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.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Sounds good … I would like to give it a try.
November 13th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Wow I love the sound of this litterbox. All i can afford is a regular litterbox and Id love to spoil my cat and have one of these. We have toilets and I wish I could give the same glamour to my love my cat!
November 13th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
…love to try…
November 13th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
I’d love to try this out. I’ve been using world’s best cat litter, which like like because it’s safe and natural, but it also gets tracked all over the house. I’m curious if this reduces the tracking issue.
November 13th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
I’m glad to see so many cat lovers!
I’d love to win this! Thanks!
November 13th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
Thanks for the offer and may the best random number win!
November 13th, 2008 at 6:22 pm
This looks great! I like the option of extending the height of the walls. They would come in handy for one of our special needs cats.
November 13th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Jake, Ophelia, Zander, Tyler, and Sam have agreed paws down that they would LOVE to be the winners of this product! A five-tail salute for sure.
November 13th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
yay!
November 13th, 2008 at 7:03 pm
Sounds promising for a more natural litter box instead of the clay ones.
November 13th, 2008 at 7:05 pm
You’ve got be interested. With three cats, I like exploring new ways for litter. Thanks for the contest.
November 13th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Wow this would be a blessing!
November 13th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
I wonder if my kittens would use this. Very interesting.
November 13th, 2008 at 8:06 pm
This sounds interesting, and it’s good to hear the cats don’t mind the litter. The urine reservoir would be great for my big man, as he uses up a LOT of litter with the amount of water he drinks every day. Thanks for the review!
November 13th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Love this idea. As the mom to a pounce of six, I’m up for trying anything different – especially if it works!
November 13th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
This looks very cool. I have made something vaguely similar myself. I took two plastic storage boxes and drilled lots of holes in the bottom of one them. The one with the holes sits nestled inside the intact box. I fill the top box with pine pellets (like the non-clumping feline pine) which turn to sawdust when soaked with cat pee. The idea is that I scoop the solid waste and stir and shake the box every so often to get the sawdust to fall into the bottom box. From there, I dispose of the contents of the bottom box and have relatively fresh litter left in the top box. The bottom box can even be sprinkled with baking soda to help with odors somewhat. This smart box seems even handier, with no yucky disposal of the pee-filled sawdust needed. I’d love to get this, but unfortunately I live in Canada and their shipping rates seem fairly expensive!
November 14th, 2008 at 12:31 am
I’d like to get one.
November 14th, 2008 at 2:51 am
Clever idea. I’d like to give it a try (or rather my cats would).
November 14th, 2008 at 5:01 am
I hope that they get a Canadian distributer, as mail order cat litter isn’t in my budget!!
And has their been any issues with the cats eating the litter? My one guy thinks everything is food.
November 14th, 2008 at 6:00 am
well, this sounds interesting. I think I would keep it in the bathroom, as I haven’t even perfected the art of carrying a full cup of coffee without spills, so the closer to the toilet the better!
November 14th, 2008 at 8:57 am
i want one!
November 14th, 2008 at 9:04 am
I’m always interested in new litter products. This looks interesting.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:19 am
My kitty likes clean litter boxes.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:47 am
I’d be interested in trying this, but I’m skeptical. Doesn’t the plastic grid that urine passes through end up covered in cat pee? That stuff sticks to everything — ever notice that nasty residue on the inside of your standard litter box? And it seems like it would be a real pain to clean if it ever did get gross. Trying to clean the grid part would be like trying to get spaghetti sauce out of the holes in a strainer.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:50 am
I agree with all the posts about bringing the container full of pee to the toilet… I am a huge klutz and I can just see the possible issues. I’m intrigued though…
November 14th, 2008 at 9:50 am
Moderncat! A lot of responses seem worried about spilling or stink from the reservoir. I was too until I went to the website and read about it. Maybe you could address that in the blog? Sara Macguire, the inventor and president does address it in a comment herself:
“Some comments addressed concerns about the urine collection reservoir and the possibility of spilling. The covered urine reservoir holds up to 24 fluid oz. and this should be sufficient for one or two cats if it can be emptied daily. The urine reservoir has a spout for pouring without removing the lid. With a reasonable degree of care, one should be able to remove the reservoir from the litter box for flushing without spilling. Thousands of Smart Cat Boxes are in use and spilling has not been a problem.”
