(While I normally swear by purchasing just about everything from Amazon, given Jake’s issues with litter boxes I decided to procure the CG120 from a certain warehouse club store that accepts returns with no questions asked. If I’d known he’d be as happy with it as he is I’d have saved the sales tax and bought from Amazon!)

Pellets were all intact – other reviewers have mentioned pellets spilling out from the box. This was not an issue that was encountered. The GenieArm (all parts are prefaced with Genie-) looks and feels a bit flimsy, but doesn’t appear to be impacted by this.

Installation was quick – the hardest part is working out which way to lay the waste pipe so there’s a 1′-2′ flat stretch along the floor before it goes up to the waste water deposit for the washing machine. Plug it in, deal with the ear-splitting beeps confirming it has power, and press “Start”. A quick check for leaks during the water-in and water-out phases is all that’s needed to ensure everything’s ready to go. After the pellets have been dried the air smells clean – that laundry-clean smell that’s not quite fresh air, but not heavily scented, either.

The instructions recommend keeping the old litter box around while the cats acquaint themselves with the Genie, but after 36 hours of non-use I dumped the old litter box, leaving only the CatGenie as the sole litter box. A few hours later there’s evidence of use (and no spoiled furniture – Jake’s trademark indication he doesn’t like the litter!).

There was one oddity: included in the packaging, but not documented anywhere, was a small blue rubber ball. A low-contrast photo included with it indicated it should be dropped into the hopper (where the solid waste is deposited) where it would help avoid clogs with fur, etc. A more detailed explanation of where it goes, and that it will actually sit on top of the hopper mechanism, would have been nice. Instead I dropped it in and watched it during the first cycle to make sure it wasn’t getting chewed up or blocking anything critical. (Might as well exercise that right to return as early as possible!)

The CatGenie 120 was released to the public in July 2009. It’s now October 2009. My only regret is that I kept scooping litter for 3 months longer than I needed to…

Update: 6 weeks later…

Well, as feared, Jake is rebelling at the litterbox. The problem is the cleaning cycle: it just takes too long. If the cleaning cycle is running, Jake won’t clench for 25 minutes – he just goes where he came from (mostly the bed, sometimes the sofa). For cat activated cleans this system really needs to be done in 10 minutes; 25 is too long. I’m going to try switching over to human-activated cleans instead.

And the foul smells some users are reporting: baked poo. Every once in a while (about once every 10 days) it either misses poo, or breaks it up into pieces so small they fall through the scoop. Not a problem until the warming cycle starts, and then one of the vilest smells you can imagine propagates through the house until it can be vented out.

I gave this 5 stars initially; I give it 4 now. It’s nearly there, but the timing of the cleaning cycle really needs to change, and the scoop needs to be redesigned to avoid the aromas of baking that aren’t enjoyable.
Rating: 5 / 5