Customer Reviews

Littermaid LME9250 LitterMaid Elite Mega Advanced Litter Box

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(17)

 

 

I have 4 cats, and two litterboxes, so manual scooping on a daily basis is a big hassle, and I don't like to walk in to my house and smell litter box! I have had various models of the LitterMaid litterbox over the past 8 years, and also have a Litter Robot. So far, I think the new Litter Maid is the best automated litter box available. Some of the major improvements over the previous models are:

1. Less smell (I guess the ionic odor control works!). The new litter maid really helps to keep the litter box odor down better than any other litter box I've tried (Including the Litter Robot, which costs almost twice as much!). So far, I've found that Tidy Cat Immediate Odor Control works the best with the Litter Maid, but I'm sure there are others that work well also.
2. The cat tent is a better design. The previous version had plastic parts that broke easily, and since the tent didn't attach directly to the litter box, litter would collect between the box and tent, making a bit of a mess.
3. Easier cleaning - The teeth that the rake glides along are now only on the top and not on the bottom of the rake's track - this is a huge improvement, as the teeth on the bottom in the older versions would get really nasty with litter and waste, and this was painful to clean because you couldn't submerge or spray down the litterbox due to the electronic parts. I spent numerous hours with the older versions with an old tooth brush trying to carefully clean out the tracks. The new version still requires some effort to clean, but it is much better than the older ones. Since it scoops itself automatically, you really only have to empty it out and clean it once every 2-3 months. The rest of the time, you just add fresh litter periodically to keep it fresh and the litter level right.
4. Time options - allows you to suspend litter box operation at night or other times when you don't want to hear the litter box running. I haven't really used this feature because my litter box is not close to my bedroom, so I never really hear it anyway.

Some cons with the new Litter Maid are:
1. Litter containers are a bit expensive. (~$1 each)
2. Cat tent material is not machine washable (seems like this would have been an easy thing to do, and would have made cleaning a LOT easier and better than trying to just spray it down and air dry it).
3. The rake misses some smaller clumps of waste, which tend to accumulate at the back of the box. Seems the rake design could use some improvement.

Overall, I think the new Litter Maid works very well, and is a HUGE improvement over manual scooping and previous versions of the Litter Maid. It also smells less than Litter Robot.

I highly recommend this to anyone that has kitties and is looking to lessen the litter box burden and smell. Once you have one, you'll wonder how (or why) you ever lived without it!

Update (4/5/2008).

I have had the rake break on me once since my initial review. I have read several other people having the same problem. I was able to buy a replacement rake from LitterMaid for about 20 bucks. I think they need to re-design the rake for sturdiness and also to keep waste from collecting at the back of the LitterMaid. For this reason, I think I might lower the rating from 4 stars to 3.5. I have found that keeping it really full (right at the maximum litter fill line), seems to help keep waste from forming at the back as much, and helps to keep the smell down.

Also, since my initial review I've found a really cool companion product for the LitterMaid. The LitterWorks system (LitterWorks LW470-LMS Stand and Waste Disposal System for Littermaid Elite Self-Cleaning Litter Boxes) is a cabinet that the LitterMaid sits on, and has a chute on top where the waste gets deposited into a special garbage bag instead of the LitterMaid plastic containers. This is great because it doesn't have to be changed out nearly as often. I have 4 cats, and can go a whole week without emptying out the waste (previously I had to change it out every 1.5 days, which was a real hassle). I really recommend this for anyone that has multiple cats. This system is still not perfect either (I will write full review of the LitterWorks System under that product), as you do have to be sure to add litter every day and the garbage bags have to be special ordered from LitterWorks or Amazon, but I think it is still cheaper than constantly buying the litter containers, and it is a HUGE help on a day to day basis and when going on vacation, because the litter box requires very little attention.

Alright well I have two medium sized cats, and i am slowly getting fed up having to scoop there poop everyday. So I decided to drop the cash and buy a littermaid based on the many positive reviews. Boy were those reviews wrong. I intend to give a very detailed review on the littermaid 9250. I am a mechanic and true diyer so I tend to be a bit picky, but i will make this review as neutral as possible, except towards the end with my opinions

Assemby - Quite a few parts to assemble, but not too difficult for anyone that can read instructions and has some common sense. As the other reviews stated, half the time was spent on the kitty cabana(imagine setting up an outdoor tent)

Design - The lower tray that holds the litter has a usable inside volume of about 14"x16"x2.5" and is made of plastic. Filling this volume with the appropriate amount of litter gives about 14"x14"x1.5" of litter. The waste receptacle has a volume of about 12"x3"x4" and is made of a very thin and flexible plastic. The upper portion that is placed on top of the lower tray, contains the controls, motor, motor track and rake. Then on top of that is the kitty cabana that is made of plastic rods and a nylon tent. The front also has nice sloped ramp down from the littermaid

Opinions and possible improvements - The litter tray with the appropriate amount of litter is too shallow. My cats can easily dig down 1.5" and poop on the plastic underneath. I usually layer about 3"-4" of litter so they poop in the litter and not on plastic beneath. Now your thinking the tray can hold up to 2.5" of litter why not put a little more. The problem with this is that as the rake grooms the litter, If there is too much litter the rake will push this excess out into the receptacle. This also occurs when your cats leave a high mound of litter somewhere from digging around. This means a lot of wasted litter.

