Accessories

Not as good as it seems...
After reviewing many automatic litterboxes, I settled on the ScoopFree box. I was unsure after 90 days as to whether I liked it or not, so I decided to keep it and see how things went. I have one cat and he urinates in the same spot every time (on the rake in the back corner). I stirred the litter weekly to try to get clean crystals to the used area to help soak up all of the urine. The cartridges still leaked though. After a few months, the rake started rusting and every time I entered the laundry room, all I could smell was urine. Then, the motor that moved the rake started bumping and grinding. I contacted the company just to tell them that I was dissatisfied with the product and didn't expect anything in return. I had had the litter box for 9 months (well past the 90 day guarantee) and they still wanted me to send it back and they sent me a prompt refund check. I will buy from this company again even though I wasn't happy with the product, their customer service was great.

The best of the rake self-cleaning litter boxes
I had been through three different brands of electric raking litter boxes when I found Scoop Free. This is, without a doubt, THE BEST ONE MADE! I now have two of these for my two male cats and life is good now! There are three major reasons why this is the best on the market:

* First, it does NOT use clumping litter, it uses crystal litter -- smells less, is less messy and tracks less (and when it does get out of the box, it's easy to sweep up).

*Second, it actually works. I now have two of them for two cats and only one time ... in probably over a thousand pass throughs of the rake, have we ever had the rake jam. Yikes, I had a Littermaid that used to jam every day and the Roundup used to jam every time the rake ran! But the Scoop Free does not jam at all!

* Third, clean up is a breeze. No fuss, no muss. About once every other week (depends on how many cats you have), you merely lift the top of the unit (the top is the machine itself, the base is a disposable cartridge). You actually throw away of the entire base (which is your cartridge refill); it is made of cardboard but it holds in all the litter and poop very well. The cartridge has a self cover that you put on it (I tape it closed) and put it in a trash bag. Easy. Installing the new cartridge is just as easy and the actual machine requires little cleaning -- I just wipe it down with a Clorox wipe. Yikes the old Littermaid I had used to have to be hosed down every week it got so disgusting. However, this Scoop Free barely needs to be dusted off.

The single only flaw I have found with the unit is that I can't figure out how to remove the rake for washing. However, it really doesn't get that nasty (unlike the other brands of raking litter boxes) and can easily be wiped down with a clorox wipe. Also, the cartridges aren't cheap but it's hard to put a price on how easy it is to keep the litter box clean and smell free. I think it's worth the price! Also, there's a guy who invented a permanent refill for this box and he sells them on eBay (not sure if he sells them on Amazon or not) so that's a way to save money on the refills (I have yet to buy one of these because I really have a limited amount of time for litter maintenance and like having the avility to throw away the entire cartridge).

Bottom Line: Easy to use, minimal odor and mess, and ACTUALLY WORKS! A raking litter box that works. What a concept! BTW, I have had my first Scoop Free box for over a year and it's still going strong (other brands I've had have quit in a few months).

Good idea in theory, but didn't work for us.
This thing sounded like a great product--only having to clean the box every two weeks (with two cats)? Sign me up! Unfortunately it didn't really work out, for a number of reasons.

1. The cats really didn't like it. The noise and movement of it spooked them, so they avoided it most of the time. They also didn't like the crystal litter.

2. Using this as the only litter box for two cats didn't work. Even though our cats seem to use their boxes interchangeably, once we made this one the only box one of the cats started to do his business all over the house. That may also be a side effect of point 1.

3. Speaking of crystal litter, the stuff made a MESS. When they did use the box, they tracked it out and the stuff is painful if you accidentally step on it in bare feet. It also got between the ScoopFree box and our bamboo floor and scratched it. :(

4. The box isn't really any easier to clean than a regular litter box. It's heavy and a pain to move around (which you have to do to get the 'cartridge' out. We also found that we had to clean the 'containment' area at least once a week anyway because it would start to stink.

5. We felt guilty using this thing because of all the waste you generate and throw away what with all the packaging material on the 'cartridges'. Also they're EXPENSIVE.

The thing does work, but we eventually replaced it with our old two plain jane boxes and both the people and the cats are much happier. It's a little more work, but a much better solution. Now we have to figure out how to get rid of a used ScoopFree box.

Not worth the price
I give this box one star because it did reduce the usual litterbox smell significantly. We have three cats, so we change out the pan once/week. At $15+ for replacement pans, it's just not cost effective. We've now spent over $700 in the past several months for a self-cleaning litterbox that is already starting to wear out. The money would have been much better spent on a cat genie or litterbox robot. And holy cow, this thing is loud!

Great product, too bad only 1 out of 3 cats adapted
The product works great! I have 3 cats with idiosyncracies. One would use it no problem at all - the biggest, scardy cat of them all. One would poop in it but not pee in it (huh?). And one would sit there an stare at it apparently afraid of what it might do. He never did use it. So...much to my dismay, we are back to the old fashioned litter box. Would not hesitate to try it again though with a new kitten or cat.