Automatic Cat Box, Help!

[Cry Tears]

We have 3 house cats. Hate cat poo smells wafting from the cat box if I dont run down 2 flights of stairs and scooper da poopers!
I'm using Jonny Cat litter and change it every other day...a bit spendy this way...but can't stand the smell...and have all those cats.
Have any of you tried using the automatic cat box? It scoops up any time they go potty and contains it into a sealed box.
You must use the clumping litter...so will be costlier...but if it stops the litter box smells this would be great.
Do any of you use this? Have you tried it, don't like it? Why not?
If you love it....what do you like about it.

Is it spendy using a lot of the clumping litter?
They sell these autocat boxes at Costco for about $100....to me its worth the investment if it stops the smells and the litter peices that often gets tracked out of the box using the Jonny Cat litter.
If these auto boxes aren't any good....then how do I deal with catbox smells? I have an air filter in the laundry room where the cat box is.
But perhaps I should get a better filter like Ionic Breeze?
What ever your experiences is, I'd like your input.Please.....feed back please!
Blessings, Cheryl

[nopain]

The best air filters, and unfortunately the most expensive are made by IQ air.

http://www.iqair.com/

I own one and keep it in my room. If I close the door it can completely cycle the air in about 10 minutes. The only downside is on high speed they are noisy.

I think I'd opt to give the automatic cat box a try. I only had one cat and he was very housetrained never ever went anywhere except for the box. Didn't matter where I put it he would find it.

As an alternative you could purchase one of those pet doors and mount it on the door into the garage if you have one then put the cat box out there.

I wish I could remember the brand of litter I used to purchase. It was spendy but worked way better than the cheap stuff. I know Johnny Cat isn't cheap.

On a crazy note there is some weird device you put over toliets. And it seems like a good concept. But so few cats are really trainable that way.

[bon]

I have two beautiful cats and I do have an automatic cat litter box. I love it. Yes, it was around $100.00 but you can sometimes catch them on sale for a little less. The clumping litter is a little bit more expensive however you use NO where near as much litter. I have two cats and I use about 7lbs of litter a month. When you buy the litter cleaner it comes with a supply of filters, Poo holders (that you empty at least daily) and a scoop. If you overfill the litter box the motor won't work properly. It is marked clearly how to do it.
One thing that may happen is your cats may not like it right away as it does run automatically every 30 minutes or so (to assure box cleanliness). The cats have to get used to the humming noise it makes when running. Also, I recommend keeping their old litter box next to the new motorized one for about a week until they get used to the new one. I recommend NOT cleaning the old one so it's not as desireable to use (if you know what I mean:) )
My cats are finicky, so I use the non scented clumping litter. Seems a lot of cats don't like the smell and the feel of it on their paws. They wouldn't use the new box until I got the unscented stuff. Now all is well. The only "work" I do is empty the little pan into a small shopping bag, tie it securely, and dump into the trash daily. I check to see if box needs any litter added and VIOLA' happy kitties and happy me!!!
I hope this info helps and if you need any more questions answered please ask. I may have forgotten something that may be important to you! bon

[joy]

I used the clumping kind of litter when I had all my indoor cats. It cost more but was worth it. I would sometimes add baking soda but really it was not needed. I think the sound might have intimidated one or two of my older cats. Back when I was physically better off but still not tip top shape, I had several litter pans. That way if I was not up to cleaning them, I could slip them into outside building or garage until I was up to cleaning them. Not even up to any kind of pan now and boy, do I miss my cats. BTY, my seven year old dog is gonna get neutered Thursday! He likes the females too much to live in city. Sadly just about one-eighth of mile up road is out of city limits and he has friends, lol. So he's gonna have surgery, poor thing. Sure hope that does the trick as we don't plan on any more pets after he is gone. But he is such a sweety and I want to keep him desperately. My hubby gets extra love in my heart for being such a softy about my pets. I know you understand that too as I've seen the pictures, lol.

Oh and one more thing our feed store has the machines that automatically spray fly/mosquitoe spray. They also sell good smelling stuff that I use in my house just cause it smells so good. And no, it is not like the sh** under a pine tree kinda thing, lol. I have one by the back door for warm months to deter flies and two for in the house just cause I can't use candles, etc. because of allergies, asthma.