Cat Genie - 18 Months Post Installation

Overall I've received more comments on my Cat Genie posts than any others. Most seem to be fairly negative, but even after a year and a half, I STILL like my Cat Genie.

Here are the two most common comments I've received:

Sometimes the Cat Genie cooks poop and leaves an awful stench in the house.

Yes, this has happened. But overall, if your cats have firm

poop this won't be an issue. This only occurs at our house when one of the cats has a loose stool that

doesn't get completely removed from the Genie.

Our Genie is installed in the laundry room and flushes into the laundry waste tube. I keep latex gloves in the laundry room and if I start to smell the cooking poo smell, I run in there, unplug the Genie and pop on a glove and remove the offending poo before it can bake anymore.

Ultimately though, if the cat has firm stool this is not a problem. If you've tried switching foods, stopped treats, stopped feeding canned food and still have a cat with loose stool - the cat Genie is probably not for you.

I hate the way the Cat Genie smells when it cleans.

I've had a few people comment that they hate the smell. Personally, I hate the smell of cat pee

and poop more. I'll take the cleaning solution of the Cat Genie any day of the week. I tried using the unscented cartridges for a while, but I found I preferred the scented cartridge. Honestly, it doesn't really bother me. Ours is in the laundry room, no one has ever walked into our house and complained about the smell. If you hate the smell of the cartridge and you've tried the unscented and hate that too...I can't help you. You're just going to be unhappy. Enjoy scooping your litter pan and the urine odor that emits from it. Good luck.

Someone else commented on the smell and the poop sludge that remains in the Genie after it has cleaned. Yes, there is some there. If there's a lot there, you need to check your drainage lines and clean your Genie. I haven't found the odor to be an issue. Ultimately having a pet in the house, there will be some odor. I have found the Cat Genie to be a useful tool in managing that odor and it makes my life easier.

A woman approached me at a rescue event the other week and asked if we had any cats that didn't shed, like they have dogs that didn't shed. I wanted to stare at her blankly. I shed. Anything with hair sheds. I'm not saying that pet people are dirty, but we have more to keep up with. We spend more time cleaning our homes, sweeping and vacuuming up hair, scooping poop, vomit. All kinds of exciting things. Just for us it's worth it for the companionship. Set your expectations realistically and you'll be a lot happier. Something is using the bathroom in your house, there will be a smell. Something has hair, there will be shedding - and so on.

Not that I don't have any complaints. For example: The water sensor. Most of my error messages come from the water sensor. (it uses a laser and requires this

clear plastic part to reflect that beam to indicate the water level) As the unit has gotten older, this error is more common. I can tell you that a thorough cleaning of the unit at least every 6 months (depending on usage) will help this. I understand that with the Cat Genie 120 this issue may be helped or resolved. Unfortunately I cannot afford to get a Cat Genie 120 right now and the one we have continues to be usable. I just clean the sensor with white vinegar between more thorough cleanings of the book like apparatus where the hopper is.

One of the things that irritates me the most is the inability to 'reset' the Cat Genie. This has been an issue where there have been water sensor errors and the unit hasn't filled but continues to run and attempt to dry litter that has not been washed.

If you unplug it, even for a long period of time, it wants to start where it left off. Sometimes I need it to start at the beginning again. I'm not sure if this issue is resolved with the new unit, but if it's not it should be considered.

Finally, to people that only have negative things to say about the Genie - if you have one or two cats maybe the litter pan and litter pan odor aren't an issue for you.

My husband and I have 7 cats of our own and we also foster cats for a local rescue. I don't want our house to smell. The Cat Genie is not our only litter pan, we also use several 'Tidy Cat Breeze' pans and we have traditional litter in our quarantine bathroom upstairs (but that door remains closed so the odor is only an issue within that room). The Tidy Cat Breeze also requires firm stool to be effective and separates the urine and neutralizes the odor.

I had found over the years that urine odor was the most offensive part of the cat box for me. From the comments I get from people that come to our house and can't believe how many cats we have there, I believe that is true for most people.

Not all of our cats use the Genie, we have two that use the Genie primarily, but also uses the breeze and one that will rush into the quarantine bathroom to use the traditional pan any time he gets a chance. Cat's love the chance to be the first one to use a potty. :)

For us the Genie is not a solution in itself, but it is part of the way we manage the odor and maintenance. I still scoop the other litter pans a minimum of two times a day.

Over the years I've used all sorts of automatic pans and fancy litters. This is the plan I have stuck with the longest and I'm happy with it. The Cat Genie might not be for everyone, but I really can't imagine that it doesn't cut down on the maintenance and urine odor for everyone that uses it. And with a 3 month money back guarantee - why not give it a shot?