LitterMaid LM680C Automatic Self-Cleaning Classic Litter Box (LM680C)

I am a dog lover. I do not understand cats and I am actually afraid of cats. Yup, afraid of cats because I am highly allergic, and don't want to die yet. 😊After I moved in with my fiancé, a cat lover, I realized his 13-year old cat was not well "toilet trained".Last week we got this litter box. I thought we might start to retrain the cat slowly, but my fiancé had a different idea and went cold-turkey, blocking all other options for the cat.The cat has used this box from the day we set it up!! The timing is perfect (10 minutes) to allow him to finish his business before automatically raking the clumps into the waste bin! The only time the waste is exposed to the air is during the raking; the rest of the time the clumps are sealed in the receptacle.I like the ramp/mat which traps litter so he doesn't track it throughout the house.One issue I have is that the power cord is very short. There is a battery back-up, so this is good. We are using an extension cord until we have an outlet installed within reach of the litter box.We have one cat and have to change the receptacle twice/week - just FYI.In my opinion this is a BRILLIANT invention! It works great!! The way the receptacles seal pretty much eliminates cat box, cat waste odor!! There is little or no scooping of litter box clumps!!I highly recommend this machine!!Update: I still love this machine and it works great! I have noticed this week that, in the emptiness of the spare bathroom, the sound of the motor is amplified.

Bought this so my older cat would stop peeing on the floor just because there was a clump of his own pee somewhere that was missed.Well it has worked for that reason but by the gods there is a price to pay!!!We had an old litter maid auto box so I thought hey litter maid why not go for this one, newer model should be just as a good right??NOPE, this has been a disgusting nightmare, from the clumps clinging to the rake the little parts falling in between the plastic tray and sitting on the floor to just pushing the poop onto my floor.Have you ever wanted to finger your cats pee clumps?! No? Then I would recommend not buying this as that will become a common occurrence.So let me run down a daily trend with this abomination.I would go to empty the tray, first I must scrap the top of the littler box lid (because those plastic lids can never stay on, and my cat likes to pee in one spot causing a pile up, then he steps on it causing it to be mushed into the lid)So after scrapping the lid I would then go to remove the tray well fun times because of the weight of the cat pee the tray would slip under the little section that holds it, so I would need to pull the little bit of the tray I can all while pushing past the feeling of my finger in my cats pee clump, then pull it up to throw it away and as I pull it up the little bit of the tray will snap spraying me in the face with bits of litter and pee (because for some reason it likes to scoop as soon as the cat has gone and the clumps are not dry but nice wet chunks of pee and litter).This brings in the fact that the clumps will leak, and the cheap trays will break under the weight causing the pee to leak under the tray, so there is a giant nice mess right under where the tray sits!Because the clumps don't dry out before they are moved the will stick to the rake and then somehow end up behind the rack so you have to stop it half way to scoop those out, let it continue and attempt to empty the tray.Even using plastic bags does not save this mess!! We use them now sitting in the tray and it will still miss the parts and cause litter and pee to sit under the tray.There is also a nice section that allows the pee clumps to fall out of the litter box on your floor, look at the side see those neat little curves? Yeah they suck!My fix for that is I have taped some cardboard to the side so the clumps cannot fall onto the floor (not that it matters with this disgusting thing) But all that does is cause the littler and pee to sit on the ledge until you scoop it off into the tray for garbage (good luck getting all of it)This has been the most disgusting litter box I have ever seen, it constantly will miss the scoop and cause the piles of poop to roll down the ramp and lay on the floor, I know it was in the littler box because there is litter on it and this old timer of a cat doesn't like to bury his crap anymore!Not to mention how messy it is around it you are always walking on littler and the fact it is in the bathroom and you get out of a shower its so nice to see grey foot prints as you walk away!!It also seems to use a lot of litter, it doesn't seem to last a week at this rate, and daily changes of the trays will be costly.One of my fixes for the tray slipping thru was to put a lid under it, nope might need a couple more lids to keep it up from not falling thru.So because I really didn't want to send a used litter box back I tried to make it work, I used different litters, try to make some fixes and because of this I missed the Return Window even though it said I had a day left!!I have been extremely unhappy with this purchase, and once I can replace it I will happily run it over with a car, as this is a punishment that doesn't deserve to be pushed on anyone!

The sensor did not work in the first one I received so It was replaced by amazon. Then the replacement also had an issue, the left side of the blue flap was warped so it would get stuck all the way open by catching on the left side of the wall. I was UPSET. I called littermaid customer support and was advised to remove both sides of the casing, 5 screws on each side, then 2 screws that hold the front blue flap in, and I could use the good flap from the original unit with the broken sensor. Now after taking them both apart I have a working automatic litter box, and don't have to wait for another replacement, that I'm thinking would probably just have another issue.I have had a few clumps take rides on the rake after sticking to it, but my guess is it's due to the brand of litter. I am using a refillable clumping litter from a major pet chain. I'm going to switch brands and I think that will help..Two units with 2 separate defects raise warning flags for me that each new unit may have some type of defect. So 3 stars it is.The motor is a bit loud and loud clicking sounds from the receptacle can sometimes also be heard depending on how you have placed the receptacle. Motor is loud enough that it can be heard anywhere in my 1500 sq. ft. apartment with the AC and fans on. I put a lid on the box this helped a Little bit with noise.If you have, or once you get a fully functional one, the bottom line is it works. Just note the motor is a bit loud.Update: Our cat just happened to be next to the litter box when the rake cycle went off. She has been sitting in front of the litter box for about 20 minutes just staring at the box. Looks like she's performing guard duty on it. She went half way in at one point then came back out and sat down again. Too funny. I petted her and told her everything was cool, she looked at the box, looked at me and meowed, then walked away. Now every time the rake cycle goes off she goes in to investigate and just stares at it for a while.UPDATE: Have now owned this for over 4 months. Our cat has fully adjusted to the litter box and no longer stares at it. She never walks on the ramp, just jumps right over it.I have tried a few different "Premium" kitty litters and have stuck with The World's Best Kitty Litter brand. It has resolved the issue of clumps taking rides on the rake by at least 90% It doesn't have the best odor control but I now add some baking soda to it and that has helps. I also put some baking soda in the receptacle. No matter what kitty litter I tried, there is ALWAYS about 1/8 of a dustpan worth of kitty litter that somehow manages to get under the unit in between receptacle changes.The groves that the rake travels along end up collecting kitty litter. I use a small brush to clean the litter out of the groves, turn the power off then on again to start a rake cycle, then turn it off half way through the cycle to clean part of the groves where the rake sits when not in use. If not cleaned it causes the engine to have to work harder. Maybe the groves could have been designed with a downward slope?The idea behind this unit is still great. It has eliminated the need to deal with the litter box every day, which was the reason for this purchase. Hopefully they will put more effort into designing future models.When changing receptacles I immediately spray some Lysol right in the receptacle as soon as I open the lid.