Like many cat owners, I love cats but hate cat litter. Cleaning litter boxes is a chore that I could do without and if you have a fussy cat who has to have a sparkling clean litter box at all times then you are constantly scooping kitty litter. Now many might say that that is not an issue but if you are at work or asleep then you cannot scoop litter as soon as your precious kitty has used the box. Have multiple cat litter boxes? You may not have the space. Therefore, I am a big supporter of self cleaning cat litter boxes.
Well Aimicat have now brought a new stylish self cleaning cat litter box onto Kickstarter. And it is looking to be doing rather well with meeting its goals. So let’s have a look at this new automated cat litter box.
First of all this does look rather clean and stylish. We have a large white dome on a smaller base and it does have legs. That can help with getting a vacuum cleaner under the machine to clean up any stray litter. On first impressions I do like the look of the box and it is a very good size. Sometimes self cleaning litter boxes can be a little bit of a tight squeeze especially if you have a larger cat breed. This is also true for the entrance to the box – the entrance hole is very sizeable so a good sized cat will definitely be able to easily enter.
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How the Aimicat Works
I like simple when it comes to cat litter boxes and this looks extremely easy to set up and use. The top dome is easily removable from the base and can just be easily placed onto the base when in use. Then just fill with litter, plug it in and it’s ready to go. Oh yes don’t forget to put a garbage bag into the base unit to catch the used litter and poops. This uses any clumping litter and you can use any size garbage bag – just make sure the bag is bigger than the base pan.
Then it is just up to your cat, once they leave the litter box it rotates and cleans itself. The litter goes through a built in litter filter depositing any used litter into the box below. and keeping the unused litter inside the dome You then just need to empty the garbage bag about once a week. Though, I would say you may need to empty the box more regularly if you have multiple cats.
After using automated litter boxes myself for a few years I can say that usually they use a lot less litter than having to scoop yourself. I usually use Worlds Best Cat Litter in my automated boxes and a bag of that goes a very long way. Aimicat, the makers of this self cleaning litter box, say that they expect cat owners to save around $600 a year on cat litter – as a normal cat litter box uses about four times the amount of litter. Again these figures would depend on how many cats you have and what type of litter you buy. However, with those savings this litter box would easily pay for itself within a year.
Does it Turn When The Cat is Inside?
The Aimicat does have safety features so that it does not rotate when your cat is inside. This works by using the infrared sensors so that it can tell when your cat is inside the dome. Once your cat leaves then the cleaning cycle begins. If your cat then decides to return to the box in mid cleaning cycle the sensors trigger and stop the cycle – only restarting once your cat has left.
The inside of the dome is also waterproof so that any little accidents like peeing on the dome walls will not affect any of the electronics and thus keep your cat safe.
The Pros and Cons of the Aimicat Self Cleaning Litter Box
The pros of self cleaning litter boxes are:
- They use less litter that normal cat litter boxes
- They mean less litter box maintenance – just empty the garbage bag once a week and you can wash the dome when needed.
- Your cat always has clean and fresh litter
Cons of self cleaning litter boxes:
- Self cleaning litter boxes are more expensive than normal litter boxes up front. Usually though over time with the litter and time savings this does even out but the up front cost can be daunting to many.
- As they are electronic parts can sometimes go wrong and you do need to be able to get hold of replacement parts. Have a look at our Litter Robot review if you are worried that a new automated litter box manufacturer is going to have issues with replacement parts.
Save on Kickstarter
If you back this project on Kickstarter you can get yourself some large discounts on the Aimicat self cleaning litter box. Please visit the Aimicat Kickstarter page to see all the rewards.