LitterMaid LM500 Automated Litter Box

after years of digging and scratching around in litter
boxes myself, it's a joy to own something that brings the process into the 21st Century.

some thoughts:
use the premium litters they recommend. anything else, and you'll
be cleaning the rake and scraping the bottom of the tray more often than would be necessary.

spray the bottom of the tray with silicone from time to time.
it makes the operation much smoother.

don't overfill it. the cats will naturally form mounds in the litter, in the process of trying to "bury" their waste,
so smooth the litter around in the tray now and then, to keep it even.

keep the unit set on a piece of old carpet, and keep a hand-vac nearby. small granules make litter tracking a little more of an issue.

forget about the tent.
if you like to keep the box as clean as your cats probably like to have it, the tent makes the box impossible to get to, and work around in.

the disposable trays are very handy. they're stiff plastic. line them with a small garbage bag, or wash them out and reuse them. throwing them out every time is an expensive proposition.

keep your supply of litter next to the box. (i store it in one of
those plastic stackable bins.) as the volume of litter is reduced
just add more as needed. you'll be dumping the whole tray a lot less often.

with 4 cats, i clean the entire unit about once every two weeks.
i use a lot less litter, and spend almost no time dealing with the waste itself.
any issue with smell is easily dealt with by sprinkling a little
baking soda in the waste receptcle from time to time.

all in all it's a very fine product, that makes caring for your
pets much more efficient.


Could be better, but it's the best there is...   December 6, 2001
 150 out of 153 found this review helpful

I've used the littermaid for several years and find it reliable and easy to use. With two indoor cats and a schedule that takes me away from home for several days at a time, the littermaid has saved me a lot of hassels. If one cat didn't clean up after himself the other cat may decide to use the bathtub or the floor next to the litterbox for it's toilet, this problem was solved by the regular raking of the littermaid.
It does require a thorough cleaning from time to time, but this mainly occurs when I'm not diligent about daily or subweekly checks. If there's too little litter the litter will not form an easily rakeable clump. The litter remains wet and will either cling to the rake or harden to the bottom of the box and require manual scraping to dislodge.
If there's too much litter, the rake cannot rake to the end and will cycle continuouly, creating a mound of litter or eventually stop until enough litter is removed and redistributed to work with only one cycle. It's difficult to know when it's too full, and I keep a plastic cup close by to remove excess litter when I overfill. By shutting off the switch and restaring the littermaid you can see if the rake cycles correctly (without waiting the 10 minutes it takes for it to automatically cycle.)

So, until they come up with something better I'll make the following suggestions: 1) use high quality clumping litter, 2)don't overfill 3)Make sure there's enough litter so your cat can't dig a hole that exposes or allows any liquid to reach the plastic bottom 4)keep a small vacuum cleaner (Dust Buster, Dirt Devil,etc.)nearby to vacuum any loose litter off the floor and the track path of the rake and 5)For economy and I find it easier, line the "disposable" collection trays with a 4 gallon garbage bag or small plastic shopping bag. When the tray is full, remove the bag for garbage disposal and reline the tray with another bag. (I've never had to buy additional trays in 7+ years.)


anyone that complains shouldnt own cats its an A+ product.   March 31, 2005
 23 out of 27 found this review helpful

i have the littermaid plus unit its the best thing ever... i have a 14 year old cat that has for some reason decided to never bury its feces, the odor was quite bad... and my dog had the tendancy to snack out of the box.... this unit totally fixed all the problems... plus she returns 10 minutes later just to watch it work (she actually times it and comes back and waits...its kinda funny)

basically it runs a rake along the box and dumps it into a container 10 min after the cat uses it... that simple... not much else to it

most i do to take care of it is add a scoop of litter every few days when im in the bathroom (doing my business or laundry or whatever)so its not like im going out of my way... jsut toss in a cup of litter on your way by if it needs it

and once a week i dump the feces into the trash bag every saturday when i empty the bathroom trash

ive seen reviews that complain about several problems... [...].

