At PetsWeekly, we rely heavily on automatic litter-boxes. Lately, however, I have become increasingly frustrated with them - or more specifically, with the LitterMaid Elite Mega Advanced Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box (LME9000) (of which I have three). Let's face it - when you have a Pride of 14 cats, you can't spend time messing around with litterboxes that don't work. And since LitterMaid changed to their new design, it just doesn't work.

So when I began speaking with Brilliant Pet, the designers of the ScoopFree Automatic Litterbox, I was excited to try something new. I'll be honest - I had my doubts because there are very few automatic boxes that will work with my Pride, but I had to find something...

While we're still early in the testing phase, I have to tell you how impressed I am with this product. And for a number of reasons. To begin with, it uses specialized litter crystals that absorbs urine on contact.  Not only does it absorb urine, it "dries" out feces so that you're not left with a stench after it's been swept into the disposable tray. Sensors identify when a cat has used the box, and twenty minutes later, the stainless steel rake sweeps it away quietly and efficiently.

Depending on the number of cats you have, the cardboard tray will need to be changed out at various intervals depending on the number of cats you have. For example, the Cog was the first to test this product out in our home and we made certain that she was the only one who had access to it. We are at Day 8 and we haven't even had to clean the tray! To put this in perspective, I can tell you that when she used the LitterMaid, we had to empty the box 1-2 times per week (assuming the rake was actually working that day).

Setup of ScoopFree: Setup is simple. Remove the unit from the box, place the cardboard box under the tray, empty crystals (included) into the bin, then plug in.

Cleaning of ScoopFree: BrilliantPet has put some thought into the design of Brilliant Pet. When you need to replace the crystals, simply lift the lid and slide out the cardboard tray. Place the lid over top of the tray and discard. Easy. The unit itself is durable and easy to clean.

Operating Costs: Since we haven't had to replace the trays, we're not completely sure what the costs will be once our current crystals have dissolved. Luckily, I don't have to worry about that until later. The ScoopFree Litter Tray refills can be purchased for as little as $10 per tray (depending on where you purchase from). We recommend you put the money out and buy 6 at a time for the best savings.

Replacing Trays: ScoopFree recommends you follow these guidelines for tray replacement:

• Every 20-30 days for one cat
• Every 10-15 days for 2 cats
• Every 7-10 days for 3 cats

So let's do the math... Since we have so many cats, we have chosen to use our testing box in an area where we only have one cat for a more accurate measurement on litter consumption. When the 30 days are up, we're going to see how things went. If it seems like the box has held up without any jams and has operated purr...fectly during the testing phase, we'll implement three more machines for the Pride. That's a total of four boxes. Replacing the trays every 7 days on 4 boxes will run us approximately $40 per 10 days. Normally we go through 2 boxes of litter every 7 days, at a cost of $20 per week. If it all works out, we'll be breaking even on the costs of ScoopFree and add a few more benefits: 1. We'll be decreasing our impact on the environment. 2. We'll be eliminating the hours of back-breaking work on cleaning. 3. The cats will always have a clean box. (That's our goal!)

Overview of Benefits:

• Reliably designed and rigorously tested for more than 100,000 cycles without failure or jamming
• Premium Blue crystals stop odors 5 times better than clay and clumping litter
• Uses disposable litter trays to provide hands-off convenience and unbeatable odor control.
• You don’t have to see, touch, or smell messy waste.
• Includes disposable litter tray pre-filled with Premium Blue Crystals.
• Disposable litter tray has plastic lining that creates a barrier to help protect against leakage.
• Rake automatically sweeps waste into covered compartment 20 minutes after your cat uses the litter box.
• Sensors automatically reset the 20-minute rake timer if your cat re-enters the litter box.
• 90-day money-back guarantee with prepaid shipping.
• One-year limited product warranty with prepaid shipping.

We'll be following up on this product as we move through the review period. For now, we wanted to let you know how great it's working so far! If you would like a chance to win one of these boxes along with a BOLT laser toy, view our contest page for entry instructions. There is no purchase necessary!