Customer Reviews

ScoopFree Self-Cleaning Litter Box

5 star:		(290)
4 star:		(160)
3 star:		(77)
2 star:		(71)
1 star:		(95)

 

 

Nov '06--My cat is a 13 pounder, poops about 5 times a day--and boy does it stink! I feel that cleaning a cat box several times a day is a real pain, but then so is cleaning it up off the basement rug every day if I dont clean the box soon enough for "his highness"! This thing is GREAT! Ok, I've only had it for 5 days now, and it specifically says on the box that for larger cats or multiple cats, the cartrige will NOT last 30 days--the container is full (like I said, he poops A LOT) BUT!! I really dont mind taking the scoop and scooping out the container once a week--I have to do this because replacement cartriges are $15 or so (that's the really bad part) I still have to see if it will take all his urine for 30 days, but in the mean time: The smell is gone, he doesnt track litter everywhere (I used clumping before and he left a real mess--along with the smell) just a few of the crystals get on the floor, I dont have to clean the box daily (as well as the basement carpet), and it works. One thing to note, I did not realize how BIG the thing is, and I also didnt think about plugging it in--so you may have to revise where you put it. Also, it's not perfect--some of the poop got behind the rake, and got stuck, but whoopie, no big deal to take a piece of toilet paper, and pull it off. I may look into reusing cartriges (waxed cardboard boxes with scoop free crystals dumped into it) and adding crystals from a bottle, but that may not be possible, because waxed cardboard can only take so much wetness--but that may be an option. I think a bottle of the stuff is around $15 too, but you may get 2 or 3 uses out of it, rather than just the one.

**update**1 1/2 months--I still love it. It lasts about 14 days, with a once per week clean out of the poop trap. The crystals never smells like urine, but there is a smell after that amount of time (big cat). cant use a litter liner as the rake can get stuck--or kitty's nails, so I'm still working on a way to refill more cheaply--but no more "accidents" on the carpet.

I bought this as a replacement of my first automated litterbox, the Petmate Purrformat Plus XL. That one was awful, this one is great.

The rake on this litterbox actually switches the direction it points as it moves to the front and back to the rear of the box. The net effect is that, unlike the Petmate, you don't get a wall of litter at the rear of the box. The litter is evenly distributed along the bottom every time and the rake is able to return to its starting point every time unlike the Petmate.

As it sweeps forward, the purple part rises up and the rake pushes anything it has caught underneath it. Underneath the purple part is more Fresh Step litter, so when it closes down it traps the odor so the Fresh Step can absorb it. Simple!

Furthermore, this one is much more quiet than the Petmate. The Petmate sounded like a remote controlled tank but this one just has a gentle hum to it, and it completes the task of sweeping in about 1/2 to 1/3 the time the Petmate takes, too.

My 2 1/2 month old kitten took to it like a duck to water. She kind of thinks it's a toy right now but she also knows what it's there for.

We had mechanical problems with both self-cleaning boxes we had tried. They apparently just couldn't handle three cats.

So far, the SccopFree box is working perfectly, with very little odor, for the same three cats.

It's well and simply engineered, and although it has a higher ongoing cost than others, it's worth that higher cost for us.

Update, posted April 4, 2009:
Tip on making the litter last longer: good air circulation. Silica gel absorbs liquid fairly quickly, and releases it as water vapor fairly slowly.

When used as litter, it absorbs urine and dessicates solid waste. Unless the silica gel itself can dry out (by releasing water vapor), it won't last long at all in a litter box. So, it works better in the summer than in the winter, and better on dry days than rainy ones.

If you can place the litter box where there's a breeze, the litter will last a lot longer. Or, you can try what I've recently done: put a small fan above the box, so that it constantly blows air down onto the litter.

During the Winter and Spring, the litter has been lasting only 10 days with two cats (in the Summer, it was stretching out to 14 days). With the fan, in the Spring, the litter was still OK after 15 days.

The litter still needs to be stirred every few days, especially towards the end of its useful life.