The motor itself is fairly noisy as its working and can easily be heard from rooms nearby. It also gives the cat a nice scare. The noisy motor means that it might be a good idea to buy the model with the sleep function so you don't have to hear it rake as you sleep.

The cabana as its given is decent. Once installed the nylon is pulled taught and doesn't sag. It is also tall enough for large cats. The cabana is installed by pushing each dowel into there respective holes in each corner of the litter box. Mine were a bit difficult to push in and took some muscle. The cabana also doesn't have a front door. This allows the cats to kick sand out of the litter box. My conclusion for the cabana is that I would have prefered a nice plastic cover that clips on to the lower portion and has a clear plastic door. This would reduce assembly time in half, the cover can be installed or removed easily for when you need to refill, and would help keep litter in the box where it should be.

The ramp is supposed to help cats get out and also be a track mat. First of all the cats really don't need a ramp to get out unless they are tiny kittens. Next although it catches litter that cats track out, it mostly catches mounds of litter kicked out by the cats while going to the bathroom. It also doesn't clean off easily to pour the excess litter back in the box. I have since taken the ramp off. i would have much prefered a longer grated ramp. It would trap more excess litter and facilitate pouring the litter back in.

The waste receptacle is made of a cheap flimsy plastic. This is most likely to discourage reuse, forcing you to buy more receptacles from littermaid. The receptacle is also a bit small for my tastes but again another ploy to make you buy more receptacles(which are not cheap by the way). I plan on making myself a sturdy receptacle that can be reused and hosed out.

IN CONCLUSION: Yes it automatically scoops litter for you, but at the cost of $150, a noisy motor and wasted litter. You should see how much litter is on the carpet now. :( personally I feel that littermaid requires much more to improvement. I would most definitly not buy another one and would not recommend it to anyone else. Also if your wondering, I would return it or sell it but it seems like way too much work trying to dissamble it and pack it back into the box.

For almost two years I read reviews on mechanical litter boxes. So many negative ones. Nevertheless I finally broke down and purchased one for our new home after smelling entirely too much Cat waste odor for too long. We decided to get the "BEST" they had. If it didn't work we would take it back. WOW were we pleasently surprised! Thrilled! and yes excited. It worked as advertised! No more litter all over the floor, no smell. after 6 months of use I believe we actually use less litter than the ole dusty litter pan.

We have found that it does require a little more litter than the indicators suggest, (not much). Need to put a small scoop, (we use a soup can), of litter in ever other day, empty the collection box once a week. (Yes, our Himalayan is an indoor cat and she pee's constantly). We use the sleep timer, the built in Ionic air cleaner really seems to work at night!

We have found that just a little Arm and Hammer litter fresh in the collection box every other day is just as effective and much cheaper than the little packets LitterMaid wants you to buy for the collection box.

Fresh step is all we used right from the beginning, it clumps well and does work. There are other products recommended and I suppose we might try them in the future. Fresh Step is at least a good place to start.

Miss. Blu still looks at the box for a long time before jumping in. It is obvious she is making sure it is not going to sweep her into the collection box! Other than that, possibly out of dire necessity, or "Oh well another gadget" she used it right from the start.

Complaints! I have two.

1. Some litter still gets through between the collection box and the litter pan, (YES the five tabs are on top of the collection box!). It is usually litter, (no cat waste)that we find under the box. We put a newspaper under the box and now slide it out once a week.

2. We didn't buy one soon enough.

We just can't recommend one strong enough. Take your time putting it together. Read the instructions,don't assume you don't need them, you might be very disappoointed. Accomplish one step at a time and it will be up and runnning in a half hour. You will be happy and your HI TEC Puss will be one up on the Jones's kat!!

1.5 STARS!

FEB 2009:-

been thru two of these now. Lots of stress. Sort of works, mostly doesn't - finding litter which works - not easy . Basically pain in the ***! I now use it as a manual litterbox if that's anything to go by. The comb's little side wheels are broken.
It's a drag could be much better.

