Compare Automatic Scoop-Free Litter Boxes: ScoopFree, PetSafe or CatGenie?
There are a number of reasons why cat owners are more and more using scoop-free or self-cleaning litter boxes even though they are more expensive than your traditional basic litter box.
First, the increasingly health conscious cat owners simply don't want to get in close contact with their cat's wastes. With traditional litter boxes unpleasant accidents can always happen and the risk for contamination is there. With most scoop-free boxes, you don't have to see or touch any part of the soiled litter as the box handles it all for you. Second, nowadays people are very busy, and having to change regularly once or twice a day the litter is a problem for many cat owners. Automatic scoop-free litter boxes offer models that can be left alone for days and even weeks before human interference is required. Finally, the latest scoop-free or self-cleaning boxes have mechanisms that deal with the unpleasant odor problem generally associated with litters. The most popular automatic scoop-free or self-cleaning litter boxes today are ScoopFree, PetSafe, and CatGenie. They all work differently, and it is pretty hard to decide which one to buy. This article will describe and compare all three so that you can choose the one that will suit best your home's needs. |
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Comparing the Three Automatic Scoop-Free Litter Boxes
The table notes are explained below:
Note 1:
It is very important to use the type of litter specified (either clumping type, crystals or washable granules as specifed). Otherwise the litter box will not function properly.
Note 2:
CatGenie does not require and bags or trays to be purchased.
Note 3:
Note 4:
For a detailed description of these products and exact prices, please see below:
Note 1:
It is very important to use the type of litter specified (either clumping type, crystals or washable granules as specifed). Otherwise the litter box will not function properly.
Note 2:
- ScoopFree uses disposable litter trays pre-filled with litter made of blue crystals (you could also use the Forever Litter Tray, a one-piece tray made from strong plastic that you can reuse as much as you want by adding to it separately bought crystal litter).
- PetSafe uses small garbage bags (or recycled shopping bags).
CatGenie does not require and bags or trays to be purchased.
Note 3:
- ScoopFree and PetSafe litter boxes transfer automatically the waste into their sealed waste compartment (a bag or a tray) which you will need to remove and throw when it gets full.
- Only CatGenie flushes the waste down the drain and cleans the washable granules, so you don't have to do anything to remove the waste.
Note 4:
- With ScoopFree, after the cat uses the litter box, the crystals in the tray absorb immediately the urine and start right away drying out solid waste to reduce odor, and 20 minutes after the cat has left the box, the built-in rake automatically sweeps all solid waste into a sealed compartment providing additional odor control.
- PetSafe cleans continuously 24/7, and therefore the waste does not have enough time to stay exposed in the litter. So odor propagation is minimal.
- With CatGenie, once the solid waste is disposed and flushed, using water and a cat-safe and veterinarian-approved SaniSolution cartridge, the unit washes, scrubs, scours and purifies the washable granules and cat area clean as new. As a result no odor remains.
For a detailed description of these products and exact prices, please see below:
Detailed Description of the Three Selected Litter Boxes
1. ScoopFree Litter Box
Photo Credits: PetSafe
The ScoopFree self cleaning litter box is the only one of the six reviewed here that uses disposable litter trays pre-filled with litter made of blue crystals. The trays are sturdy and come with a plastic lining that prevents any undesirable leakage. They also have a built-in sealed compartment where clumped waste and dirty litter is transferred after each cleanup. The litter box measures 19" by 27" and is 7" high. The litter tray measures 14.5" by 22" and is 2.5" high. The overall height of the box becomes 16.75" when a separately sold optional Privacy Hood is also installed on top of the box.
How it works:
You place a fresh tray of blue crystal litter under the unit.
After the cat uses the litter box, the crystals in the tray absorb immediately the urine and start right away,drying out solid waste to reduce odor.
20 minutes after the cat leaves the box, the built-in rake automatically sweeps all solid waste into a sealed compartment providing additional odor control.
All you need to do is lift the box, dispose of the underlying tray, and replace it with a clean tray.
Note that every time the cat reenters the the litter box, the built-in sensors reset the 20 minute timer so that the rake is never activated while the cat is still in the box.
It is recommended to replace the tray every 3 to 4 weeks for a single cat, every 10 to 15 days for 2 cats,and every week for 3 cats.
ScoopFree makes also a more advanced litter box called the ScoopFree Ultra that offers three additional features:
How it works:
You place a fresh tray of blue crystal litter under the unit.
After the cat uses the litter box, the crystals in the tray absorb immediately the urine and start right away,drying out solid waste to reduce odor.
20 minutes after the cat leaves the box, the built-in rake automatically sweeps all solid waste into a sealed compartment providing additional odor control.
