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CatGenie-Self Washing, Self Flushing Cat Box | 
| Brand: CatGenie
List Price: $329.99
Buy New: $267.99
You Save: $62.00 (19%)
New (6) from $267.99
Rating:  130 reviews
Sales Rank: 671
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 1-2 business days
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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 125 more reviews...
 An expensive way to smell poo September 18, 2007
N A (Tampa, FL)
664 out of 687 found this review helpful
Cat Genie takes the small unpleasantness of daily cleaning the litter and it saves it up and releases that unpleasantness as one big unscheduled, unpleasant inconvenience every week or two. Advanced monitors will ensure that the device failure will occur during the workday, as you prepare for your important meeting with your prospective client. Nothing like cleaning out wet cat poo in your nicest suit. Or, you may be pleasantly awoken in the middle of the night by the repeating three beeps of "there's poo and hair in the hopper." You will become more familiar with your cat's feces every day as the cat genie gently fills your home with the aroma of baking excrement. Plus, you get to pay over $300 for technology that was "designed" and built for less than $2. The "processor" unit was designed in 1967 and allows all the functionality of the most advanced microchip devices of its era. It has both on and off modes. (Note: off mode available only while unplugged.)
Actually, the real reason for the high cost of the device is to cover the costs of all the customer support that they must provide and to cover the costs of all of the returned units. The question is not IF, but WHEN you will find yourself hunched over your cat's feces floating in a pool of fetid water, picking small plastic pellets out of the opaque, pungent water with your fingers so that you can get the device put back together.
And your cats will thank you by depositing their love bundles beside the machine that's half filled with water and beeping away forlornly if you happen to be away when it fails.
We have three cats, they had no trouble adjusting to the machine over about a week. The small plastic pellets getting everywhere in the house is not really any big deal. Roomba takes care of most of them well. We've now had the machine for three months. We received a replacement base last week for a leaky drain hose. We've called their customer service line enough times that we now know the "secret" diagnostic techniques of their experts. We don't know if we're going to keep it or return it. If we keep it, we're definitely going to install an exhaust fan in the laundry room, and set it to a timer to go when the unit is on. For some reason there are little bits of poo that fall between the tines of the hopper, and they get slow baked every time the unit dries itself. The stench is really outstanding. It's hard to describe. I'm a doctor, and I've rarely ever smelled anything so bad.
My recommendation is to wait for the next generation cat sanitation solution. That device will need to be a complete redesign to solve the myriad of problems with this unfortunate device. To say something positive, the customer support line is manned by kind, well-meaning kids who really do feel badly that you're having a hard time with your mechanical poo soup maker.
If you do buy this device, get some thick rubber gloves and a couple of towels that you won't use for anything else.
 Convenient, but be prepared November 16, 2006
Kyle Davis
249 out of 255 found this review helpful
I have two cats, one 5yo and one 2yo, both female. I got the Cat Genie for them, after dealing with several other auto-scooping litter boxes that broke after maybe 6 months each.
In terms of cleanliness and maintenance, this is a great product. If you can put it in your laundry room, you'll be much happier than if you put it into a bathroom that sees any kind of frequent use. If you DO put it into a bathroom, make sure you flush the toilet at least once a day (but NOT while the cat genie is in a cleaning cycle!)
Some words of warning:
1) the little plastic pellets that act as "litter" get all over the floor. You'll have to sweep them up occasionally and dump them back into the bowl for cleaning. This isn't from the cats kicking them up, it's from the normal cleaning cycle ... there's a mechanism to shake the rake free of pellets, which causes some to scatter.
2) Be prepared for a long adjustment period with your cats. The 2yo took to it pretty well, but the older cat had a hard time. She used a laundry basket, a bathroom rug, and my bed before she finally came to grips with it and started using the genie. (Laundry hint: white vinegar in the washer gets out the smell of cat urine!)
Now that the cats have adjusted and I've gotten used to the new sounds and smells of cleaning (the cleaning solution has a potent but not terrible smell), I'm happy with this product.
Must have for any cat owner June 11, 2007
Ryan Turner
123 out of 125 found this review helpful
I have now owned 2 versions of a self washing cat box: a Litter Free, and now a Cat Genie. The Litter Free, while not perfect, made me appreciate how nice it is not to tend a litter box. However, that unit had plenty of flaws, and a newly formed company engineered a better unit that fixed a lot of the issues the Litter Free.