EDIT: IT'S BEEN A FULL YEAR AND I'VE BEEN THROUGH 4 COMBS, TWO MACHINES AND I'VE PRETTY MUCH GONE BACK TO SCOOPING BY HAND. NEARLY EVERY LITTER STICKS TO THE BOTTOM PROVING TOO MUCH FOR THIS MACHINE TO MOVE. THE COMBS DON'T DROP TO THE DOWN POSITION BUT THE MACHINE IS STONG ENOUGH TO BREAK OFF THE SMALL ROLLER OFF THE COMB. THERE IS NO ANSWER. CROSS YOUR FINGERS IF YOU BUY ONE AND ONLY USE PREMIUM (MOST EXPENSIVE) LITTER.

After reading all the reviews and careful consideration I had to go "Mega". I'd like to thank all of the previous owners for such great reviews and helpful tips. I can say I see things clearly now. The picture before my "Mega" was nasty times either scooping or hoping the liner bag didn't tear before making it to the tash bag. Usually the litter box with only one cat looked like an overrun beach with nasty smelly wet spots and chunks throughout. Sometimes the cats might come with the smell of the litter box and even come bearing poop on their tails or feet. Very nasty!
I now have two kittens so I had to do something drastic since the rate of use was really getting beyond me.. (I came from using regular clay).

The kitten food gives them gas and terrible "movements" and the smell in my basement office was awful. (The box was in the next room and air exchange was minimal). Within an hour life was wonderful again. The litter is groomed, flat and inviting. It's GROOMED for goodness sake almost like a tennis court at Wimbolden ! It really is a thing of beauty. Setup was easy and the tent was fine, just be gentle and it all fits very well. The tabs which open the container area are bit tricky to sort out and attach but it's no big deal with a bit of time after all the prize is watching your first real cleaning.
I followed all the advice given above with the premium litter and tricks.
I'm very, very happy and the "Mega" is the only way to go. I'll update if I change my mind so stay tuned.
Works like a charm and is very easy to setup if your not too "cack-handed". 5 Stars!

UPDATE: My parents bought the same unit without the tent attachment option. What I noticed around theirs was litter being tracked out in every direction. Cats can leap out any which way scattering litter as they go. The tent forces them down the ramp and tracking is very slight.

I still like the unit as a whole and my basement is sweet smelling and my wife (not a cat lover) is blissfully quite about any odors.. Bought the A&H Cat litter deodorizer which is pretty powerful stuff as recommended. Don't know how the cats like all the perfume but they must go someplace so they aren't complaining yet. A&H @ Target $1.97 but at the pet store $4.99!

Update: April 15th, 2007
The choice of litter is key. I have tried everything. My first dislike was the scented litters since I have very friendly cats you all too often came to me perfumed most of the time. So I tried several unscented and most recently to the Fresh Step which clumps very well for the machine.

Unfortunately my neat machine has been overwhelmed and it's weak motor has given out as of last night. The motor should be improved as well as the drive linkage. Cats dig so they can get pretty enthusiatic in this tray since it's very pleasent and clean for them to do this activity. They can soon build a pile that the machine can't shift past.
This is still a good buy all-in-all and we'll see what Customer Service will do for me. Use less litter than the fill line promotes. This helps with the machine getting through the piles but the unit needs constant attention to empty the container. No sooner has the machine stopped it's cleaning routine then the cats hop in and relieve themselves. It must act as a reminder for them.

Still far better than doing the job by hand.

UPDATE: 06/2007 : Great support!
Support came thru with a new free comb that had broken and the motor seems to be fine after the rest. Life was terrible without this HANDY AID. Yes, you have to dump it out often but it really is more hygenic and easier than gravel or hand scooping.
My two Siamese seem to use this too frequently since the small sound of the motor triggers them to go relieve themselves.
I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT THIS MACHINE! Wonderful, but does need improvement but then again what doesn't!

Update: 07-17-2007

Just a little tired of all the maintainence and I don't mean just scooping. These things seem to last about 6 months. Black & Decker is this company and support is less than great and alwasys on the consumer.
The gears are stripping and just about everything sticks to the bottom of the tray now it's lost it's shine from all the litter abrasion. I've tried everything to polish it to a non-stick finish but to no avail. The machine just can't get through the lumps and clumps and now the machine is so 'wacked" it's on it's last legs. Looking for a better alternative even it it costs more. 6 months life span?

Pros:
- Sometimes it would work for up to a few days without needing help. Unfortunately, it would typically only run for a half day or so before jamming.

Cons:
- Not built to last. Very weak and poor construction. One of the rollers broke off after 8 months, making my box just a box.
- Jams constantly. Even with light usage, expect to have to manually clean the box at least 2-3 times per week. A regular litter box will require much less work.
- Not thorough with its cleaning. Mess will quickly build up within the box in the form of small chunks, especially behind the grill.
- Really, really noisy motor.
- Poor design for the waste containers section makes it very difficult to change containers without touching filth.
- Exceptionally messy. Will toss litter all over the floor around the box.

