Cat Genie Resolved

Cat Genie support delivered!

I called about the problem, mentioned that it was trying to dry at the same time it was still filling.

The man I spoke to decided it was a computer problem, I didn't have to do any trouble shooting with him. Since I had purchased from Amazon, I had my receipt. He emailed me a form, I returned it to him with my receipt and a few days later a new processing unit arrived on the doorstep!

I plugged it in and immediately all my problems were fixed.

I cleaned and packed the other one, the hubby dropped it off at FedEx and all was good!

So I still love the Cat Genie and it's been working like a charm for the last month. It's like a brand new machine.

And support exceeded my expectations. I had heard it was good, but I was very surprised. It was excellent and no hassle. KEEP THOSE RECEIPTS!

The CatGenie Drains Me

For a year and a half we've loved the CatGenie and the CatGenie has loved us too.

Lately that has changed and I've placed my first call to technical support. I got a recording that told me to leave a message with my contact number, which I did. We'll see how

long it takes to get a return call.

Basically it started having problems with draining. Or so it seemed. I've cleaned it, checked for clogs and still, water stands in the bottom of the pan. It's frustrating. I learned a trick from You Tube about using a drill (with no drill bit) to drain the pan. (see pictures)

The part that's perplexing me is that it seems to drain just fine - but water runs when the drying cycle starts. Call me crazy but that seems counter productive. I'm suspicious that this is the problem.

I wish there was a way to 'reboot' the CatGenie. I feel like it's just confused. And Dexter and Trilly -and maybe one of the new fosters prefer it as their potty place. Who can blame them? It's clean! (not that the Tidy Cat Breeze pans aren't clean - I scoop twice a day - but they don't get washed like the CatGenie does!!

So, every night I've been starting a cycle - and then I go in there about the time drying starts - wait for the water to stop running - drain the unit and then plug it back in and let it dry. It's a pain. It also gets pretty stinky between cycles since there's only really one now.

Dexter has longer hair, so I know he gets some clogs in there, but I've flushed out the hose and it appears to be clear.

This morning I ran it too, but I basically need to be there after 15 minutes to keep an eye on things which kind of defeats the purpose of the 'self washing litter pan'.

I've left a message with tech support for them to call me back. I had heard that support was good, but I guess I'll find out soon enough and update you. I feel like the purchase price was worth it, but if it only lasts two years - maybe not. I consider my CatGenie to be an appliance and therefore to have an appliance life-span.

The good news is that I've learned all about the maintenance mode while going through all this. I'll post those codes soon to help other owners that want to do a little maintenance or just drain or dry their genie after a mishap.

I've recently been told these codes are in the manual for people who own the CatGenie 120 - which I do not - but the codes are the same. So if you own an older model like I do - that's the next post. Those codes are a great help!

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?

An Ikea Adventure

Dan needed a desk for his office. And sadly, despite the fact that the Ikea Adventure has already occurred, Dan still needs a desk. They were out of stock on that one key part. I seem to recall a similar situation in Orlando. I should have called. They won't actually hold stuff for you, but it never hurts to ask.

We left Raleigh after lunch. No need to pull out too early as we were meeting some friends of mine in Charlotte after the shopping trip was completed. I mean, how long can one really spend at Ikea?

As I grew up in Orlando, it's hard for me to look at Ikea and not think 'theme park for furniture'. There's a huge parking lot where they often direct traffic, they pass out maps at the door, and half way through they have a restaurant. The parallels seem so obvious. On the back of map there is a place where you can write down the aisle and bin number for the furniture you wish to puchase in the self serve area. Overall, I would say the whole process is daunting. Dan and I had a wish list from my sister - and even with names and prices a lot of things were hard to find. Turns out a few of them were out of stock, but some were just hidden away in the bowels of Ikea. And we found a few things we needed that we didn't know Ikea even had - poster frames and a few stuffed mice.

In Charlotte it seems that Ikea has it's own exit off I-85. This might be a step up from Orlando where some genius put the Ikea off of International Drive basically. For those who haven't been there, International Drive is somewhat like a strip - and at 3am the traffic is still gridlocked.

When you get off the highway and pull in to the ginormous parking lot it's hard to miss the immense blue and yellow building stretching across the horizon. (see picture above)

The plan was simple, drive to Ikea, look around, pick things out, pay for things, leave. For the most part that happened. We will need to go back in a few weeks when the desks are in stock again - but for now, we've survived.