I purchased the unit in September of 2006. I am on my 10th month. Up until recently, I was not the happiest person with the unit... I had a lot of clogging issues. Had I given up on the unit a few months ago, my review would have been very mixed, with the unit failing to process its daily duties a few times a month. However, I knew the company was working on some improvements to the most common issues, and my patience was rewarded (more on this later).
If you read the other reviews, you probably have an idea how the unit works. Up to 4 times a day the unit will clean the box. First, the stool is removed by a scoop. The stool is dumped into a processing unit. The litter box is filled with water, which also fills the stool processing bin with water. There is an impeller which spins the stool around the processor, that dissolves the waste, and then the waste water is pumped out through your sewer connection. The unit is filled with water and flushed several times. During the last flushing, a sanitizing solution is dispensed into the water. Once that water is removed, the litter is dried, and the process is done. This takes about 30 minutes.
There were two big problems that affected some early purchasers of the box. Due to a packing issue with the original unit, some buyers got warped bowls that would not spin properly. This wasn't a hard fix. You either got a new bowl with their excellent customer service, or they walked you through a process to unwarp the bowl. The packing issue was resolved, and this is no longer a problem. The biggest issue was clogging of the water exhaust line from undissolved stool. Not only did it stop the show, but the unit would not drain (leaving it filled with water), but cleaning up this mess is not fun. This is the part of my Cat Genie experience which was not fun. I have a single cat that uses the litter box once a day. Her stool is small and hard. It was clogging a lot. I found a dietary solution before the mechanical solution came out. I bought her food high in fiber, which softened the stool, and the unit processed without any failures for 2 months. That seemed to do it. Then the makers of Cat Genie came out with a new impeller. It prevented the hardened small stool from making it into the water drain line before it had been properly reduced. From all the comments I am reading from owners on forums where litter boxes are discussed, this fixed just about all those problems. People that had nightmares before replaced the impeller (again, all under warranty) to have the unit operating correctly without issue.
The Cat Genie folks said that the actual number of people with the clogging issues was a small percentage, but they are very vocal group.
The biggest problem I now have with the box is the plastic granules that get tracked through my house. The company is going to have some mats that catch these granules as the cat gets out to help mitigate this, but at the time of this review, they were not available. I think the price of the supplies is reasonable, and cheaper than buying normal litter on a regular basis.
You should read other reviews for information on cat acclimation to this box. My cat was raised on plastic litter granules. That is all she knows, and has not problem using this box. So for that reason, I can't really tell you much about in this area.
One thing I want to note for people on the fence: You get a 90 day money back guarantee if you don't like it. The customer service for this unit is TOP NOTCH. They will do just about anything to make you happy. The unit has a 2 year warranty, which is better than just about any major appliance you could buy. Assuming your cat adjusts to the box, this will make a noticeable improvement to the quality of your life.
Great product.... When it works. August 9, 2007
angel24601 (California)
80 out of 80 found this review helpful
This is a great product when it works. I have two cats and I am now going on my fourth unit from PetNovations. Here is the list of problems I have had with the unit(S) since receiving my first unit in Januaray of 2007:
First Unit: The first unit that arrived and the very first time it ran, it was not working properly. The unit was lifting out wet granules and clogging up the impeller. Let me tell you that if it clogs, you then have to handle liquefied poo water which is not very pleasant to say the least.
Result: Called tech support and they were very friendly. They sent one overnight fedex. They even said they'd send an extra box of granules for my trouble. So I went two nights without it and reverted to the normal clump litter box. I felt by the end of the call that they provided excellent customer service. (They did not send the extra box of granules though. But at the time I didn't mind, I still thought it was a great product.)
Second Unit: The second unit worked great for about 2-3 months. However I had a more difficult time adjusting my two cats to the second unit since they went back to scoopable litter. One day the arm that lifts the scooper stopped working. This time around I did not have to deal with liquefied poo water (I'm trying to look at the upside of having to return the unit again).
Result: Called tech support again and again were friendly (not so friendly as the first time I have to say) and offered to send another unit. At this time I asked if sending in the unit is a common thing. They replied that it was not common at all. On to my third unit.
