big of a deal, but I can still hear it upstairs in my bedroom or two rooms away in my family room watching TV (in those rooms it's not disruptive, but you can still hear it). This is the one area where I think the manufacturer could likely see major improvement (more soundproofing could be done there without that much additional expense).Large. This one is hardly catastrophic, but it is roughly twice as tall as a boodabox style litterbox. Mine just barely fits underneath the folding counter in my laundary room.

Litter Robot LRII Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Beige
Review by Menthol Rum : Outstanding Product ** Updated Again 10.28.10**

I was interested in an automatic litter box, not so much as I wanted to reduce the amount of cleaning, but at the time, I travelled often for days and would come home to a less than fresh smell. I looked at the options and read reviews and decided upon the Litter Robot. It arrived, I unboxed it and I literally only turned around and one cat was inside already and the other was waiting her turn. So much for them being afraid of it.I followed the instructions, and my 2 cats (both 2 years old) took right to it. Initially, they liked to 'play' with it when it turned. They knew by stepping on the 'ledge' the globe would stop rotating. That was annoying but passed quickly. I used the small kitchen bags as liners and sometimes I used baking soda for extra odor control, but I never found it necessary. One nice effect this had was that quite often new visitors were quite surprised to find that there were 2 cats living here, as there was no 'cat smell'. The sound it makes when rotating is my only 'con'. Its not that loud, not that often, nor does it run for that long, maybe a minute? (I've never timed it. They do track a small amount of litter outside the globe, but nothing too bad. If you don't clean the tray and things pile up, you can end up with a very messy globe, but that's due to not emptying the tray before it's full.I use the LR with World's Best Cat Litter and it does a tremendous job at keeping the place from smelling, gives the cats a constantly clean litter box and makes dealing with the litter box an absolute breeze! My litter lasts a long time as compared to before. I probably use a 25 lb bag about 3-4 months. Every month or so, I wipe the base down and completely clean the globe with a hose.Customer service is excellent as well. I did have an issue and they helped me resolve it quickly and everything has been fine since.Some things your should know about the LR:- it's bigger than an average litter box- it makes noise as it rotates for *about* one minute or so- your litter will last longer (much longer for me)- it does an excellent job of odor control for me- no more scooping!When it is time to buy another one, I will buy another Litter Robot. I recommend this product strongly, as I have had an excellent experience and my cats love having a clean litter box all the time. With the money back guarantee, I suggest to all cat owners that they try the Litter Robot, it's just excellent.8/26/09 Update:I recently had a problem (we caused) that required me to send the base in for repair. Immediately, it reminded me of how I dislike to scoop and how my cats get a constantly clean "bathroom" with the LR. The customer service was polite, helpful and patient, as they had been in the one previous contact. We tried a few things to see if we could effect a repair without sending the unit in and then it became obvious the base would need to go in for repair. I boxed it up, sent it in and was contacted via email that repairs were complete and had it back the following week at a repair cost that I felt was very reasonable. Service like this makes a big difference and my experience with the company is as good as with their products.More than 2 years later and we are loving this robot. It is surrounded by a custom wood cover and 85% of it is hidden and the sound is deadened even more. Aside from seeing cat items, still no one knows there are cats in the home by smell, several people asking where we keep the litter box.5 star rating reiterated unreservedly for product and customer service.10.28.10 UpdateI had to send the base in for repair, this time it was the motor. I live on the beach and everything rusts from the salt air, I assume that the LR is no exception. Again, I got the same great service, in both emails and phone calls, and a fairly quick turn around, especially considering the distance it had to go. When I received it back, I set it up and didn't think about it. The cats were happy to have it back and used it and much to my surprise, I could just hear the motor very very silently turning. It would appear that Automated Pet Care Products has again made improvements. This is the quietest motor I have heard in a LR and if you had the TV on or other such ambient noise, you won't be able hear it. So, there's the silver lining to needing repair.For excellent service and commitment to their products and users, Automated Pet Care Products and the LR are outstanding.

Litter Robot LRII Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Beige
Review by James R. Williams : 2 simple design flaws keep it from greatness

I've had the Litter Robot LRII for about 2 weeks now and while I am happy enough with my purchase that I will not take advantage of the generous return policy, I do feel that there are some elements of its design that need to be greatly improved upon when they eventually release an LRIII.