This is one cool idea for a littler box. Next time I am around Petsmart or such, I’ll have to see how small the seeds are, one of my cats doesn’t like pellets because they cannot provide a stable enough base for her to use. She has crippled back legs. Thanks Moderncat. Litter Week has been very cool so far, great work.
November 14th, 2008 at 9:51 am
I think this is a great idea!
November 14th, 2008 at 9:52 am
I definitely want to try this thing out. Looks amazing!
November 14th, 2008 at 9:54 am
i hate using and buying so much litter. it’s such a waste. this sounds like it would save me a lot of money.
November 14th, 2008 at 10:04 am
Neat. I worry about unhealthy litter.
November 14th, 2008 at 11:35 am
Yey, this is perfect for new kitty
November 14th, 2008 at 12:00 pm
Sounds interesting!
November 14th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
This is fantastic. My kitties like the pellet type of litter, but I the smell of the left over pee is too much for me to use it.
This box would be the perfect solution, yeay!
November 14th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I have often thought that this two litter tray system would be good for me, four cats! They are all family so they use the same one and I am constantly scooping! Not that you still dont scoop here, but seperating the two things will cut down on the amount of litter you have to buy. No car and that stuff is heavy! We go thru alot of litter here. I like the idea I will cut down on consumption from a financial and a green standpoint.
I am concerned about the safflower litter. Wondering how your cat reacted> I tried that natural pine litter once, bad idea. I read an artical after that stated never to use pine cleaner in a litter box for cat health reasons to use Lysol instead. I have never used pinesol to clean it always lysol so no wonder they didnt like the pine litter.
Hoping this is a better success for them. I hope we win it. Looks like it really would work for us- angel, boy, chrissy, moonbeam and me!
November 14th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
We would like to try this litter pan!
November 14th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
I would love to give this a try with our two little darlings, Minx and Bear!
November 14th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
My kitties want one!
November 14th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Looks like a great system! Thanks for an excellent topic this week and all your research.
November 14th, 2008 at 4:08 pm
Sounds like a good a good product. With the added benefit of using less litter overall.
November 14th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
count me in!
November 14th, 2008 at 5:48 pm
I’d love to see what my cats think of this. They are pretty particular where their poop goes. I’d love to give it a try.
November 14th, 2008 at 7:50 pm
Sign me up. My cat room is a nasty mess.
November 14th, 2008 at 7:54 pm
Thanks for all the good info about litter and boxes. Our two cats share a box very well, but I clean it daily. I’d like to upgrade to something cleaner and more natural.
November 14th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
Where does one get that litter and is it expensive?
November 15th, 2008 at 12:22 am
My cat just switched over from clay to feline pine, and we are both loving it right now. This new litter system might be even better!
November 16th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I think the ability to collect urine for testing could be very useful at times.
November 19th, 2008 at 5:52 pm
This litter box sounds phenomenal! I’m across the ocean, but will purchase 3 boxes come Spring when I move back to the USA. I’m not worried about the spillage, as it sounds like they created an easy spout method for a clean carry & pour. My biggest concern in that the litter will be hard to find & need to be purchased online only. is it sold at Petco? i’ll have to check.
I also wonder if an enzyme killer, like Natures Miracle can be added to the reservoir to cut down on any smell. I can’t imagine the smell being so bad. You have to clean your cat box twice a day either way, and we al know that the smell comes from the stagnant ammonia pee in the litter, not in an enclosed reservoir!
Kudos to the makers of this product! I cannot wait to try it.
May 4th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
I’ve already purchased the Tidy Cats Breeze and I love it. However, I’m thinking about trying this litter in the top of it, just because it can at least naturally decompose and would last longer, saving money.
I think it would work, as the products are built on the same idea.
June 18th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
MODERNCAT – I was wonder = How long does the Seedtec Safflower Seed Liter (either 5lb bag or 10lb bag) last? For example, you didn’t need to buy a new bag after a month or so.
June 19th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
I would like to try it. My cat has been coughing after i pour the clay litter in to his tray. I think he is haveing a reaction from it and it is not good for him. I have been using wood shavings but have been looking for something more friendly for my cat. And this cat box sounds just what I need. Thank you