Dan took a picture of our cart as he waited for me to back up the car for loading. Frames, magazine files, furniture..the works. We were hot, dirty, sweaty and in need of beer at the end of our adventure. Next time we will be better prepared as we have 'tried out' a few things that we know we want more of - picture frames for one. And we know we need the desk - so we can go retreive that first.

We went to spend some time with friends - (Claire, Jim, Tony and offspring) and ended up leaving for Raleigh sometime after 10pm. Again, we will plan better next time so we can spend more time with them. Anyway, we left Jim and Claire's house and headed for the highway.

Then we got on I-85 N and parked for an hour and a half as crews cleaned up what appeared to be some sort of spill but I can't find the details online. Dan was nice enough to drive us the rest of the way home as my headache was becoming unbearable. It lingered through Sunday.

Saturday night / ultra early Sunday we got home and unloaded nothing except a few poster / picture frames. But Sunday we got up and unloaded the car and began assembly. Squiggy, Lli and Tucker all tried to help. They were shooed away. You can see Squiggy investigating the packages. Squiggy is a big fan of paper and all the furniture was wrapped in paper. Look also for Lli's small black head popping out of one of the CD/DVD stand boxes. They were long and thin and shaped just right for a tailess black kitty.

Within a few hours we had most everything assembled and carried upstairs. Dan also got two CD/DVD towers that matched and filled in the leftover space in the slot between the two windows. Dan hauled all the trash out and cleaned up the living room.

Dan has been working hard setting up his office. Pictures have been hung, CD's and books indexed and alphabetized, cables tied and lighting addressed. The card table in the picture is in the approximate location that Dan's table will attach once it's back in stock. It will be a little wider (which is good I think as he could use some extra space). Squiggy and the other cats like the office very much and don't recognize it much from its days as my sister's bedroom.

So it seems we are cleaned up and assembled, just waiting for the next trip to Ikea. !

Cat Genie Revisited

I've received quite a few emails and a few comments about my Cat Genie post from January - so here, almost 6 months later, it's time to check on the Cat Genie status.

So a few things I've changed:
1. The Cat Genie is elevated. This is entirely due to Tucker, our dog. The best way to keep her out of the litter pan was to get it out of reach. I was concerned about the hose position changes, but there have been no back-ups and the pan has been elevated for about two months now. Note that it is still below the level of the washer drain / water.

2. There is now a second litter pan in the laundry room as a backup to the Cat Genie. Some of our cats are older, one is diabetic. The 30 minute cleaning cycle proved to be a bit much for them - as in, when you need to go - you NEED to go. The older cats are also a bit wary of the noise the cat genie and washing machine - so it's good to have a backup if you only have one genie.

The 'backup' pan is my second favorite litter pan (it comes in second because I still have to clean it) - the Tidy Cat Breeze. The "Breeze" is nice because it has pellets that we change out only once a month over a grid that lets the urine run straight through. Now, here's the best part. The pad. In the bottom, under aforementioned 'grid' is the urine absorbing pad that really neutralizes the urine smell. This is the best part. The urine turns in to some sort of gel, I change the pad when it's full. Since they really can't bury it, solids can smell more than you might like, but it's an easy scoop to remedy that. Certainly over the many years I have been a cat owner, the urine smell has been the biggest contributor to the overall 'cat smell' that can build up over time. This is on the ground under the Genie, there is a baby gate with a 'cat door' cut into it to keep dogs out and allow cats in.

3. The Cat Genie has a 'hood' now (see first picture). I think it helps keep the initial smell in when it's being used. It also keeps the kittens from kicking out all the pellets.

I've only had a few issues with the Genie in the last 6 months, but overall I would say they are workable.

1. A few times I've had to go and clean out some poop that didn't scoop well. Granted, my fault as I gave the cat in question too much wet food. You get the idea. This has happened 3 times. 2 of those times are related to the same incident.

2. The water sensor was obstructed and I had to pull out the hopper one night and wipe it off. Yes, that was pretty gross. But that's the worst thing I've had to do in all this time. I figure it's a pretty even trade for the smell/maintenance reduction.