First, as many others have mentioned, the grate system of the step that is designed to allow litter to fall into the waste area really defeats much of the purpose of having a hidden waste area. The same openings that do allow some litter to fall into the waste chamber as opposed to covering your floor allow more odor to escape than I would like. This is rather easily fixable, but when you're paying $300 for a litter box you shouldn't have to DIY something this basic.

Second, while the LRII is very good about pausing its cycle when a cat steps up onto it, something to prevent cats from being to enter it at all while cycling would be sorely appreciated. And this, unfortunately, cannot be fixed by the home user. I'd noticed that over the past few days the odor from the LRII was a bit stronger than it had been, despite having recently put in a new scented trash bag and a liberal dosage of litter deodorizer. Last night I came across one of my (2) cats exiting the LRII while the main chamber was upside down, not quite halfway through the cycle. He knew that was where he was supposed to go, appeared rather frustrated that there was no litter in there with which to bury his waste, but went ahead and relieved himself on the bare plastic. It took 2 manual cycles to get his waste off the side of the chamber and into the waste area below, and the smell since then has been rather powerful. So tonight I'll be washing it out after 2 weeks of ownership, even though washng is supposed to be necessary on more of a monthly basis.

I realize that having some sort of a sliding panel that closes the main chamber off when cycling allows for the possibility of trapping a cat inside during the cycle, but there must be some way to include a sensor within the chamber itself to avoid this - as opposed to simply relying on the sensor in the step mechanism.

As it stands, I do recommend the LRII to anyone who wants to reduce the typical litter box odor in their home and wants to escape cleaning the litter box 1-2x a day in favor of simply swapping out a trash bag 1-2x a week. I would recommend it without reservation though if they were to address my 2 main issues in the next iteration. The LRII is close to being exactly what I wanted when I ordered it, and with a little work it definitely could be.

Litter Robot LRII Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Beige
Review by meow : Great concept, good design

I got the litter robot because my landlord was complaining about the smell of the catbox in our apartment and threatened making us get rid of the cats. Granted, this happened while we were on vacation, and the person we hired to come in once a day to scoop for 3 cats didn't show at least half the time. This is hard to explain to an irate landlord however, and I can't risk having to move if something goes wrong again. In doing my research, this litterbox quickly made the top of the list. Maybe my expectations were too high from the rave reviews, or maybe I've never struggled with automatic boxes that broke repeatedly, but I was disappointed at first. After more research, I found out that my problems are pretty common. So, here are the problems and solutions I/others came up with:1) The globe is pretty small for my 15lb cat who doesn't turn around and he sometimes pees on the steps, which creates an awful smell (see below). Many people suggested placing duct tape across the lower third of the entrace. It fixes the problem, but leaves a sticky residue and needs to be changed every few weeks. The alternative, however, is much worse. Without it, the cat urine landed on the steps, went through the holes, and pooled in the waste drawer. I'm sure you can imagine how horrible the stench was after a couple days... in summer... in a small apartment... lacking A/C.2) Even then, the smell was pretty bad. The holes in the step allow the air in the waste drawer to exchange freely with the outside air. I now put the drawer INSIDE a 13 gallon trashbag with the steps facing out towards the opening of the bag. This makes a more airtight seal and helps the smell a lot!3) Even with the trashbag fix, there was still a nasty odor that showed up after a couple days. This resulted from the approx. 1/2-inch gap between the outer surface of the globe and the base which holds the waste. I made little flaps out of duct tape which I attached to the base to minimize the amount of air escaping from the waste drawer.4) Now I'll admit paranoia. Inside the waste drawer, I put cedar shavings, Tidy Cat crystals, and activated charcoal. This was a compilation of all the suggestions I could find on the internet to limit odor, and they seems to work well. I espeically like the cedar shavings.5) I keep lysol wipes next to the litter box and wipe down the exterior and interior of the globe every couple days. Sometimes a clump of urine/litter sticks to the rubber surface. I think this might be due my litter, however, and I will probably switch when I run out of the old stuff. I use Nature's Miracle now.PROS:- For 3 cats, we empty the drawer every 4-5 days with very minimal smell after all the suggestions above.- Truly does use less litter and is so gentle it doesn't break up the clumps at all.- The waste drawer is huge and has a ridge in the middle which helps spread out the waste evenly so there isnt' a big pile in the middle, and you can go a little longer between cleaning.CONS:- For $300, I would expect a better design that has a hole at the other end, so my larger cat doesn't pee on the step.- I have a crazy expensive, NASA-esque litterbox which looks like it's being held together by duct tape.- The perforations on the step are supposed to trap the litter, but they don't help at all. I have just as much litter now as I had with a traditional box.- It seems that cats have a harder time transitioning to this type of automated litterbox than the others that more closely resemble a traditional manual-scoop litterbox. One of my cats has just now started to use it for poop and pee after about a month of accidents. I was impatient however, and threw out the old box after a day.It's well-designed, but still could be better. Maybe someday they'll come up with an LR3. This box is awesome once the above issues are addressed, but I spent a lot of time researching and implementing the "fixes," thus, the 4 stars. If worked out of the box like it does now, I'd happily give it 5 stars. I heartily recommend it though, and hope that some of the tips that worked for me will help save someone from having to troubleshoot many of the same problems I had.