To summarize, I hate this product and would be unlikely to buy another item of any kind from Littermaid.

I got tired of cleaning my 2 cats paws when they step in their own "left overs". I only have time to clean their litter box once a day. So I bought this Littermaid and LOVE IT! I have not had to clean one dirty paw since I bought this.
It is NOT perfect, you still have to scoop out the little pieces. But it's nice not to worry about it if you miss a day.

The recepticals are expensive, so I highly reccomend buying liners for them on ebay instead.

I do not like the Kabana it comes with, YES, it LOOKS great, but it is a pain to clean the box with that on there.

I trid using different litters with this and honestly the best litter is called "Worlds Best Litter". It is worth the extra money, ONLY if your litter box is not in your living space because it tends to smell worse than regular litter. My litter box is in my basement, so I dont mind it. But if this is in your bathroom or close to you, then I would buy Fresh Step litter.

4 indoor only cats and 4 litter boxes. After adding up the costs of litter, bags, filters, daily scooping and weekly cleaning of boxes, this model/product is WELL worth it. After never owing an automated litter box before, I can not compare it with previous models. I have one cat who is scared of it and am having to keep one litter box out because of this and the rest have no problem using the automated one because it stays cleaner.

There are some pros and cons.

1. I have noticed that there is basically NO cat waste odor.
2. The rake has gotten stuck in the up position on the way back and did not spread the litter back out.
3. The litter containers are a bit expensive but I just dump mine and resue. Keep a spare on hand because after a few reuses, they do tend to crack.
4. Fresh Step or Arm and Hammer clumping litter works great with this so no need to purchase the expensive LitterMaid litter.
5. The Kitty Kabana is not that great. It could use some improvements, but it does cover the litter and is tall enough for large cats.
6. The motor is a little noisey, but since I keep mine in the laundry room, I do not hear it. If you intend to keep it close to your bedroom, I would use the night operation on the timer.
7. You still have to scoop out some small pieces, but this beats scooping out big clumps on a daily basis.
8. Some litter (not cat waste) still gets out of the box, but I put a big rug under mine and shake it out weekly.
9. It is easy to put together. It took me about 30 mintues and most of that time was putting the Kitty Kabana together.

Even if you have just one cat, I would HIGHLY recommend that you spend the extra for this.

I have had my LitterMaid Elite for about 2 or 3 months now and it has never worked right. It gets stuck even when there is barely anything there and the roller on the rake has already busted off and now I have to use it like its a regular manual litter box (a manual litter box that cost me $170.00)! I read up on this and there are 100s of complaints about the same thing happening to MANY MANY people. Plus, half of the litter falls all over the floor and even under the box and when you go to clean it out you have to touch way more yucky stuff than if you where to just use a scoop and a regular every day litter box. The LitterMaid company also does not offer replacement parts so when something does brake, good luck! You have another useless thing in your home!

I have had several LitterMaid self-cleaning boxes in the past. All have broken down. All have been replaced, sometimes multiple times, under it's 1 year limited warranty (which they make you pay $10 for.) I was interested in purchasing a new one, since my last one broke down. I have 3 cats so I wanted to make sure I got a box that could handle an industrial amount of cat poo. I read all of the reviews on this box before I bought it...and not just the reviews on this website. The majority of them were bad. I came to the conclusion that the reason my boxes kept breaking and the reason that all of these reviews were bad was because of the litter. I hadn't been using the LitterMaid brand litter. (which costs $13 for 7lbs.) So, I went to the store, bought the machine, bought the litter and here I am 1.5 months later with a $200 pile of plastic. I used the right litter, even cleaned it manually every other day. Oh and by the way, the litter smelled so god aweful I was ashamed to have company over. I can't decribe the smell, other than god aweful. Perhaps this box would be great for a single cat, but not for multiple. I do not recommend this or any other LitterMaid branded product.

This cat automated cat litter box is an example of a perfect product that has gone down hill.

I purchased one four years ago. That one lasted me 2 years. It was great - so much so, I did not think twice about replacing it when the motor burned out. The second lasted a year later when a part broke, making the rake inoperable. At that time I read reviews that indicated that the item was underpowered, etc. Having experience with two previous models - I discounted these comments.

Boy, was I wrong.

I had to return the next one I purchased within a day - dead on arrival. Motor would never disengage and would not move beyond 1/2". The replacement worked better - but in honesty the newer model is not as powerful. It hangs and has to reset itself. I find myself scooping litter every day to pick the litter that the machine did not. It succeeds in < 20% of the efforts.

The company has indicated that they did not make any changes in years. Bogus claim as the circuitry boards are definitely more tactile and different - the motor clearly under powered.

My recommendation is that you stay away from this product unless you want to scoop litter daily.