3. I don't like how the Genie beeps when the cartridge is 'about to' run out and then after it has run out. I know it's just trying to let me know - but it seems like the type of noise that would alarm a shy cat.

Some of the complaints I've heard that I have to agree with:

Those rotten pellets get everywhere. Keeping the pan away from the dog has helped. Also, we got some track mats that I put at the laundry room door that really help a lot. I suspect that most of the pellets fall into this mat in the laundry room and they are tracked out by us, not the cats. My sister purchased the special round Cat Genie mats. They do fit around it, but only if it's sitting out in a room. And honestly, they don't catch the pellets so well. Don't waste your money.

If it dries a piece of poop, it's pretty rank. Just get it out of there and the smell fades pretty quickly.

A complaint I've heard that I don't agree with:

Smell of the cleaner. It really just doesn't bother me. Granted, it's not great - but it's just not that bad. It certainly doesn't smell like a dirty litter pan. Just like cleaner.

Overall, I'm glad to have it. This is the longest I've ever had a robotic litter pan of any sort - I suspect I should give it a good cleaning soon as maintenance. But honestly, I'm putting that off. Wouldn't you? I have taken basic spray cleaner and wiped down all the outside bits a few times, but that's no different from anything else in the house you would have to clean.

The two youngest cats, both under a year when they were first introduced to the Genie, love it and use it almost exclusively (this is Trillium Whorl our Japanese Bobtail coming to see what I was taking pictures of). I don't have accurate numbers on the older cats but I suspect they don't use it much, if at all (since they are given a choice). In fact, the older diabetic cat has trouble jumping and climbing so I know she only uses the Breeze.

So there it is, update on the Cat Genie at 6 months. The pellets aren't cheap and neither are the cartridges, but it has still been less expensive and less labor than a regular old pan.

My recommendation stands.

rumors of carpet

So after the call regarding carpet installation last night I basically went home and spent all night packing up things in my office so that everything could be moved easily from room to room for the re-carpeting. I was up all night, did some cleaning in the office so the cat funk doesn't end up under the new carpet and moved all the breakables. There is an amazing quanity of stuff in my sister's bedroom. I am afraid the house is 'front heavy'.

All the books on the bookcases are in her room and I boxed things and put them on the shelves in the office.

I'm hoping they will have moved the huge desk downstairs as I would like to set up my new desk in the office this evening. I plotted everything out in Florida over the holidays before I purchased the desk. Unfortunately with the small disaster radiating out from the master bath the whole desk / office set up thing has been delayed. But I'm looking forward to the smell of new carpet. If I get home and the carpet hasnt' been done I may cry.

And then I will curse and call the Cary Reconstruction Project Manager and raise holy hell...

I mention this because several times lately he has told me that something was scheduled for a specific day - and no one shows. This is kind of an issue since the cats have to be sequestered in various locations when there will be people in the house. With the upstairs hall and two rooms being carpeted there are no doors that won't have to be opened for the recarpeting process. Therefore, cats are in the garage.

Funny thing about that too. Open the garage door on any regular day of the week and cats hustle to slip through your legs and into the relitive freedom of the garage.

....Try to put them out there in the morning before you leave for work and it's like, well, like herding cats.

Stuff from the living room made its way into the dining room. Last night Dexter and Giant Cat made it in there as well. Giant Cat does have a name, it's Widget. But, you can see from this picture that he's much larger than a widget.

He's on the new rug that will hopefully match the new flooring that is hopefully being installed (correctly and professionally) on Monday.

If the carpet is in there are a lot of things I will feel compelled to do, including hanging up pictures that were taken down...and cleaning the silloettes of those pictures off the wall. I think of the living room as freshly painted, but it doesn't look like that right now. I want to get that stuff hung as soon as possible.

I discovered the other day that the glass in one of my smaller pictures was broken. I am hoping that is not the case in the larger as one of them was actually professionally framed and the others are all expensive frames which I assume is mostly the cost of the glass... All the sofa cushion covers need to be washed. There is a smell to them and they are all dusty and hairy and there's that musty it was really wet in this house for a while thing going on. Oh, so so much....

Lots of lifting, I have a mirror I want to get back on the mantle. I wish Dan was coming over tonight. He could help with the taller and heavier things. He'll be over on Wednesday after we see Pulp Fiction at the Colony but that will be late and I doubt either of us will feel like it.