Litter Robot LRII Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Beige
Review by J. Wagner : If you can get over the cost, it's worth it!

Like the previous reviewer, we've also gone through several rake-type automatic cat litter boxes (all Litter Maid brand; 2 LM700, 1 LME9000) two of which failed after one year, the third simply worked so poorly we couldn't wait to get rid of it. We'd spent enough on those three to buy the Litter Robot with some change left over. Spending so much on an automatic litter box may seem silly to some folks, but my wife and I travel a lot for work and can't have a half-dozen litter boxes laying about for our two cats, nor do we wish to spend the time cleaning all of them after we get home. So anyway, on to the machine...The Litter Robot is BIG! I'd read the measurements, but when I pulled it out of the box I was still surprised! Make sure you've got the room for it. My first impression of it after the size of it was the heft. This thing is sturdy, nothing cheap about it. All the interior parts are heavy and well assembled with rivets or screws, as well as the shell. The next thing that I noticed was the simplicity. No complicated moving parts like some boxes with rakes, lids, etc...; a motor turns the ball, that's all you see, and the drive gear is hidden below the ball. The item assembled in a flash: Put ball on base, line up with gear, plug in power, turn on. That's it. I filled it with standard scoopable/clumping kitty litter. The only error I made was that I overfilled it a little and it dumped some litter on the floor when I test cycled it. No problem, clean up the mess and take a few scoops of litter out. Overall impression of the device is that it is of good quality and should provide good service for years. My only faint potential misgivings are the motor, circuitry and rubber liner. If any of these fail, I hope the company is still around to get replacement parts from. I also note no large benefit to having the litter catcher step other than catching some of my overfill. When our cats finished with the box they launched out of the door and land on the floor, they still scatter litter. Oh well, nothing new there compared to a regular box.The cats. We switched boxes on them cold turkey. Our cats aren't very skittish but they don't take quickly to new large devices that smell funny and make odd noises. They spent a lot of time sniffing it and checking it out, but they refused to use it. They held out for 24 hours and they couldn't stand it any more; we observed the cat equivalent of crossed legs and jumping up and down for a few hours before they hopped in (meowing, walking up to the box and looking inside, walking away, pacing, repeat...), but as soon as one hopped in and used it, the other couldn't wait and stood by the door and jumped in as soon as the other left. Problem solved, they are now Litter Robot converts.Overall, so far we are very happy with it. We got over the "sticker shock" and the size, the cats got used to it in less than a day. The Litter Robot works exactly as it is supposed to, and we hope for years of serivce from it. A MUCH better quality device than any of the rake-type litter boxes we have had. It leaves no bits floating in the litter after a cycle, and needs no hand cleaning after a few days like the rake-type boxes. We'd recommend this box.Now I just have to resist painting it to look like the EVA vehicles from "2001: A Space Odyssey"; "Open the pod bay doors, please, Hal...Open the pod bay doors, please, Hal..."ADDENDUM: 05/01Ok, after having the LRII for a while I can't say enough good things about it.Incredibly easy to use and easy to clean.We use a fair quality multi-cat scoopable/clumping litter and this prevents almost all used-litter smell that some have complained about, but a little smell does happen - there's no perfect "no-smell" litter box out there, just ain't gonna happen! The only minor gripe I have is that there is some litter dust creation that needs to be dealt with, but that's the litter's fault, not the LRII's. It occurs to me that the tray is big enough to set a box of open baking soda in it. Wonder if that'll work to reduce the smell?Cleaning. What a dream. We use standard plastic grocery bags. They don't always fit perfectly because some stores use different sizes, but using the right size or some creative fitting gets the bag to fit every time. We don't buy garbage bags for this device, but that's just a personal choice. You've just spent $328 on a litter box (with shipping), gotta pinch pennies where you can, right? Emptying the tray is easy: Pull it out, remove bag and throw it away, dump anything that may have missed the bag into wastebin, install new bag and re-insert drawer.At no point do I have to handle a scooper or used litter!For those that are complaining about the tray overfilling with used litter or the device constantly cycling due to too much use, you have 2 options: Get enough LRII's to cover the amount of cats you have, or, have fewer cats! Burnout due to a line of cats using the box constantly is not the fault of the LRII, it does what it is supposed to within reason. This device is engineered for the average household of probably 2-4 cats, not a half-dozen plus.Tracking litter. I've NEVER seen a litter box or a litter box anti-tracking litter pad that prevented tracking. Cats don't like to step on them because they are uncomfortable, so unless you make your cats walk through an anti-litter-tracking (sounds like an invention waiting to be made!) tunnel to and from the litter box, there will be cleanups needing to be done! We solved a little of the tracking by placing the opening of the litter maid towards the wall in a corner. This forces the cats to step on the step and pad which gets rid of some of the litter on their paws. Not perfect, but it works.The design. I can't get over how simple and ingenious this device is. After using it for almost 2 weeks without any cleaning other than the automatic dumping of the litter, there still is not one single clump of soiled litter floating in the pan. Absolutely nothing sticks to the rubber "pan". The litter still looks fresh and clean. I've only had to add a few generous scoops of litter to make up for the used portion. The plastic parts inside are well attached, well designed, and heavy. Nothing to corrode or any complicated moving parts to fail. The motor does make some noise, but if you've had one of the rake-type boxes, I'd say that it is the same or actually quieter. One of the best suggestions I've read here is that if the device wakes you up at night, turn it off when you go to bed! The cats will still use it, and when you turn it back on in the morning, it will automatically cycle and "flush".Please read all the reviews here and at the LRII's site. There are cats that are too big, too small, have medical issues, have age or personality issues in a way that may not make the LRII right for you. Save yourself the headache and expense, do a little research. Buying this box without educating yourself and then returning it with a bad review isn't the LRII's fault.If you think the LRII is right for you, get it. I can almost guarantee that you will think it is fantastic and as close to a perfect automatic litter box as is currently available.About our useage:2 cats, one about 12 lbs and one around 16 lbs.We use "Simplicity Plus All Natural Scoopable Cat Litter", Scented (mint) from a 44 lb box.Results in dumping the tray < once a week, nothing sticking to the inside, almost no smell at all, but some litter tracking.