All you need to do is lift the box, dispose of the underlying tray, and replace it with a clean tray.
Note that every time the cat reenters the the litter box, the built-in sensors reset the 20 minute timer so that the rake is never activated while the cat is still in the box.
It is recommended to replace the tray every 3 to 4 weeks for a single cat, every 10 to 15 days for 2 cats,and every week for 3 cats.
ScoopFree makes also a more advanced litter box called the ScoopFree Ultra that offers three additional features:
- The optional Privacy Hood is included with the Ultra unit.
- The 20 minute rake activation delay time is adjustable and can be set to activate the rake 5, 10, or 20 minutes after the cats has finished using the box.
- To monitor the cat's health, a built-in counter tracks the litter box usage frequency.
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Pros and Cons:
With this litter box, you don't have to see, smell or touch any waste, and once you put a fresh tray you can leave the box alone for days if not weeks at a time. The waste compartment is built in such a way that it seals all odors inside. Of course, the down side is that you have to regularly buy and replace the disposable trays. However, if desired, an alternative exists: You could use with your ScoopFree litter box the Forever Litter Tray, a one-piece tray made from strong plastic that will never leak and that you can reuse as much as you want by adding to it separately bought crystal litter (note that the Forever Litter Tray works only with crystal litter). Both the Forever Litter Tray and crystal litter can be obtained below on Amazon. To obtain the ScoopFree and the ScoopFree Ultra litter boxes, please click the Amazon link images. |
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2. PetSafe Litter Box
Photo Credits: PetSafe
The PetSafe litter box it is quite different from all the other products described here: it is the only automatic litter box that cleans continuously. Its operation is imperceptibly slow and quiet and therefore does not disturb the cat when the animal needs to get in or is in the box. Because soiled litter is continuously removed (box works 24/7), bacteria and odor control is effectively achieved. The box measures 26"x19"x10".
How it works:
How it works:
- Clumping litter is placed into the box and the box plugged into the power outlet.
- The box starts rotating very slowly, and a built-in sifting system separates the clumped wastes from the clean litter.
- The clumped waste is then transferred via a conveyor system into a waste box lined with a small plastic bag.
- The operation is continuous and very slow (1 rotation per hour), and therefore it is not even noticeable by the cat.
- All you need to do is remove the bag from the waste container, close it and discard.
- Clumping cat litter and small garbage bags (or recycled shopping bags) are all that is needed for continuous cleaning of the litter.
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Pros and Cons:
Because the box works continuously 24/7, the litter stay fresh and clean, and bacteria and odor control is effectively achieved. Because the rotation of the box is imperceptible, the cat is never disturbed, and can take care of business whenever required. The box does not need any batteries, uses a low voltage AC adapter, and does not consume a lot of power. Therefore leaving it plugged in is not a problem. Assembling the product is very simple as it requires no tools, and comes with detailed instructions. On the down side, you will need to provide plastic bags for the waste container, but as mentioned, small garbage bags or recycled shopping bags will do fine. Also, the box is designed for adult cats up to 15 pounds and should not be used with kittens or cats under 5 lbs. To obtain the PetSafe litter box on Amazon, please click the Amazon link image. |
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The following is the official PetSafe video:
3. CatGenie Litter Box
Photo Credits: CatGenie
The self cleaning CatGenie may be the most expensive of the three compared here, but it is the one that eliminates completely any contact with your cat's waste and is specially designed to fight odors. This one should be called a cat toilet rather trhan a litter box! It is a self-washing and self flushing cat box. It not only flushes away waste, but also washes itself clean. All you do is touch a button to program the cleaning to your schedule. You'll never touch, smell, breathe, buy or carry cat litter ever again. To achieve all this, it needs to be connected to your home’s cold-water supply and to an electrical outlet.
CatGenie measures 19" wide in front, 16" wide bottom back, 17" wide top back, 21" high and 24" deep allowing for hoses. It comes with a water supply hose that is 8' long and a drain hose 10' long.
It uses litter-like washable granules (included in the purchase), not clay litter, to satisfy cats need to dig and cover. You will never need to buy cat litter again.
It's ideal for 1 or 2 and no more than 3 cats of average size and 6 months or older.
How it works:
Installation:
You simply connect the unit to a cold-water line using the supplied T-Adaptor and plug into a 120-volt ac electric outlet sharing the cold-water line for the toilet or washing machine.
Programming:
With the touch of simple buttons, the unit provides 3 different options to start the cleaning:
CatGenie measures 19" wide in front, 16" wide bottom back, 17" wide top back, 21" high and 24" deep allowing for hoses. It comes with a water supply hose that is 8' long and a drain hose 10' long.
