I made another great find at the SuperZoo Pet Expo back in September and I’ve been looking forward to sharing this one with you. The Smart Cat Box is in my opinion one of the very best natural litter systems on the market. I met the inventor, Sarah Maguire, President of Providence House Manufacturing and immediately understood that she is completely dedicated to creating an alternative cat litter box that is healthier for you and your cat and better for the environment.
The Smart Cat Box is the original patented two-part litter box. You may have seen another two-part box from a large manufacturer recently. This other two part-box uses plastic pellets and replaceable pads, both items that require repeat purchases (see my Litter Locker review to read about how happy refill purchases make me.) This other box has been getting good reviews, but I want you to know about the Smart Cat Box and why I think it is a much better choice.
The Smart Cat Box uses all-natural, non-absorbent litter pellets and a patented two-part box design to separate solid and liquid waste. The top portion of the box holds natural safflower seed litter that allows urine to pass through the slotted floor into a covered urine collection reservoir below. Solids can be easily scooped from the litter pellets and liquids are disposed of by emptying the reservoir. By separating solid and liquid waste and containing urine in a covered reservoir, the Smart Cat Box dramatically reduces unwanted odors.
Healthy for Cats & People
Recent concern about the dangers of using clay and clumping cat litters that contain silica and sodium bentonite has caused consumers to seek out natural litter alternatives. The safflower seed litter used in the Smart Cat Box is completely natural and safe for both cats and humans.
Collecting liquid waste separately also allows cat owners to easily test blood sugar levels in urine for diabetic and special needs cats. This feature of the Smart Cat Box makes it an excellent tool for both cat owners and veterinarians who need to regularly monitor a cat’s health.
Healthy for the Environment
Traditional clay litters have a negative impact on the environment on both ends of the lifecycle since clay litter is a non-renewable resource that is gathered by strip mining and it never biodegrades when placed in a landfill. The safflower seed litter used in the Smart Cat Box is made from a renewable resource that is fully biodegradable and is grown in the U.S.
I am currently testing the Smart Cat Box and so far, so good. The reservoir is very easy to empty and the cats seem to like the safflower seed pellets. I added on the extender walls (shown below) to give the sides of the box a little more height to prevent litter from being kicked out. The pellets are completely dust free and I imagine if there is an issue with odor that sprinkling a little Odorzout over the seeds would take care of it.
SMART CAT BOX GIVEAWAY!
One lucky winner is going to receive a free Smart Cat Box starter kit which includes the box, a 5 lb bag of safflower seed litter and a scoop. To enter, please leave a comment on this post and be sure to include your email address in the email field. All entries must be received by midnight on Friday, November 14. The winner will be selected in a random drawing on Saturday.
August 28th, 2009 at 11:34 am
I just started living with (and loving) a cat (my boyfriend’s) and so am new to caring for a pet. I had no idea that clay litter was not an environmentally-friendly product. Thanks for that information; I’m going to start using green litter. I’d love a Smart Cat Box for the bench I’m building to hold the litter box. Thanks!
September 20th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
I have a diabetic cat (and in a 3rd floor condo at that). I have to visit him twice a day (before school and at night) for blood sugar tests and insulin shots. Added to that is the tremendous work of carrying new litter up the stairs and heavily used litter (diabetic cats pee a lot!) down the stairs. I would love to try this litter pan but have already put out over $4000 on this cat and hesitate to spend any more. So I would love to win one!
October 13th, 2009 at 7:09 am
Looks like the answer to my never ending box problems.
October 24th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
I have been using one of these boxes for several months now. My cats like it ok and I love the ease of cleaning and the extremely low odor. I want a second box. This is great for all cats.
October 31st, 2009 at 8:14 pm
Our cat was just diagnosed with diabetes, and her output of urine has been a nightmare. This box seems to be the answer to one of the complications of having a diabetic cat.
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:38 am
Hi,….I love your site. And I sooooo want to try this product.
November 2nd, 2009 at 7:23 am
This is an awesome idea especially since we need to think about our environment. I would love the dust free formula of the pellets since I easily react to dusty litter (and trust me, even the litter that is advertised as dust free is not necessarily dust free!). I bet my kitties would love the odor free aspect of this product. Will have to try it out (if I can find it somewhere!).
November 2nd, 2009 at 12:34 pm
I want one. I just moved into a tiny studio in downtown ATL with 2 cats that don’t really like each other all that much and a brand new lab mix that was found outside a homeless shelter I volunteer at and I just couldn’t bring myself to leave at animal control.
They’re all awesome and doing great but it’s a lot of pet for 300sq ft. Hoping to train the young cat to use the toilet but I don’t really expect the 10 year old to take to it.
So any innovative, odor-free and attractive litter solutions would be very welcome.
November 12th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
i think this is a really cool product and would love to be able to try it.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I have 2 cats. One is diabetic. I like the idea of not filling the landfill with my plastic bags of full of clay clumping litter. I dump at least one plastic bad filled with 3-5 pounds of used clay litter daily. I tried the breeze litter box, but my cats hated the way the hard pellets felt on their toes. I think that the safflower seeds will work much better.
April 1st, 2010 at 12:27 pm
This really does answer the question of how to get a urine sample!
Sounds like a good idea.
May 31st, 2010 at 4:21 am
It seems that everyone thinks this is a good product. I have a question, as with the Litter Robot after awhile the plastic absorbs odor and you cannot get it out no matter what. I was told to put it in the sun, that would be good but I live in a condo and there isn’t anywhere to put the unit, it now sits in my storage because at $300 I cannot throw it out. This unit seems like it would have the same problem – plastic absorbs odor and a container filled with cat urine doesn’t seem very attractive. Of course, if your cat has health issues then this would probably be for you.
July 2nd, 2010 at 9:54 am
great idea for shelters that need to get urine samples!
July 6th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Last year I lost my wonderful almost 16 year old Sassy and vowed to never! have anymore pets. Until my two babies, brother and sister practically showed up on my doorstep…they just turned a year old. I have Lupus and have to be very clean and conscious of the whole litter thing….not only that….I am spoiling these babies, just like I did my Sassy…..but I feel like if I do better or something….I dunno….they will do better???…even though I know I did everything for my first baby…it’s hard, I just miss her…anyhoo…I would love to try this, too!!! Thanks!