Update, posted December 16, 2007:
After using the LB1 for four months, I still think it's the best litterbox we've used in the 10 years of living with cats; which is not to say it's perfect. It's big advantage is how easy it is to maintain and keep clean. It's big drawback is how often the expensive crystal litter has to be replaced.

On the plus side: It doesn't have to be cleaned several times a day, as did the plain $4 litter box, nor unjammed and cleaned frequently, as did the LitterMaid; and it controls odor reasonably well (we keep it in the garage, without a hood. If it were in the house, I'd definitely use the hood, but don't know if that would suffice).

It does have to be checked every day, because it sometimes needs some help. When that happens, it's still MUCH quicker and easier than dealing with a plain litterbox or a LitterMaid. Cleaning it is trivially easy, and that's important to me. If you use the disposable cartridges, there's virtually no cleaning to be done, ever. The rake doesn't foul the way other mechanical litterboxes do, and the only time I "cleaned" the rake, it was by wiping it with a damp cloth for about a minute. That may have been overkill.

I use the "Forever tray", and it usually doesn't need any cleaning, not even wiping down, when replacing the litter. When it did seem to need cleaning, just hosing it down was sufficient: afterwards, there was no visible residual and no oder at all. I remember spending over a half-hour every month or two trying to clean the LitterMaid, and never could really get it clean. So, for ease-of-use, this is in a class by itself.

On the downside: With two cats, it's a stretch to make the litter last 2 weeks: 10 days is closer to reality. In winter, with cold, humid air, the liquids do not evaporate quickly, so it isn't as good as in the summer. The litter is much more expensive than scoopable litter: I'm using the "Forever" tray (a "must" if you use the LB1 at all), and an 8-pound bag of crystal litter at Target is $13. The tray holds 1/2 a bag, so it's costing $6.50 (plus tax, of course) for 10 days, or about $20/month. (With the official disposable "cartridges", it would be costing $50/month.) By contrast, scoopable litter probably cost about $4/month, or even less, but required a lot more maintenance and produced more odor.

So, I'm glad we have it, and wish the crystal litter cost much less.

===

Original review, posted August 18, 2007:
We've had cats for about ten years, and have tried a variety of manual and automatic litter boxes, but never have been satisfied with them.

Several years ago, I tried both sizes of LitterMaid (original and then Mega), but neither worked well: they jammed, they fouled, they required a lot more work than a plain litter box, and there was always a big mess surrounding them. The monthly cleaning was time-consuming and unpleasant, and after a few months, the rake seemed to foul more often than not.

I tried the Omega Paw RA20 (sold at Amazon). Only one of my cats was willing to use it, and, because it has to be rolled upside down to remove the clumps, it needs about six feet of floor space. Cleaning it turned out to be harder than I'd thought it would be.

I went back to a big manual litterbox with a built-in scoop, and although it was the best "manual" solution I ever found, with two indoor cats, I still had to clean it out several times a day. The litter boxes were always in the garage, so the garage always had a bit of an unpleasant odor.

A month ago, I saw the glowing reviews of the Scoop Free LB1 at Amazon. They sounded too good to be true, but I ordered it anyway.

Those glowing reviews were simple statements of the truth: this litter box just works. The design is simple and clever, setting up and maintaining it is easy, and there's less mess or odor than from any other litter box we've tried in the last ten years. It isn't as maintenance-free as the manufacturer says, but checking it daily, clearing out the poop every few days, and redistributing the crystals seems to be sufficient.

The obvious drawback is the high on-going maintenance cost: with two indoor cats, the crystal litter and the cardboard trays must be replaced every two weeks. At Amazon's current price, that works out to $450 a year. By contrast, traditional clumping clay litter probably costs less than $45 a year.

Fortunately, the reviews here also mentioned a less expensive solution: the "Forever Litter Tray", sold on eBay for about $60 plus $10 shipping. It's a permanent plastic tray that replaces the disposable cardboard trays, and it works even better than the cardboard trays.

