WE love
The PetSafe brand, owned by the American company Radio Systems Corporation, is knowledgeable about pets, for which it has marketed hundreds of toys, fountains, doors, feeders and self-cleaning litter boxes since 1991. We were eager to try this last product, which we have never seen in our entourage, with the collaboration of an adorable Spanish cat of about 12 years, Fiona.
So here is the ScoopFree litter, the all new second generation of which now features a liquid crystal display and two buttons. The screen displays the number of kitty visits. One of the buttons is used to manually start the litter cleaning, the other to reset the counter to zero. Nothing very complicated.
The base is a cardboard box, inserted in its cardboard cover, into which a whole bag of a special litter designed by PetSafe is poured. These blue crystals have the ability to absorb a lot of urine before giving off odors. At the end of the bin, there is a small compartment with two small pieces of metal that attach magnetically to the mechanism. We then put on top of the device itself.
It took two days for Fiona the cat to adopt this strange new litter box. She hasn’t abandoned her since. When she gets there, she is detected by the litter. Then begins a 20 minute countdown before cleaning. A rack made up of 28 parallel metal rods, spaced a centimeter apart, starts from one end and pushes the solid excrement into the small magnetic compartment which lifts then lowers, then returns to its place.
As soon as the litter begins to smell, we must dismantle the whole and close the box with its cardboard cover. We throw it all away. Theoretically, if you do it right, you never touch the crystals in the litter and its contents.
You then have to install a new bin with its bag of blue crystals, which can be ordered online or found in certain stores at a cost of around $ 27.
How long does it take to change the litter? PetSafe does not give any precise indication, since it depends on the animal and the frequency of use. In our case, our cat used it 61 times in five weeks, before we had to install a new tank because of the smell. In December, when the cold and snow made it harder to walk out to the yard, she used it 87 times in a month before we had to make the switch.
We like less
According to PetSafe, it is imperative to use the kit designed specifically for the ScoopFree. Clumping litter sold in supermarkets produces too much waste, and conventional litter would wet the box in the box, which would have to be changed anyway. Silica litter can be purchased inexpensively, but it’s hard to do without the magnetic valve on PetSafe’s cardboard box.
And the PetSafe kit is not cheap. In our case, we are talking about an expense that is about six times more expensive than with our old clumping litter, not to mention the purchase price. Internet users report changing ScoopFree litter boxes every 10 days, which is getting ruinous.
The only technical bug, the rack allows the smallest excrements to pass through. Stems that are closer together may be desirable.
One buys ?
If the idea of changing your cat’s litter box once a month appeals to you and you’re willing to pay at least $ 22, ScoopFree Litter Box does the job. The sum may seem insignificant to some, unacceptable to others.
Obviously, we haven’t tested it long term for its durability, which doesn’t seem to be a problem.
ScoopFree Self-Cleaning Litter Box (2e generation)
Manufacturer: PetSafe
Price: $ 226.99
Rating: 4 out of 5