Litter Robot LRII Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Beige
Review by a DMented lil Thori "..mostly Harmless" : Would purchase again, wonderful machine!

I've had our Litter Robot for a little over a year, it's running just fine and haven't had any problems at all. The piece is a little on the loud side and woke me up the first couple of weeks but given it's size and that it sits in the room next to my bedroom, it's completely understandable. It's like a loud hair dryer going off. You can also just turn it off at night and do a manual cycle in the morning. If I'm at the other end of the apartment, I can barely hear it at all.

I have two cats, aged 3 (7 lbs, very adventerous, playful, ..nosey) and 5 (11 lbs, was feral for most of his life, skittish but very sweet and cuddly once he's comfortable).Both were adopted when they were about 4 years old from the local SPCA. They were comfortable with an open litter pan while at the pound and/or previous homes and I switched to a covered one for about 8 months before the Litter Robot. They took to the Litter Robot quite well, both explored and used it within half a day and the little one still likes to watch it go around or when I clean it. Both cats, however, seem to pefer the pan style and will use that if it's around instead of the litter robot. However, they absolutely have no problems and easily hop into the litter robot when that's the only choice and they both have room in there to turn around in there.

The piece is very sturdy and simple, I slide the pan out and empty about once a week. It's very simple to clean without a liner (IMO) because the litter doesn't always fall directly into the bag, especially at the front end, and I end up haveing to jiggle things around so there's a clean areas to unfasten the liner. It's not much of a problem for me, I just take the whole pan and dump it into a garbage bag and still don't have to touch anything. The pan goes for a quick rinse and soak in some warm soapy water while I clean the outside and stand with a disposible wipe. Once everything is dried, the pan slides back inside with a sprinkle of baking soda on the bottom and it's good until the next garbage day. The unit does get stinky but the smells don't "stick". Once you soak the disposal pan in warm/soapy water and wipe down the exterior, the smells are gone.

