CatGenie-Self Washing, Self Flushing Cat Box | 
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| Brand: CatGenie
Category: Pet Products
List Price: $329.99
Buy New: $239.99
You Save: $90.00 (27%)
New (7) Used (1) from $230.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  141 reviews
Sales Rank: 1364
Media: Misc.
Shipping Weight (lbs): 34.1
Dimensions (in): 25.8 x 22.4 x 13.8
MPN: 891329001003
Model: 891329001003
UPC: 891329001003
EAN: 0891329001003
ASIN: B000MKHQG4
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Features:
| • | Unique self-flushing, self-washing cat box maintains itself | | • | Uses permanent washable granules that never need changing | | • | Ideal for homes with 2 to 3 cats over 6 months old | | • | Hardware, granules, cleaning solution, and instructions included | | • | Measures 24 by 19 by 21 inches; 2-year limited warranty |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
CatGenie, the world's only self-flushing, self-washing cat box. You'll never scoop, touch or change litter again. The CatGenie Secret?... Washable Granules, not litter. Collecting cat waste in a box of litter is unsanitary. Cleaning the mess out is unpleasant. To satisfy a cat's need to dig and cover, CatGenie uses comfy, permanent Washable Granules instead of disposable litter. To cats, it's just like using a clean litter box. CatGenie is more than a cat toilet it's a modern appliance. Every day, it automatically flushes just cat waste completely out of the home. Then washes itself clean. You never scoop, touch or change litter. CatGenie is cat sanitation that is as clean as a cat. Unlike all litter boxes, only CatGenie automatically: The GenieHand scoops and separates solids, which get liquefied and flushed along with liquid waste for safe, easy drainage out of the home.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 136 more reviews...
 If it didn't malfunction so much it would've been perfect! August 19, 2008
Got mine 9/07. All was fine for 3 months but then the processing unit began to malfunction. Since then I replaced the processing unit 4 times (all under warranty). When it malfunctions it stops working & beeps continuously until you unplug it. Not good if you're away! This noise eventually scared one of my cats so she refuses to use it. To test her, I opened an old box of Feline Pine clumping litter and she walked right into the pine and used it.
I wanted to be environmentally responsible (and I admit, not have to deal with litter), but now I realize that all the plastic it takes to make the cartridges and recycle them (it doesn't have a recycle code on it but customer service says they are recyclable) and all the water used to wash the box isn't that earth-friendly. I also wonder about the chemicals going into the water supply.
The Pros: When it works it works really well. No smell and no worry.
The Cons: If it malfunctions it stops and beeps constantly. Imagine what happens if you're out of town and no one's checking up on the box? If hair clogs the exit pipe you get a large bowl full of blended poop water. The cleanup was one of the most disgusting things I've ever had to do. Too many granules getting into the machine (even if you don't overfill it they get in there) causes loud grinding noises. If grass, hair or something the cat ate clogs the hopper it stops and you have to open all of it up and clean it. Again, it's poop water you're dealing with.
Bottom Line: If Cat Genie makes a better version in a few years that uses refillable cartridges, less water and electricity and no constant beeps I would seriously consider buying another. And as nice as customer service is, it doesn't help if it malfunctions in the middle of the night or if there is a power outage. What is surprising is that the user's manual doesn't tell you how to reset the processing unit. You have to call customer service and they tell you what buttons to push, etc. And they aren't available 24 hours. I was even told that this info was "proprietary information" ??!
I'm buying another Litter-Robot for now.
An outstanding concept, but fails to deliver on all promises August 19, 2008
First, I must admit I am hooked on this unit, despite all of the many problems it has - try it, being forewarned of all the problems below, and decide for yourself.
It is a true, self-cleaning box, unlike every other box on the market. ... for me, the ability to go on short vacations without worrying about or asking someone, to change litter, is a godsend.
They spend a lot of documentation on cat acclimation. For me, it was no problem. These two things were enough for me to live with the horrors below:
In concept, this product gets 5 stars ... dropped to 2.5 (or 3 as listed) for the following reasons:
1) The marketing promise that you will never have to clean litter again is far from the truth. In the fine print in the manual, they state you only have to do a thorough clean every 6 months - not so. It's worse than that.
Those negative reviews about "baking poo" have hit the time when the unit needs a full clean - which is more like every 2 months, max. The problem with this unit is that no detergent - that wouldn't kill cats and plastic - can remove a slow build-up of waste/film inside the unit. Also, the unit moves water far too slowly (other than the hopper) to force clean it, and has no brush/friction underneath. Once a layer of film forms ... it grows, and grows ... and smells. Get out the gloves every couple months, and - at least for 2 cats - set the clean frequency to the max (4x a day) ... and you will be fine.
You better not hate nasty cleaning, to buy this unit ... you will do it a few times a year.
2) The marketing promise you will save money is far from the truth. For two cats, given you really need max cleaning frequency, you will be running through detergent AND granules at 2-4x the rate. Include water use and electricity ... litter is cheaper.
3) The marketing claim it is environmentally friendly is complete hogwash. The detergent boxes are not recyclable unless you hammer/smash/disassemble them - even then, in most cases they are not, since the plastic grade is not marked. All that water, electricity, wasted plastic (and microchips!) in the trash vs. simple clay litter in the trash. At best, it's a toss up what's better.
