Self Cleaning Litter Box?

[Atlas]

I don't have much of an idea, just a caution. The top open litter boxes are ok for smaller/younger cats. But I've heard they can be bad on the joints. Jumping up from a loose footing like litter can be hard on them, as well as the idea of jumping down into it and landing in poop. Additionally, the self cleaning boxes are pretty small litter boxes when you take all the electronic stuff into account. I hope you come up with a solution.

[westtexas]

The top open litter boxes are ok for smaller/younger cats. But I've heard they can be bad on the joints. Jumping up from a loose footing like litter can be hard on them, as well as the idea of jumping down into it and landing in poop.

I would like to kindly disagree with this. Firstly because the box isn't deep enough for them to have to jump in or out of the box - they can simply climb in/out. My kitty uses the part away from the entry hole to do his business and doesn't step in his own waste (which he buries anyway).

But secondly because physical activity helps keep muscles strong which actually helps reduce strain on joints and allows for continued activity even in the face of arthritis. It's why we recommend swimming so much for doggies with osteoarthritis in their hips due to hip dysplasia. When many pets get degenerative joint disease it's due to changes that were there since a young age that predisposed them to arthritis and not from repetitive motion injury (not that I think jumping in and out of a box qualifies as that in the least).

[trista]

We have a self-cleaner and I love it! Ours is a Litter Robot. It's 5-ish years old and still going strong. Definitely worth the money!

[smilingcat]

Wow, dog being more nimble and agile than a cat does present a very unusual and difficult problem.

18 pound cat is BIG!!!
8 pound dog is tiny.

How about a simple door that requires the needed body weight to open.
a door with a hinge on top.
a platform for the animal to open the door also hinged.
and a connecting rod to tie the platform and the door.
a counter weight to keep the door closed if the weight on the platform is below x pounds.

I think this is simple enough in concept.

[Aggie_Ama]

That is a neat concept Smiling Cat. Tortilla is definitely overweight, my vet would like her to get down to 14-15 lb but cats are very difficult to get weight off. She would still be a large cat, they believe she is part Maine Coon and definitely Manx. We tried can food and after awhile she refused to eat. We are very diligent in measuring her food, we'll see what the vet says when she needs shots again.

I also saw this litter box, http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...ductId=4017038. It looks like enough of a chore Heidi would just ignore it but worried Tortilla is too big.

[Blueberry]

We have one of those. Our current crop of kittens isn't huge yet - but the
"potty" area of that one is a lot smaller than one would expect, so I don't think it would work for an 18lb cat. Our Maine Coon look alike is already big enough that we're going to have to trade it soon. Sucks because it's otherwise really nice.

[Atlas]

I would like to kindly disagree with this. Firstly because the box isn't deep enough for them to have to jump in or out of the box - they can simply climb in/out. My kitty uses the part away from the entry hole to do his business and doesn't step in his own waste (which he buries anyway).

But secondly because physical activity helps keep muscles strong which actually helps reduce strain on joints and allows for continued activity even in the face of arthritis. It's why we recommend swimming so much for doggies with osteoarthritis in their hips due to hip dysplasia. When many pets get degenerative joint disease it's due to changes that were there since a young age that predisposed them to arthritis and not from repetitive motion injury (not that I think jumping in and out of a box qualifies as that in the least).

I don't actually have one, I was just going off of what I've read about them so I appreciate your personal experience with one. It's always nice to hear from both sides of an issue (even if it's just litterboxes)