cost complaint - "you have to buy only the best most expensive litter"

solution - i buy fresh step scoopable litter, its possibly the best and one of the most expensive out there... but im not emptying the box weekly (about $5 a bag on a regular cat box)i but a economy bucket (something like 5 gallon equivelant)for like $25 bucks and it lasts me MONTHS... mind you i only have to add a scoop here and there $25 for 3-5 months vs $5-8 a week... you do the math. the better the litter... the better it works, you dont even get rake clumping with the best stuff

cost complaint - "you have to keep buying those expensive disposeable containers"

solution - those containers are similar to those gladware tupperware thingos that are reuseable and dishwasher safe (i wouldnt clean a litterpan in the dishwasher though).. meaning you can reuse them if you dont mind taking 20 seconds to dump and rinse one (nothing sticks to them if you use the good litter)

i also just stick a small trash bag to line the bin with when reinstalling it so all i do is remove the bag... notthe container
.... its called inginuity... (people need to either be smarter or richer i guess)

any other problems they complain about are simple negligance and misuse of the device

if the motor wears out you overfilled it... it has a fill line for a reason... any attempt to cut corners by over filling it is your own fault (the motor stops and backs up and retrys once if it finds the load too heavy... if it doesnt get it on the second try, it rests and flashes an error) to burn this motor out you must be beating it up... because it takes good precaution to avoid overstressing the motor.

cleaning the containers and maintaining it is only too much work if your too lazy to own a cat!

i spend 5 minutes a week ... if even that much keeping it working. either your cat is worth it... or your not.. people expect this to to do everything for them.. it practically does, but hey... people who buy garbage disposeals need to clean em every now and then.... people with trash compacters have to still empty the bags.... its a machine to make things easier and more tolerable... not to replace resonsibility

the thing about the "poop flinging" confuses me the container lid opens away from the machine creating a wall so anything that does go "airborn" is blocked by the lid and dumped into the container...i have not to my knowledge experienced any form of this... i dont feel the motor moves the rake fast enough, nor does it have the power to "launch"... as i said any resistance it encounters sends the rake back to its starting position... i dont find any credibility to this complaint... but hey even if you found a small scoopable litter coated dry piece of cat feces on the bathroom floor "as far as 3 feet away" (highly doubted) it would take about 12 seconds to grab a piece of toilet paper and toss it back in the box and wet a napkin to wipe the tiny spot.

as i said anyone complaining of this wonderful machine has no business owning a cat. pet ownership does hold responsibilities, my cat is worth the $50 a year in litter and 5 minutes a week in maintainence.!!!!! and anyone not willing to do this is either ignorant or severely misguided.


A Wonderful Machine For The Lazy!   August 20, 2004
 13 out of 14 found this review helpful

I've had this handy, self-cleaning litter box for nearly three years now, and I must say, I'm surprised by all of the negative reviews here at Amazon.

ABOUT THE LITTERBOX

10 minutes after your cat uses the litter box, it 'rakes' the litter and stores the waste in a special compartment box. Having one cat, I find the compartment is filled and needs changing on average about once a week. This machine comes with 12 disposable compartments, which you can cover with a plastic bag to reuse them. I still have some of the original 12 after three years of use.

THE NEGATIVE

The reviews that state it tends to fling pieces of litter at you when you change the waste compartment are absolutely true, but eventually you learn to be a little more careful. It also tends to leak out a very small amount of litter underneath, which is easily cleaned with a Dustbuster. Those are about the only negative things I can think of.

THE POSITIVE

After three years of use, I believe I have saved enough in litter costs to pay for the entire machine. Since this machine scoops up the waste almost immediately, less litter is `contaminated' in the process, significantly reducing the need to change or add more litter.

Unless the box starts to overflow (which happens sometimes when I get really lazy and don't change it for awhile), my apartment is usually cat-odor free, which wasn't the case before I bought this box.

Having only to empty the waste once a week, this thing has saved me a ton of time. My cat always has a clean litter box, even when I am on vacation!

INTERESTED?

It's fairly pricey, but if you are even half as lazy as I am, you'll be glad you spent it!


Great product, does what it says!   July 11, 2003
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

I've had mine for almost 2 years, and I must say it makes owning several cats much easier and more enjoyable since I detest litter boxes.

Only a few points must be followed to keep it enjoyable.

First and most important, make SURE you use one of the better clumping litters. There is a list in the instructions of what to use and what NOT to use. (you waste less litter, so the cost of the more expensive litters is a wash)
If you use the wrong litter, you'll have a clumpy smelly mess on the rake you'll have to dig off (it's like glue...first hand experience here), and the machine will jam because the clumps will also stick to the base and not allow the rake to do it's job.

Second, use plastic bags from the grocery store to mold around the waste recepticles...it makes removal easier, and the recepticles last a long time. (I still have some of the original 12 that came with the machine 2 years ago)

Third, you may want to keep a piece or carpet or plastic floor runner under the unit to catch the extra litter that will fall around the unit. (I have my unit in a carpet covered wood box because I have a dog who likes litter boxes...especially when there's a cat in it, and I keep a plastic runner at the opening of the box...it works great and I just vaccuum or sweep the runner when nec.)

If you follow those simple rules...you'll love this unit!!