If you use the "Forever" tray, you have to buy the crystal litter separately: 8 pounds of "Fresh Step Crystals" sells for $12-$17 (Target has the best price), and the tray needs about 4 pounds at a time. So, it may be possible to spend "only" $150 a year on litter, if you shop around. That's $100 more than clay litter for the year.

This approach (LB1 plus "Forever tray") obviously costs more than a manual litter box ($180 more, up front, plus an extra $100 a year for crystal litter). The benefits are: 1) much less work; 2) much less mess; 3) much less odor.

To me, it's well worth the price.

We have had 7 cats over the past decade (not all at once thank heavens!) and thats a lot of scooping. Right now we only have one cat, but he is incredibly sensitive to a dirty litterbox. It's gotten to the point he wants it absolutely clean every time he needs to use it, which is an impossible task. He'll actually sit outside the box and meow until someone takes care of it! We've been considering an easier method for some time to get the job done. So, we purchased the Scoopfree litterbox two weeks ago after reading numerous reviews of the different automatic litterboxes on the market. This one seemed to make the most sense because it does not use clumping litter, which I've read often sticks to the rake device and liquids pass down to the bottom of the litter, never fully drying/clumping. I had never used crystals, but after reading how they absorb liquids and odors I was willing to give it a test drive.

We paid $99 after price searching the web. The device arrives in a HUGE box, but in reality seems to be the size of a large litter pan. Setup was quick and easy. We placed the Scoopfree in the same spot as the old litterbox, removing that one out of the house. This was a bold step since our cat hadn't used crystals and I was afraid he might be confused. He did notice the difference and inspected it completely, but has proceeded to use the device with no problems.

He's a large cat (about 16lbs - and not overweight) and fits the box. The motor isn't loud - we can't hear it from another room in our house. The raking cycle doesn't take long, only about a minute. The crystals are working terrific, absorbing the liquids and odors just as indicated. Another bonus is the freedom from the litter dust that gets scattered and tracked. I've only seen a few crystals kicked out in two weeks, so that's saved on additional sweeping around the box. A few days ago the kitty blocked the optical sensor with a pile of crystals from his insane covering, so the rake didn't scoop automatically. This was solved by pressing the button to manually scoop. Since then we give the box a quick look once a day to make sure it's clean and working. The cardboard cartridge is holding up, although I have heard that some cats dig to the point of scratching the bottom, which may cause a leak or tear. Ours doesn't have that problem, but before we placed the cartridge we covered it with a garbage bag for added protection. We then put it under the Scoopfree as directed and filled it with crystals. This hasn't impaired the device from functioning and I think will lead to an extended cartridge life (which is a benefit since we are on a budget).

Two factors to consider with this device are that the hood and refill cartridges are sold separately. The cartridges are a little on the expensive side depending on where you can find them ranging from $12 to $17. A cartridge is determined to last one month for one cat.

Overall we are really happy with the Scoopfree. It does have a 90 day money back guarantee and a 1 year warranty. It has been super easy to use and has already saved quite a bit of time in terms of scooping and cleaning. Our cat is really happy and no more meowing at the box, which is a great relief to us. We would definitely recommend it to everyone.

Maybe I'm just doing something wrong, but honestly, I can't understand all the rave reviews. I have a 4-month-old kitten and I am well aware that kittens will use up litter much faster than adult cats, but we're still talking ONE CAT and I am only on day 5 of a fresh cartridge and the smell is already so intolerable that I can't be within 5 feet of the box without retching. It literally smells like someone peed in a leather boot filled with oatmeal and then microwaved it for 15 minutes. Anyone that says they manage with one cartridge for 30 days is either a liar, criminally insane or lost their sense of smell in some freak, manure-huffing accident. To contrast, I had no odor problems with the scooping litter I was originally using (I'm talking a post-poopfest, pre-scoop, completely-thrashed litter box too). Also, even with the hood and the carpet (yes - I'm the sucker that bought all the accessories), the crystals get EVERYWHERE. Then there's the price of the refills. $51.99 for three, or $99.99 for six. The audacity to charge over 15 dollars for a piece of cardboard and a pound of litter is breathtakingly criminal, and that's even if they lasted as long as the company advertises. I bought a 3-pack of litter cartridges. With these, along with the one that comes with the box, I thought I would be set for 4 months of scoop-free bliss... how sorely mistaken I was. I am already on the third cartridge and I'm already about to toss it and pop in the last one.