Third Unit: The third unit has just ceased to function as of yesterday. (That would mean that it has worked for about 5-6 months since the second unit went ka-poop). I have had the toughest time reintroducing the cats AGAIN to the unit. One of the cats is ok with going in the unit, but the second cat has not liked the switching of the litter boxes every few months and has decided to go else where in the house. Yesterday the unit stopped dispensing water. This leaves the impeller grinding up solid poo without liquefying it. It is the middle of the night and I do not have extra kitty litter on hand. I had to find a place that was open that sold kitty litter so that my cats can have a bathroom.
Result: Called tech support yet AGAIN and left a message for them to call me back. To tell you the truth I am not sure I am willing to have them send me another unit.
Final review of the unit:
Positive Aspects
1. It reduces the smell of a litter box.
2. You do not have to empty the waste by hand.
3. The customer service is great (so far).
4. When it works, it's great.
Negative Aspects:
1. The granules get EVERYWHERE. Even if the cat doesn't track the granules out of the box, the box blows granules out on its own.
2. This is not good for cats that have soft stool. Many times the stool will get everywhere and will not fall off the scooper on its own.
3. It is very loud when it runs and it wakes me up when I sleep in the next room.
4. When the scooper misses a piece of stool and when the heater dries the granules (along with the remaining stool) it reeks so bad that the cats refuse to use the unit.
5. When the wash liquid runs out it constantly beeps. This is not so much a problem when we are home. However when we are not home and it keeps beeping, it frightens the cats from using the unit.
6. The unit is so large and requires plumbing near by that it doesn't fit well in confined spaces such as a small bathroom or laundry room.
7. Dispite the advertising, the graunles and washings do not last as long as advertised. Therefore the graunles and the washings get pretty expensive.
8. Maybe it's just me but I am going on my fourth unit and it has only been 8 months since I received my first unit.
26 Jan 2008
After receiving my latest unit, it seems to be working. They shipped me the later model which has taken care of some of the problems I was having. It seems that this new unit has lowered the volume of the beeping so that it does not startle the cats as much. Like before the customer service was great. Will provide update in a few months.
 SAVE YOUR MONEY April 16, 2007
Kendra Hamilton (Fort Knox, KY)
72 out of 78 found this review helpful
I have owned this litter box, I'd say about 3 months now. I have to tell you, this is such a cool concept! However, I would be happier had I just set my money on FIRE. I'd sure be a lot less stressed at least.
The first few days, it worked fine. I was so excited. My cats suprisingly used it, and I had no problems at all. I thought I was in heaven. But such is life, all good things must come to an end. It started erroring.. EVERYTIME I used it. Sometimes... for no reason. It would all finished drying the granules and everything would be dandy and BEEP BEEP BEEP.. so then I'd hit the button, and it would start all over again!! To be honest, I think this is a built in scam just so it uses more of that solution and you have to buy more... which btw, I'm pretty certain that solution is nothing more than a gimmick so they can get more of your money. The 300+ bucks just wasn't enough.
But anyways. Back to the errors. It would error every time I used it. EVERY time. And it would always be a different error. I'd fix it (which btw, it drains like CRAP)... and then go on about my day. Well one day, I forgot it was running and went over to my neighbors. I was there about... 2 hours ish. When I walked outside her door, to my annoyance, I could of course, hear my "so awesome" cat genie... beeping in error. And to my even WORSE annoyance, apparently the long term beeping kept 2 of my 3 cats, from ever wanted to go near it again. So 1 of them kept trying to go outside to use the bathroom... and she's not an outdoor cat... and the other one just took it upon herself to pop a squat wherever she felt comfortable.
Now fast forward about 4 days ago. My cat genie just STOPPED draining. Altogether. Stopped. I walked in and saw that it was about to overflow.. (the one time it doesn't give me an error beep!!) so I frantically turned it off and tried to fix it. It didn't work. I tried again... and tried for about an hour when finally, I accepted defeat and took it apart... and dumped the water. Most of it got on my floor.. which I was ecstatic about since that's what I was trying to prevent in the first place... went to my computer... and e-mailed the company. That was about 4 days ago... and I've not heard back from them since.
So I assume they're realizing what a huge peice of crap they're selling and hopefully they either fix said peice of crap, or stop selling it altogether..... because I'm not happy that I spent so much money, on such a huge worthless peice of junk.
Like I said, it's a cool concept...... but it just plain doesn't work. And for the people on here that it DID work for... Congrats. But 300+ bucks is too much of a gamble for something that just "might not work".
Stick to the regular old litter box for now. That's where I'm back to..
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