Cat Genie

[Velvet]

Has anyone ever tried a cat genie - what do you think of it?


http://www.catgenie.co.uk/go/about-catgenie/120-model

[angieh]

Something inside me is wondering if this is a scam ......... just seems too good to be true :D

Cativation??? Wonder how long it would take to train the cat to press the button. I may of course just be a party-pooper :shock:

[Squirrel]

I can see what you're thinking Angie... I'm more on the side of 'see how the rich live' in some ways. I could never afford it, and even if I could, there's nowhere it could fit in my small council flat!!! What dreams are made of in some ways... But yes, at that I can also easily see it being a scam...

[dandysmom]

You know, I can't really see going to all that bother and expense. I mean, how much trouble is a regular litter box with clumping litter, really?

[Velvet]

To mu amazement they are sold on ebay. I first heard about them a few months ago on a US cat forum, the admin lady has one

Your Cat magazine had the advertisement for them in the September issue which is how I came upon it. In theory it looks good however it needs plumbed in ......

[truthisouthere]

.."and this is the cats toilet"! Be honest, how many of us have a bathroom that has room for that, it could always go in a utility room I guess.

And then there's the hunt for a specialist to mend it if any of the (vast array of) working electrical parts were to go wrong, not forgetting to tot up how much it would cost to run, I bet that fan uses up a fair bit of leci and is it hot in the summer, cool in the winter, or just hot all year round I wonder..

Far easier to teach your cat to use the toilet in the form of 'Litter Kwitter', less chemicals involved, less expense and simpler all round.

[CatGenieUK]

Hello all,

CatGenie has been available in the UK for just over 2 years and has many happy customers (& cats). We do appreciate all feedback and comments and I hope I can answer some of the comments from above.

While CatGenie does have an initial purchase cost similar to buying a domestic appliance for the kitchen the unit does offer convenience and time saving. With no need to buy heavy bags of cat litter, clean trays daily or put out heavy bags of rubbish. CatGenie uses SaniSolution Cartridges to ensure the bowl is sanitised and deodorised during the wash. Each cartridge lasts four months with one cat (based on one wash a day). The CatGenie granules get washed and dried and never need replaced. Some will stick to solids and get washed away and any walked out should be brushed up and put back in the bowl. One top up box will last 3-5 months and is the size of a small cereal box.

Monthly running costs are around £7-8 with one cat and £12-14 with two cats. Cheaper than buying mid price cat litter. The power used works out around £20 a year. With the 1200w heater on for 14 minutes during the wash being the most power hungry part. Remember you will be running hot water when cleaning litter trays so this is a similar amount of energy.

CatGenie comes with a 2 Year Warranty. In the event of a malfunction we quickly ship you a new Processor Unit. This is the bit with the motors in it. We have your unit running again within 24-48hrs.

We have found customers buy CatGenie due to the convenience it offers in self-cleaning, removing the need to buy heavy cat litter as well as for medical reasons. Such as the customer who has a cat with an illness passed in the solids. By using CatGenie on CatActivation the unit washes everything away 10 minutes after the cat visit, minimising the risk of transfer to other cats in the household. We have also just completed installing 16 CatGenies in a rescue centre in Yorkshire. With the use of CatGenie freeing up volunteers to spend more time with the cats than cleaning. This is helping the cats be domesticated quicker and thus rehomed quicker.

But don’t take our word for it. Please browse our 5* reviews on Amazon and check out the many customer installations on our [removed]. Just search [removed] We are keen to engage with a wider audience and are happy to answer all questions and if you are a cat club with a show please let us know and, if possible, we would be delighted to bring a unit along for demonstration. Finally we are happy to offer to spread your purchase over three payments. This is not available on our website but please email or call and let us know. And remember, all direct purchases come with a 90 day money back guarantee giving peace of mind that you can have a full refund if you are not happy with your CatGenie.

Regards,

[truthisouthere]

Hi CatGenie UK

Ref your first posting on Catsey, about your product:

Not sure what you mean by stating that the fan running on this product (each time?) the cat uses it uses no more energy than hot water.. This hot water would be ALREADY HEATED anyway for general household use, so sorry, I have to disagree on that one, a 1200w fan uses extra energy and cost than manual washing with an already available supply of hot water. And it must come on each time the cat uses the Genie? If so the fan could be on for a total of 1-2 hours per day?

Also the granules can't really be swept up and put back in if you have a carpet in the room where it is plumbed in..And I wouldn't choose to install one of these if I needed to sell a house quickly, a permanent appliance like this could be a make-or-break for a sale, not everyone has a cat and wants an 'extra toilet' ao I would have to think hard on that one before installing in my property.

It's good to hear you've installed 16 Genies in a rescue centre, with positive results, not sure quite how it was funded as I always thought rescue centres were run pretty tightly.

I'll stick with my usual tray and granules thanks, when I get cats in future I'll use the Litter Kwitter. It works just like a human toilet (which it is basically!) and with no running costs! Sorry but your product's just not for me.

[CatGenieUK]

Thanks for the comments.

Power use works out around £20 a year so it is not a high energy use. It is a product aimed at offering convenience similar to if someone would want to invest in a dishwasher.

A mat in front of the unit is all you need to shake granules back in to the bowl. CatGenie is not a fitted appliance, it just sits on the floor. If fitted in the kitchen or bathroom or utility room CatGenie can be removed as it just connects to the existing plumbing using an T-Piece and waste goes in beside the washing machine waste or directly in to the toilet.

The rescue centre was awarded a grant from Pets at Home. They have worked out the costs and by rehoming more cats per year (due to domesticating semi-feral and nervous cats) then the cost per cat rehomed for the centre actually falls.

I must highlight I am only responding to comments to help people better understand the product and fully appreciate it is not for everyone. We are lucky to live in a world full of choices.

:)

[Velvet]

I think its an excellent idea & would certainly consider one if i had the room. The lady in the US said that getting older & arthritic, it saved her back bending up & down to clean trays. I would imagine this would be a draw to quite a few folk.

Staged payments is a good idea. Lady in the US did mention that only one in her cats regularly used it& one or two irregularly, preferring usual trays

My only question would be - do you need to retrain them to use a cat genie?

Thank you for giving us feedback :)

[CatGenieUK]

Hi Velvet,

We do find a number are sold to assist people with disabilities. Also in Ireland it is becoming popular as they are charged for the weight of refuse. CatGenie allows the heavy bags of old litter to be avoided.

As for cats acclimatising to CatGenie, this can vary from customers assembling the unit and before it has even been plumbed in a cat has used it through to a fussy cat taking 3 or 4 weeks. We offer a 90 day return policy so no risk in trying a unit. We end up getting about a 4% return rate due to cats not taking to the unit which we feel is very good.

It was featured on The Gadget Show TV programme back in 2009, during the filming as Suzy Perry talked to the camera about the unit a cat that they brought on the set looked in to the bowl then got in and did the toilet...while they filmed it! A perfectly timed performance!

You can view our simple guide for Cat Acclimation on our website [Link removed] under Customer Service - Manuals.