On to the rake system: I will admit that it's a rather ingenious design and I'm sure it's a vast improvement over other automatic liter boxes (I really wouldn't know), but I still think those boys from MIT need to go back to the drawing board. Maybe my threshold for noise is different than others, but I find this box intolerably loud and annoying. The raking itself is loud, but then at the mid point of its direction change, the rake pivots and falls to the other side making a very loud clunking noise. This, of course, is endlessly fascinating for a kitten and he will promptly investigate the noise and end up going inside the box again, setting off the infrared mechanism, ensuring that the cleaning cycle will happen 20 minutes later. I can't really fault the manufacturer for a kitten's curiosity, but I do believe it's something kitten owners should be aware of. In addition to the noise, the rake spacing is still rather wide which will invariably lead to cat poop getting behind, and thusly out of the reach of, the rake system. Sorry, but I never had to scrape crap out of my old litter box with a butter knife. Just let that imagery float around in your head for a couple minutes. I haven't had any problems with urine leaking through the bottom of the trays, but then again, I haven't had a tray in the box for more than a week. However, I did notice that the corners to the tops of every box were broken at the seams; though I don't know if this is from how they were shipped, or a manufacturing defect. Anyway, long story short: I'm switching back to the old box once I use the last refill cartridge... so that should be in about 6 days.

Edit (1/27/08): After browsing around for a solution to the smell, I tried one of the suggestions which is to mix the litter around manually and that definitely seemed to help, though ScoopFree recommends you just leave the box alone and let it do its thing (that's what I had been doing). Someone else recommended using a small amount of baking soda on the bottom of the tray before pouring in the crystals. I'll give that a shot on the next cartridge. Anyway, taking 15 seconds out of your day to mix around the crystals isn't a big deal and if I can squeeze at least 2 weeks of use out of the cartridge, I'll definitely bump up the rating.

I have two 13-pound male cats, and the box with the hood is large enough to accomodate them. They started using it right away, along with their other litter boxes in the house. The mechanics of the machine worked nicely, turning on around twenty-minutes after the cat had left the box.

Unfortunately, I was sold on the line that this box was odor free. It is not odor free! After two days it stunk worse than their other litter boxes. Poop got stuck in the metal wire scappers, and it filled the small box at the bottom of the machine in less than a week. There is no odor control in the bottom box, poop just sits in there stinking until it drys completely. Needless to say, this box is heading out to the trash.

Well, first off, my cat was a tad picky, so it took her a couple of weeks to get used to this thing. I've never used Fresh Step litter, which is WAYY different from the conventional clumping Tidy cat type litters..... Once I lured her in with her old litter, she's accepted it and it's great. My cat doesn't always cover her poo's, so my main goal with this was to get them covered automatically. This has worked great!

DON'T wait 3 or 4 weeks to empty the thing. I think if you go in and scoop the poop once a week, the cartridge will last a couple months. Just keep some Fresh Step on hand to fill it a bit when you need to. My regular litter works ok, but the pee clumps break apart when the rake hits it....It works way better on the Fresh Step...which it was designed to use I guess. The only way this thing could leak is if you left it for a month unattended. That's too rediculous. This covers the stink and rakes things smooth, but it's not maintainance free. Overall it's a great improvement over a regular box.