4) The unit - as evidenced in 1) - has some serious design flaws. Others other than 1) include:
a) the GenieEyes are very poorly designed. My theory is that they cannot handle large temperature fluctuations (e.g. genie is near a window, or perhaps in the garage) ... in any case, what happens is that they misfire a lot, which keeps the unit from starting on time ... sometimes for hours, sometimes (bad unit) : never
b) the hopper impeller (perhaps for safety) has no real blades (more like fins). As such, it cannot shred hair or ... thanks to one of my cats ... plastic. These things will immediately break the funneling action of the impeller - they don't even need to clog it, just break the funnel action... and the unit will not drain. In short - your cat better have a "normal" diet.
c) the error monitoring on this unit - compared against devices of the year 2008 - is as dumb as a turnip. I have given up trying to spot-fix the unit when (good news: rarely) it has an error. Instead - I completely disassemble and clean the entire unit at this time, which guarantees it works again (e.g. light pipe is clean, hopper is free of plastic, etc.)
d) They placed the buttons that control the unit right on top of the unit - a nice flat surface that any cat (certainly mine) just can't wait to jump on. A well placed paw and ... chaos ensues. Fortunately they have a "child lock" - who are they kidding? It's really a "cat lock" function - but it is a real pain to unlock/lock every time you wish to change/start/manage the controls. I can think of many ways that could have been done better.
 Great when it works, but expensive August 16, 2008
I must note that there have been updates since I purchased my unit 2 years ago. I have multiple cats and multiple litter boxes. One cat took to it without any problem, another started using the toilet, one won't use it and the fourth took a while but got there. Their customer support for this unit is fantastic - I know because I have had to call them numerous times. It has jammed, refused to flush, refused to fill - at one point they determined that the motor was faulty and sent a replacement overnight. It may sound like I don't like it, but I actually do. It is expensive to maintain because of the granules and sanisolution smart cartridges. It would be nice if stores carried them so that you didn't have to pay postage on top of the cost of the actual product.
 A good investment August 13, 2008
After seeing commercials and reading reviews on this cat box, I decided to go ahead and buy one from Amazon. I did have some reservations based on the reviews of people who had problems with their CG, but I decided to go ahead and get one and HOPE I didn't get a lemon.
We are a 2-cat family. Older female is 7, younger male was just shy of a year old (and not fixed).
My husband put the CG together the same evening it arrived in our half bath on the bottom floor of our apartment (which we'd just moved into) and neither cat was amused. They completely ignored it for a couple of days, after which time I removed the regular litterbox from that bathroom (it was so disgusting I couldn't stand it anymore!). One of the cats broke down and used the CG, but they were also still using the upstairs litterbox, so I got rid of that one too.
The 7 yo female made the transition smoothly. The younger male, on the other hand was not going to humor me. I should point out that he has ALWAYS had issues with litter boxes - he absolutely detests any poop in the box and he will relieve himself outside of the box in protest. He was difficult to train for the CG, but I also think the fact that he hadn't yet been neutered contributed to the aggression he exhibited when we tried to help him along in accepting the CG as an alternative. Once neutered, he bacame much more compliant and began using it with no intervention on our part.
As for the operation of the CG, I have had only good luck with it, with these two exceptions:
* a 2-beep error which brought the cleaning cycle to a halt and was caused by low water pressure when I ran the cleaning cycle while washing clothes.
* incomplete use of a cleaning solution cartridge - which had to be removed while it still contained about 1/4 of the cleaning solution.
I've had the baked cat poo experience as well. Depending on where the solids are when the cleaning cycle starts, the rake may come down and crush the poop, creating small bits that the rake cannot pick up. In all fairness, neither can I retrieve the bits with a regular scoop. Since we run the box manually, I invest a few extra moments (when there are solids present) to make sure the raked doesn't come down on them - if it is about to, I hold the distal end of the rake up with my toe until it's cleared the solids. Since the rake has some play to it, this does the trick. Occasionally, something happens that small bits of poo get past my vigilant eye and most times I use some tissue to pick them out and toss into the toilet. Once in a great while I will end up with baked poo and it DOES stink up the place. BUT, that is minor compared to the convenience of the CG and the freedom from a traditional litter box.
On a daily average, about 1-2 tablespoons of the granules get displaced onto the bathroom floor - mainly when the cats jump out of the box. I had the same problem with regular cat litter, so I can't say this is exclusive to the CG. I keep a dustpan in the bathroom and sweep up the granules once a day (more often if company is coming!).
After nearly 4 months of use, I continue to be pleased with the CG. Usually I run two morning cycles per day, as the cats are a.m. poopers. We will be relocating to Colorado in the near future and once we are settled there, I plan to buy a second GC. I suspect a second litter box would alleviate some of Leo's issues and I feel investing in a second CG for a larger home will be money well spent.
When the Cat Genie works as it should, it truly turns cats into almost no-maintenance pets. I highly recommend the Cat Genie over a traditional litter box as well as over a LitterMaid. You can't beat the convenience of waste disposal right into the toilet as well as the freedom you gain from lugging heavy cat litter home. The granules and sani-solution are easy to store and don't take up much real estate.
It doesn't get much easier than this!
 Terrible product August 11, 2008
The cats refused to use the product. Flooded multiple times, tech support although friendly, completely useless in fixing problems. We have uninstalled and this is now sitting in the garage waiting to be taken out with next week's trash.
Major problems with flooding, fill hose was faulty. Brass t-valve for installation is poorly designed. Sensors are incapable of telling what's going on with the product.
Stay away.
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