Updated: August 8, 2022 by Kristen Chapple
To be completely honest, I can deal with cat hair and an occasional dead “gift”, but the thing I dread doing the most is cleaning my cat’s litter box. For such a hygiene-obsessed creature, he tends to leave litter everywhere and don’t get me started about the nasty smell.
Lucky for me, all of that changed when I discovered the world of automatic cat litter boxes and one in particular, the CatGenie. This top of the line device scoops, flushes, and cleans cat urine and poop all by itself!
In these CatGenie reviews you will learn everything there is to know about this magical litter box and its features. Hopefully, you will be as impressed as I was and decide that it is the litter box solution you were looking for.
Our CatGenie Review
The CatGenie Self-Flushing Cat Box is a fully automated cat litter box in the shape of a toilet bowl. It uses washable granules instead of the clumping litter, thus minimizing the production of waste and offering an environmentally-friendly solution.
While its robust design can be intimidating at first, the CatGenie is easy to set up, but it requires a hookup to cold water and an electrical outlet. While this isn’t rocket science, it may be a bit confusing if you have never done anything like it before. If you want to forego the high-tech and are more comfortable with going old school, do check out our roundup of great litter boxes.
This self-flushing litter box is very spacious and will allow your cat to comfortably do its business. And it is designed in a way to be instantly appealing even if your cat has never used an automated litter box before.
Pros
- Completely automated – simply set it up and forget it is even there
- Hypoallergenic and environment-friendly litter
- No dust or odor
- Ideal for homes with up to three cats
- Eliminates manual scooping
- Cost-effective solution
Cons
- The cleaning process is a bit long and noisy
- Occasional clogging
- Cats can track granules
CatGenie Self-Flushing Cat Box Ratings
| Feature | Rating |
| Fully Automated | 5 |
| Environment-Friendly | 5 |
| Easy To Set Up | 4 |
| Cat-Friendly Design | 5 |
What Is The CatGenie Self-Flushing Cat Box?
The CatGenie Self-Washing Cat Box has been on the market a few years now, with a goal to completely automate the cat litter box cleaning process. Simply put, once you get a Genie, you will never have to clean your cat’s litter box again.
Shaped as a toilet bowl, the Genie works like a regular litter box, but it also flushes and cleans cat urine and poop. But instead of using dust-free litter, the CatGenie uses granules which are rewashed after every use for a completely eco-friendly approach.
How Does CatGenie Work?
It is worth noting that CatGenie eliminates cat urine and poop in two different ways. Once the urine is drained and the poop scooped, everything gets flushed out of your home just like the waste from a regular toilet.
Essentially, once your cat enters into the Genie and does its business, the urine will get drained away and flushed. Any solid waste will be scooped by the Genie Hand and deposited into a waste chamber to further break down before it gets flushed down the drain.
The washing cycle then gets activated and SaniSolution – a completely safe and veterinary recommended cleaning formula – is released into the water. At this point, the base starts to rotate while filtering the granules through the scooper for a thorough clean.
After the litter has been cleaned and disinfected, the blow-drying process starts in order to dry the plastic litter granules and make them ready for use again. The entire cleaning and drying process lasts about 30 minutes, which is a bit longer than with other automatic litter boxes. But it is well worth the wait since your kitty’s toilet is scrubbed completely clean.
CatGenie Dimensions & Design
The CatGenie is made of durable materials and features a sturdy and compact design. My first impression of it was that it actually looks like a smaller plastic version of a regular toilet.
The solid plastic shell, aluminum pins, and heavy-duty motor are designed to sustain everyday abuse from your cat and will be no worse for wear if bumped occasionally.
The cistern-like structure is home to a processing unit, the cat motion sensor, the SaniSolution cartridge, control panel, the Hopper, and the Genie Hand. The bottom section is designed like a bowl and it contains washable granules.
Although compact, the Genie is very spacious and will provide enough space for your cat to do its business comfortably. It measures:
- 19 x 16 x 17 inches
- Basin provides 230 square inches of usable space
Unlike many other self-cleaning litter boxes, the Genie uses a bowl-like design to maximize the surface your cat can use. Its sides are also low enough to be easily accessible to all cats no matter their age or mobility issues.
CatGenie Main Features
You might think that CatGenie is just another self-cleaning litter box, but you’d be wrong. Based on my experience and many raving CatGenie litter box reviews, it is safe to say that this is a superior self-washing litter box.
Let’s take a look at the features that make that possible:
- Fully automatic – it scoops and flushes the waste away and washes itself
- Suitable for up to three average sized cats
- Best used for kittens older than six months
- Litter area is 17 inches across, providing 230 square inches of usable space
- Reusable litter-like granules are ideal for a cat to bury their mess and move the litter around
- Biodegradable SaniSolution and reusable granules are completely eco-friendly
- Comes with supplies that last approximately three months for one cat, or two months for two cats
- Hypoallergenic litter-like granules
- Reduces household waste
- Can be left unattended for weeks and it will stay clean
- Removes all unpleasant cat odors
Setting Up CatGenie
In order to actually work and clean your cat’s messes instead of you, the CatGenie needs an electrical outlet or power source. It also needs to be hooked up to cold water and a waste-water drain.