When it gets a little smelly, about once every couple of months, and I dump out all the litter. There is a button just for that specific purpose, so you just let the machine do all the work. I spray down and soak the inside with a mild "all surface" spray and let it sit a few minutes before wipeing to dry it back out. I am also buying less litter, I used to have to dump out the whole pan once every one or two weeks. The Litter Robot also uses about a half to two thirds less than what I was using in the previous litter boxes because it's round so the litter pools into the middle and has less "surface area" to spread out and waste.

About twice a year, I take the whole ball and dunk it in the bathtub for a good rinse. That tends to be a bit bulky to clean and takes a while to fill but it's very a basic soak (mostly to clean the screen), rinse and dry.

Two of the problems I *DO* have with this unit are no fault of the company's :

1) During one of my trips out of time, the kitty sitter/friend didn't toss in enough extra litter over the week so the urine pooled at the bottom of the unit. The litter absorbed all/most of it so it was a solid mass but it also stuck to the lineing of the machine and didn't fall down when the machine rotated. Eventually, it'll dry out and fall back down, of course, and it scrapes off easy enough but it's rather *ick* when you think about it.

2) One of the cats is rather energetic when he covers his waste so there is quite a bit of litter scatter sometimes. I can't take off stars and complain about the company/unit because when I brought it, I could see there wasn't a door cover to prevent this sort of thing and I'd rather not have the machine any bigger than it is already! I had to sweep with their previous pan litter boxes too, so it's not really an extra chore or anything.

Litter Robot LRII Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Beige
Review by PurpleDoggys : NO REGRETS!!

After going through 4 of the rake-type automatic litter boxes (DON'T EVER BUY ONE) in less than two years, I decided to try the Litter Robot. I should have done it two years ago and saved myself a lot of money and frustration!To give you some specifics, we are a 5 cat (adults) household, males & females (all neutered), ranging from 6 to 15 pounds. They all took to it with very little or no trouble at all.This is a GREAT product! It requires hardly any attention, uses clumping type litter and can be left On or Off. In the On setting, it cycles approximately 7-10 minutes after the cat leaves it. If you wish to keep it in the Off setting, you can switch it On for immediate cycling or "Flushing". The cycling noise is fairly minimal, kind of a loud hum, but if you are a light sleeper, you can switch it off at night and then turn it on first thing in the morning for immediate "flushing".Although the manufacturer recommends using plastic wastebasket bags, it isn't necessary. I use the plastic bags from the grocery store, WalMart, etc., and just cut them a bit at the seams.The only complaint I have about the unit is my own fault! Since the thing works so well and any smell is pretty much undetectable, I have, on more than one occasion, forgotten to empty the collection drawer in a timely manner... Yikes!My only suggestion to improve the product would be to add another rubber grommet to secure the bag at the front of the drawer, but even without one, I am still ordering a second unit for the house.Lastly, the customer service people at Litter Robot are amazing! They immediately respond to inquiries and sincerely care about their customers.Cat Lovers!! Step away from your hand-scoop or rake type litter boxes and order a Litter Robot immediately! Once you see it in action, you'll slap yourself for not doing it sooner!

Litter Robot LRII Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Beige
Review by M. Galvin "meathena2" : Great except one specific catch...

I think if you have a fairly young, normal cat this is the best litter box in the whole world. It works amazingly well, keeps the smell fairly well contained and it's easy to empty the collection drawer. And it looks like the Death Star, which is just cool.The reason I couldn't give it 5 stars is one little issue. My problem is that we have a 20-year-old cat who, although very spry, seems to prefer to hang her behind out the door when she pees (apparently a common problem with geriatric cats). She has shorted out the poorly placed/non-protected circuit board, which we had to replace. We've tried using a flap to hang over the door to interfere, but she seems to have found a way to work around it. We had to seal the new control panel/circuit board with packing tape, and that has saved it so far. The other downside is that the urine goes directly onto the step and into the bottom of the drawer, under the liner, making a big mess inside. It could be worse, but a few design tweaks could really solve this problem. We adjusted for this problem by creating a "slide" that runs under the step grating and empties into the liner in the drawer.Frankly, for almost $400 after shipping and tax, I really wish we didn't have to McGuyver the thing just to get it to work properly. Had we known we were going to have these many problems we wouldn't have gotten it, but there was no warning about geriatric cats on the website. With shipping at over $40 we figured we'd try to make it work.So if you have an average cat I recommend this highly. It's very entertaining to watch and it does a great job at keeping the litter (and your cat's feet) clean. If your cat is older and/or senile, skip it.