Update....It's been several months now, and I love this thing. It's never failed to work right. BUT, you have to scoop once a week, otherwise it's packed with poop! I get no more poop smells from uncovered waste. Also, the crystal litter doesn't clump, but absorbs the pee, so after a week, it starts to get a little stank. If you try to use regular litter that clumps, the rake will break it apart. Weekly, I just scoop the poop container, and then scoop up the area she pees in most and pour some fresh litter in. The tray lasts for a couple months that way. I have no problem with liquid getting thru the bottom of the tray at all that way.

We have had 7 cats over the past decade (not all at once thank heavens!) and thats a lot of scooping. Right now we only have one cat, but he is incredibly sensitive to a dirty litterbox. It's gotten to the point he wants it absolutely clean every time he needs to use it, which is an impossible task. He'll actually sit outside the box and meow until someone takes care of it! We've been considering an easier method for some time to get the job done. So, we purchased the Scoopfree litterbox two weeks ago after reading numerous reviews of the different automatic litterboxes on the market. This one seemed to make the most sense because it does not use clumping litter, which I've read often sticks to the rake device and liquids pass down to the bottom of the litter, never fully drying/clumping. I had never used crystals, but after reading how they absorb liquids and odors I was willing to give it a test drive.

We paid $99 after price searching the web. The device arrives in a HUGE box, but in reality seems to be the size of a large litter pan. Setup was quick and easy. We placed the Scoopfree in the same spot as the old litterbox, removing that one out of the house. This was a bold step since our cat hadn't used crystals and I was afraid he might be confused. He did notice the difference and inspected it completely, but has proceeded to use the device with no problems.

He's a large cat (about 16lbs - and not overweight) and fits the box. The motor isn't loud - we can't hear it from another room in our house. The raking cycle doesn't take long, only about a minute. The crystals are working terrific, absorbing the liquids and odors just as indicated. Another bonus is the freedom from the litter dust that gets scattered and tracked. I've only seen a few crystals kicked out in two weeks, so that's saved on additional sweeping around the box. A few days ago the kitty blocked the optical sensor with a pile of crystals from his insane covering, so the rake didn't scoop automatically. This was solved by pressing the button to manually scoop. Since then we give the box a quick look once a day to make sure it's clean and working. The cardboard cartridge is holding up, although I have heard that some cats dig to the point of scratching the bottom, which may cause a leak or tear. Ours doesn't have that problem, but before we placed the cartridge we covered it with a garbage bag for added protection. We then put it under the Scoopfree as directed and filled it with crystals. This hasn't impaired the device from functioning and I think will lead to an extended cartridge life (which is a benefit since we are on a budget).

Two factors to consider with this device are that the hood and refill cartridges are sold separately. The cartridges are a little on the expensive side depending on where you can find them ranging from $12 to $17. A cartridge is determined to last one month for one cat.

Overall we are really happy with the Scoopfree. It does have a 90 day money back guarantee and a 1 year warranty. It has been super easy to use and has already saved quite a bit of time in terms of scooping and cleaning. Our cat is really happy and no more meowing at the box, which is a great relief to us. We would definitely recommend it to everyone.

I give the Scoop Free litter box a rating of "5 stars" for me. We have three cats and two litter boxes. The Scoop Free and a conventional, (scoop to clean) box. Our cats have 2 (constant water flowing) sources. They drink a LOT of water. Hence, they "P" a lot. The urine in the box is the biggest problem for ANY litter device. Our standard box must be scooped every 2 days and it does smell (we keep that one in the basement). The Scoop Free will last 7-8 days. It does not smell, even when the cats are pooping. The rake stays clean and is quick and quiet when raking. If we did not have the abundant water source, that the cats love, I think the Scoop Free box would last 2-3 more days. This system will cost you more, to use, than other auto boxes which use regular litter. But the features of no smell, quiet operation, and ease of cleaning (none), is worth it for me. I have owned other auto litter boxes, Litter Sweep by Stylette, and LitterMaid, and choose the Scoop Free to be the best. I by my Scoop Free litter box refills from Amazon because they offer free shipping. K.J. Collegeville,Pa.