These requirements limit the Genie’s portability and you will have to find a permanent place for it, either in the bathroom or laundry room. Alternatively, you can set it up in the basement if it has a waterline and a waste drain in it.
The great thing about this automatic cat litter box is that it comes with everything you need to set it up including T-adapters for water and electric hookups.
According to the manufacturer, you don’t have to be a plumber or have any special skills since the setup is fairly simple and will take 15 minutes tops. This may be true if you already have some DIY experience around the house.
Personally, I found the instructions a bit hard to follow and ended up needing help to set up my kitty’s toilet. But to be completely honest, I don’t have any handyman experience, so maybe that was the real issue.
Generally, if you aren’t completely sure that you can set up the CatGenie based on the instructions, it would be wise to ask for help. Otherwise, you may end up dealing with malfunction and damage on top of leakage.
Programming CatGenie
Besides the fact that it is completely automated, the things I like the most about this kitty toilet are its three modes. The Genie comes with a control panel which gives you an option to pick from three start cycles.
Let’s take a closer look at each of them:
Cat Activation
This is the recommended mode, and based on CatGenie reviews, the most commonly used among cat parents. Basically, the Genie will work for 14 hours and stay inactive for 10 hours, giving you peace and quiet during the night.
In this mode, the Genie will automatically start the cleaning cycle with a 10-minute delay after the cat uses the toilet. But there is an option to manually change the delay to 30 minutes. Either way, rest assured that the Genie will not start the cleaning cycle if your cat is still in it. This is mainly because it has built-in sensors which help it detect your cat’s weight and movement as well as the moment she leaves the box.
If you opt for this mode, one SaniSolution cartridge will last you for 240 cleaning cycles.
Auto Start
Gives you a chance to manually program your Genie to start the cleaning cycle every six, eight, 12, or 24 hours. To set up this program, you will only have to push the Auto Start button as many times you want the Genie to finish the cleaning cycle.
The downside is that a single SaniSolution cartridge is sufficient for 120 cleaning cycles.
Push Start
This is a manual start option which allows you to start the cleaning cycle when convenient for you. This option can be useful if you want to check your kitty’s poop for worms or any other health issues. But you can also use it to when the Genie is inactive in the Cat Activation mode to force a cleaning cycle. In this mode, a single SaniSolution cartridge is good for 120 cleaning cycles.
How To Clean And Maintain CatGenie
Since this is a self-cleaning device, there is no need for you to do any manual cleaning, such as scooping after your cat poops. But, you will also be glad to hear that the Genie is overall an easy-to-maintain device.
However, you will have to buy and replace maintenance cartridges every two to four months, depending on how much time your kitty spends in her toilet. These cartridges are designed to remove dirt and grime from hard-to-reach areas like the water sensor and drain holes, thus ensuring that your Genie works properly.
Also, be prepared to add some granules from time to time, since they can be flushed accidentally or your kitty can track them all over the floor. We recommend placing the CatGenie on a litter mat that will catch those so you don’t have a mess on your floor. Keep in mind that you will never have to completely replace the granules, you will just need to add some if their level is below the safe line.
When it comes to SaniSolution cartridges, you will need to buy one every time the old one runs out of sanitizing liquid. Luckily, you won’t have to do the math and calculate how many cleaning cycles are left – the Genie will keep the count. Once there are 10 cleaning cycles left the cartridge LED will turn on, and the beep sound will activate when the Genie is down to three cleaning cycles.
While this may seem like a lot of things to think about at first, it really isn’t so complicated. In the end, this is still way less work compared to cleaning a standard litter box a couple of times a day and carrying all that litter from the store.
What’s In The Box?
Although extremely unlikely, you can never be completely sure that any device you ordered online will come with all its parts. And it would be really unfortunate to pull everything out of the box and get started with the installation just to realize that you are missing a part.
Here is what you should get:
- Utility or laundry room T-adapter
- Power T-adapter
- The CatGenie litter box
- SaniSolution cartridge
- Reusable litter-like granules
Additional accessories you can buy are:
- Cat dome to contain litter and male cats spray and urine
- Sidewalls to prevent the litter from falling on floors
Where To Buy CatGenie Self-Cleaning Litter Box
After reading CatGenie Reviews you may have decided it is worth the investment. Generally, as with anything else, your best bet is to buy a CatGenie online.
Personally, I recommend ordering through Chewy.com as they usually offer a discount on the original price in addition to free shipping.
The CatGenie comes with a 90-day money back guarantee and it also has a two-year limited warranty.
Wrap Up
All things considered, the CatGenie Self-Cleaning Litter Box is one of the best automatic litter boxes I’ve encountered so far. It does exactly what it promises – scoops, flushes, and cleans up after your cat so you don’t have to.
It is also completely eco-friendly and will significantly lower the amount of waste you are creating. And its cat-friendly design makes it appealing to cats and most of them don’t experience any trouble transitioning from a normal litter box to the CatGenie.
While there are some things that are less than ideal – like long and noisy cleaning cycles – those can be put aside. Just imagine a life with your cat minus the cleaning of the litter box and ammonia odor, it sounds like heaven right? If that is the life you always wanted, you can get it today by purchasing the CatGenie Self-Cleaning Litter Box right away.
