Generally speaking, your cat should have little to no trouble becoming acclimated to a new litter box, whether it’s a boring, old, conventional litter box or a new, stunning, technologically superior litter box, like the Litter Robot. If, however, your cat is staging a bit of resistance against the implementation of an automatic self-cleaning litter box, there are a few strategies that you can employ to facilitate the transition.
Unplug and Unwind
At first encounter, your cat may be reluctant to enter a device it has just seen rotating through its patented sifting system. Your cat probably cannot understand the engineering prowess that has gone into that very delicate and subtle movement, so it may not be especially willing to enter what it considers to be a hostile environment. The first step you can take to eliminate some of this reluctance is to unplug your Litter Robot and allow your cat to approach it as if it were no more than a slightly taller and more spherical conventional litter box. Just plug it in for a single cycle to clean after each use (which still beats scooping, right?) Then, as your cat becomes more and more willing to approach, enter and eliminate in the unplugged Litter Robot, you can start operating the system in automatic mode. Eventually, and per the reports of more than a few of our happy customers, your cat may even become rather intrigued with your (or should we say its) Litter Robot’s movement.
Location, Location, Location!
While luring your cat into the Litter Robot via treats and catnip can be effective, you may also want to consider the prospect of leaving your cat’s old conventional litter box around. Switching it out entirely for the Litter Robot may result in boycotts, which in cat-terms means urinating or defecating on your floors and furniture. To avoid this kind of inappropriate elimination, you should simply neither rush nor force the removal of your cat’s conventional litter box. Instead, consider employing a few tactics to make the conventional less sought after and desirable, while making the automatic litter box the prized waste elimination spot. This can be done twofold by moving the two closer together, so that your cat gets used to its physical proximity to the Litter Robot, while simultaneously allowing the old, conventional box to become more ever-so-slightly full, until your cat will naturally seek out the cleaner and vastly more appealing option in the Litter Robot.
Litter-Robot Incognito
If all else fails, you can try implementing some really furtive strategies. We all know that cats love cardboard boxes. They do little to hide this information from us. So, why not use it to your advantage in acclimating your cat to its new Litter Robot. It already comes in a very tempting cardboard box that happens to fit it perfectly. Simply slip the box over your Litter Robot and cut a congruent hole for the entry and exit passage and a slit for the waste drawer. Then, rather than thinking it’s entering some kind of futuristic teleportation device, your cat will think it’s been transported to a heaven all its own where you allow it to do its business in its own cardboard box.
Never fear, though, because eventually your cat will come around. Even the introduction of a new conventional litter box can cause some small bumps in the road, so it’s nothing to be overly concerned about. Cats are creatures of strict routine, and it doesn’t take much to knock them from their rhythm. Just give your cat time and it will surely adjust to the new (and vastly superior) Litter-Robot.