It uses litter-like washable granules (included in the purchase), not clay litter, to satisfy cats need to dig and cover. You will never need to buy cat litter again.
It's ideal for 1 or 2 and no more than 3 cats of average size and 6 months or older.
How it works:
- When the cleaning starts, CatGenie removes and liquefies the solids for safe and easy disposal down the drain or toilet. It flushes all out of your home for good. There will be no nasty clumps or dirty litter to mess with and no heavy bags or containers of contaminated litter to smell or carry.
- Using water and a cat-safe and veterinarian-approved SaniSolution cartridge, CatGenie washes, scrubs, scours and purifies the washable granules and cat area clean as new.
- The built-in dryer heats and dries the granules, leaving them warm and ready for the next use. Note that a box of SaniSolution cartridges as well a box of washable granules are included in the purchase. Additional boxes of SaniSolution cartridges can be bought on Amazon (see Amazon section below). One SaniSolution cartridge lasts up to 4 months for 1 cat.
Installation:
You simply connect the unit to a cold-water line using the supplied T-Adaptor and plug into a 120-volt ac electric outlet sharing the cold-water line for the toilet or washing machine.
- In a bathroom setup, the drain hook secures under the toilet seat to allow waste to drain into the toilet.
- In a laundry room set up, the GenieHose is inserted into the washing machine drain pipe.
Programming:
With the touch of simple buttons, the unit provides 3 different options to start the cleaning:
- Preset it to run automatically up to 4 times daily.
- Press the start button whenever you wish.
- Set on cat activation: there are two sensors on the front of the unit. Using the appropriate buttons, the unit can be programmed so that when the sensors are triggered by the cat's arival, it will wait either 10 minutes or 30 minutes after the cat leaves to start cleaning.
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Pros and Cons: This unit does not require any bags or trays, and you don’t have to remove anything manually. It’s all done automatically once the unit is programmed. You don’t have to buy any litter as the granules are washable and are washed automatically after every use. There will be no smell as everything is washed and dried to a clean state. On the negative side, you will need to connect the unit to your water supply, but the T-Adaptor provided makes the job a breeze, and you will need to buy additional SaniSolution cartridges as required. |
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The following is the official CatGenie video describing how the unit works:
So which of the three litter boxes to choose?
All three litter boxes described here are excellent products according to most Amazon reviewers. However, there are a couple of points you should consider before selecting the one most suitable to your home:
None of the three litter boxes reviewed here require any scooping of waste, however the waste and odor handling is than in different ways:
Note that eventhough CatGenie is more expensive, it is definitey worth considering, because:
For price information or to purchase on Amazon any of the three scoop free litter boxes, please refer to the following section. .
None of the three litter boxes reviewed here require any scooping of waste, however the waste and odor handling is than in different ways:
- With ScoopFree, 20 minutes after the cat leaves the box, the built-in rake automatically sweeps all solid waste into a sealed compartment providing odor control. All you need to do is lift the box, dispose of the underlying tray, and replace it with a clean tray. Note however that ScoopFree has also the Ultra model that allows to reduce the cleanup activation time from 20 minutes to 5 or 10 minutes.
- With PetSafe, the clumped waste is transferred via a conveyor system into a waste box lined with a small plastic bag, providing odor control. The operation is continuous and very slow (1 rotation per hour), and therefore it is not even noticeable by the cat. All you need to do is remove the bag from the waste container, close it and discard.
- On the other hand, with CatGenie, the unit can be programmed so that all waste is automatically flushed and the litter granules washed 10 minutes after the cat leaves the litter box, so there is practically no accumulation of waste or odor.
Note that eventhough CatGenie is more expensive, it is definitey worth considering, because:
- You won't have to remove any waste filled bags or trays from the box yourself.
- You will never have to buy any additional litter as the granules used by the unit are washable and washed automatically by the unit after each use.
For price information or to purchase on Amazon any of the three scoop free litter boxes, please refer to the following section. .
Compared Scoop-Free Litter Boxes on Amazon
Please click the product of your choice below for price information or to purchase.
Note: Amazon often provides a good discount on the List Price of sold products. If a discount is available, the List Price and the actual Amazon price will be shown when you click the images below.
Note: Amazon often provides a good discount on the List Price of sold products. If a discount is available, the List Price and the actual Amazon price will be shown when you click the images below.
ScoopFree & ScoopFree Ultra
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Pet Safe
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CatGenie
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Clumping Litter on Amazon
ScoopFree Tray Crystal Refills on Amazon
CatGenie 120 SaniSolution Cartridges and Washable Granules (if needed)
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