Litter Robot LRII Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Beige
Review by Jeffrey Gaines "Jeff" : This machine has changed our lives *** UPDATED 4/1/10 **

Review SummaryPros- Low maintenance (dump and refill 1-2 times/week)- Rugged construction (high quality materials and reasonable to clean)- Automated and kitty safe (auto shut off if disturbed while cleaning)- Simple design and few moving parts- No pee leaking on the floor or wall behind the box (tall cat)- Money-back guaranteeCons (very slight)- Cost (you get what you pay for-this is soooo worth it to us)- Accidents (cat not turning around can produce a mess-see below)- Scattered litter (keep a broom handy)- Sound (not for bedrooms at night-though for us, music to our ears)We have been looking for the right automated cat box for our four indoor cats (wife just added two recently-can you say crazy cat people?). We were discouraged with the reviews of poor quality, high cost, and bizarre approaches of the many choices (I have been looking for 6 months and just recently found the Litter Robot on Amazon). I was encouraged by the strong reviews and comments and the 60 day money-back guarantee. I was willing to part with the $299 + $20 shipping from Amazon to get it if it really worked. As you can imagine the scooping twice a day required to stay ahead of our kitty crew.When it arrived, the old litter box went out the door and I set it up the Robot. I turned off the automatic cycle and loaded it with litter per the instructions. We had a covered box before so this was not a foreign concept for our cats. They took to the box in reverse order of age with the female kitten(5 lbs) jumping in to play and then make a deposit and then the teenage male(11 lbs) and 5 yold male(15 lb)visiting within a few hours. The big boy, 7yold(18 lbs) took about 24 hours to give it a try. He actually has a little more room to turn around in this versus the covered box because of the round interior. Within a day I was able to turn on the automatic cycle after just running it manually during the adoption period.We have had the unit for 3 weeks now and love it. Because the little gifts get rolled in litter before they are dropped into the drawer, and the remaining litter in the drum is completely screened after dumping, there is no noticeable smell from the drawer or the drum...especially compared to the regular box. Line the drawer with a LARGE plastic shopping bag or a kitchen trash bag using the little holders inside and sprinkle a little litter in the front of the drawer for any leakage of liquid (I will explain below) I also use kitty wipes to wipe down the drum inside once a week and wash the drawer after each dumping (1-2 times/week). I had to wash the manual box eveytime I dumped anyway as the cats scratched through the box liners and made a mess.There are some issues to deal with. First, one of our cats forgot to turn around when urinating. The front of the drum is low (1-2 inches when full) so it ran down the front of the machine and onto the step platform (not the floor) that has holes to drain back into the drawer. This is not the most pleasant thing to clean up but kitty wipes work well to wipe the front and then you can dump and rinse the drawer. To help, I put a little extra litter in the front of the drawer to soak up the urine in case this happens. It has only happened twice to us with the big cat but I can understand if it happens all the time what a pain that would be. I saw suggestions for duct tape on the front inside to help. They could also upgrade the design by adding a lip on the lower part of the entrance and adding a drain channel into the drawer that extends past the front drawer wall so the drawer bag fits under it and directs any flow into the discarded litter.Next, despite placing a mat in front of the box, be prepared to sweep up litter daily. Our cats just jump from the litter to the floor. Because the litter in the box is clean, we have noticed no remains on the floor but we keep a broom for the scattered litter. A laundry room or closet is probably the best place for the machine. The machine also makes some noise in a silent house. Following the location suggestions would minimize this. Personally, I don't think it is very loud. I also get a smile when I hear it as it is one less scoop I need to do.We are not clean freaks and have trouble scooping the twice a day minimum it would take to be so with travel and life commitments. If you tend to lean that way, then maybe an open top box you scoop often for four cats is the way to go. For our habits of scooping, the cats seem to like this machine better as we don't get the occasional gift somewhere near the box because it is always sparkling clean for them. Like any toilet you maintain, you need to get your hands dirty no matter what method is used. This has been far cleaner for us and the cats so far though. This machine has taken us from dumping partial or whole boxes of litter every two days to refilling with 2 pints of litter once a week. We have obviously NOT seen the explosion of litter use that some mention.In summary, this machine has changed our lives and also makes our friends happy that feed and check-in on our cats when we are out of town. This was money well spent.** Update 4/1/10 **This is no April Fools gag. This machine is still running great coming up on 3 years. It would be a nightmare if it ever died.