Things are starting to feel daunting. My sister is heading home. I want to hear good news if she gets there before I do!

between dryout, demolition and restoration...

It's the 15th, which means that this has been going on for 18 days. 3 weeks since the initial damage.

I've been mostly staying with Dan (who, it turns out is a Saint) and living out of a suitcase in my car which I wash weekly. My clothes are mostly packed in these plastic storage bags (see left) as my dresser is gone. There is still clothing hanging in my closet, but suits and dresses don't travel well when you're living out of your car and I suspect none of those pants fit - but that's another story.

The problem with coming home is that I don't end up sleeping much. As I look around my house all I see are things that need to be done, things that are dirty, things that are out of order. Cat potties to police, counters to wipe, dishes to do, things to dust (those terrible fans put a nasty, thick layer of dust on about everything in the house from what I can tell).


There is still too much stuff in the kitchen but the other night I cleaned the kitchen when I was home. As my sister will gladly admit, she's not much of a housekeeper. Counters wiped, dishes done, things sorted and placed against the walls. Sink scrubbed, trash out, stove cleaned, microwave and toaster oven wiped free of the afore mentioned nasty dust layer...

If you didn't look at the floor, it didn't actually look so bad. Note I've been meaning to repaint my kitchen for years now. The purple doesn't really go with anything anymore, but I just haven't ever managed to get around to it. I had planned to last weekend but Dan had his first Saturday off in months and honestly, I wasn't that inspired when it came down to it.

At least things were clean(er).

I was down in the kitchen earlier tonight and it appears that a cleaning is in order again. Apparently they moved the fridge today and laid a lot of 1/4" wood to prepare for the flooring. That resulted in all the baskets I keep with medicine and such being moved on to my counters. Which I doubt have been wiped since I did it a week ago.... I haven't been home in two days - a lot has changed, but not really enough I think. I'm starting a spreadsheet with outstanding items so I don't forget to point various things out.


My sister says that Dexter, the kitten, has been very upset by being locked up every day. It's a shame and I hate it for all of them, but none of them need to get outside. Especially considering someone around here has taken it upon themselves to shoot my pets with BB's.

Tucker seems unfazed by Sadie's absence. It might help that Ash is around. But, after 5 1/2 years she might have been sick of fighting with Sadie for attention. On Monday some friends were over and she was jumping on the couch and getting her belly rubbed and basically everything she wanted without the worry of Sadie sticking her head in the middle of things.


Cosmo seems OK, after his ordeal. He finally moved out of his apartment and is now living in the laundry room with Tsu during the day. The wicker basket my parents sent home at the holidays is now living on top of the dryer and provides a sheltered hole to hide in. Unfortunately the sheets at the base of the washing machine and the dryer seem to provide an alternative to the litter pan...at least in their opinion. I even suspect my good girl Tsu is using the sheets. I'm not sure how to deal with the inappropriate elimination issue in regards to the new floor. I hate locking Cosmo up - but I'm really sick of him ruining my house. Unfortunately I can't let him outside with the BB guy around here somewhere and I feel that leaving him in the garage isn't the best solution for him either. But that may end up being his daytime option. Here he is eating and drinking on the coffee table. The other night we pulled out the sofa in front of the TV and made things workable, at least for that night. I can't put food on the floor because the dogs eat it - and Tsu and Cosmo are definitely cautious around the dogs these days. I can't blame them.

On Tuesday I made my final selections for flooring and carpet. Carpet was pretty easy as I just needed it to match what I already have as closely as possible since all the upstairs rooms aren't being replaced. The flooring was more of an issue, especially since they no longer make my flooring and the exact color didn't seem to be available. The cherry was a little darker and the beech a little lighter. I took a few pictures with the shelf that usually sits on top of one of the dining room credenza's next to each sample with a piece of trim and a piece of the old flooring next to it. Ultimately I ended up at the flooring store to look at the larger sample of beech.


See, my house doesn't get a lot of light, but I love my wood trim and the cosy feeling of the house. Yet, I want it to feel larger and open and the lighter color seemed a safer bet as I think the cherry would have just added to the whole 'cherry cave' thing my downstairs seems to have going for it.

I've selected the beech. Not sure how long it will take to get here. I don't know if it was in stock or if it had to be ordered. I think it will look good, I hope it will look good. I hope. At least it will be new....