Littermaid Multi-Cat Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box – Full Review

Littermaid makes it clear that they are “crazy for cats,” just like us! In all seriousness though, it’s not crazy to want one of the amazing automatic litter boxes made by Littermaid – Littermaid lm980. Both you and your cat can have the freshest, cleanest box possible, along with the smallest amount of hassle.

Over at our household, Littermaid is easily one of our favorites (and let me just say we have tried so many over the years).

Read my automatic self-cleaning litter box showdown here!

Littermaid includes their own line of automatic litter boxes along with easy clumping litter solutions so that you have more time with your cat and less time dealing with their litter. You’ll not only save time cleaning out the litter, but also time cleaning the carpet around the box while scooping.

Just set it up, get your cat acclimated to the device, and turn it on. If you’re like me, you’d be wishing you discovered it way sooner!

Littermaid LM980 Self Cleaning Litter Box

The Littermaid LM980 is a mega self cleaning litter box. It fits more litter while using a strong motor to clean it out for you. If you’re a little older, you work all the time, or you just don’t want to clean out the box every day, this will keep the box clean in the meantime. Backup batteries are even included, so all you need to worry about are replacing them.

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Littermaid lm980 Features

The internal drive is strong and durable with extra large walls to make sure you don’t get litter everywhere. Your cat will try, but they’ll have to work hard to make a mess around the edges! You can even use this box with multiple cats, which will only make your life easier.

Thanks to the paw cleaning ramp too, litter won’t be tracked everywhere. For safety, there’s a bar to stop the automatic rake in case of blockage. But you can also remove that rake simply to clean up if you need to. Full list of features here

How Littermaid lm980 Works

This special Littermaid lm980 automatic litter box works by scooping the waste into a sealed, disposable container that includes a carbon filter that’ll get rid of odors. The box works on timed dual-motion sensors that get working ten minutes after your cat is finished to scoop and remove waste in a jiff. This means that your cat won’t be scared of the cleaning mechanism if they step inside–and that they won’t be surprised by the sudden activation of the cleaning mechanism.

Remember that your the cleaning cycle will stop if the cat steps back into the box while it’s working, so you won’t need to worry about your cat accidentally tripping over the cleaning mechanism. The cleaning cycle will restart ten minutes after your cat leaves the box.

If you really want to go manual, you can push the button too, or remove the Littermaid lm980 rake to do it yourself. That’s one of the best things about this unit: that you only need to push a button for the rake to release. This makes it easy to clean the rake if something gets caught inside of it or if you just want to clean it manually for a while.

All you have to do is replace the litter and throw out the cat waste, but there’s no more scooping needed!

Pros:

• This self cleaning litter box model is a lot quieter than other models out there
• The rake removes litter more easily than previous models
• This Littermaid self cleaning litter box has been improved to be longer, wider, and deeper, so it holds more litter
• Cleaning cycle restarts 10 minutes after feline leaves the box
• Overall easy cleaning
• Safety bar helps to stop the rake if needed
• Comes with 4 waste receptacles
• Has high walls and can have a good amount of litter
• Cleans cat waste effectively
• Great for multi cat families with 2 cats or more

Cons:

• You might need to use specific litter to help the clumping process, which costs a bit more
• The litter ramp is inconvenient, and juts out too far

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Littermaid LM680C

Now this is a nice-looking cat self cleaning litter box, including adjustable programming so that you can scoop the cat waste between cleanings or clean all at once. This box is ideal for single-cat households, so don’t go out there buying a box that’s too big and takes up too much space.

If you only have one cat, get a box perfect for them without sacrificing automatic cleaning.

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Features

This model is also strong and durable with the same removable rake for cleaning. The LM680C however is designed specifically for single cat households or lighter cats. It still works automatically though to clean out the litter to remove odors, with high walls to stop litter going everywhere. The carpeted ramp even helps prevent litter tracking outside the box when your cat leaves in a rush.

Full list of features here

How it Works

Just like the larger available Littermaid boxes, the LM680C works by automatically scooping litter into a specific waste container to seal odors. Sensors activate after your cat leaves the box so that you won’t have to get down and clean unless you want to push the button or clean the rake.

The rake will just go through and push the waste out. Later, all you have to do is grab the waste, throw it out, and replace the litter.

Pros:

• This is the best litter box out there for trapping smell
• It’s easy to use bags in conjunction rather than buying replacement boxes
• Despite the fact that it should be used for one cat, users find multiple cats fit perfectly fine

Cons:

• Not all litters work well for the product, and if you get the wrong litter, you might have trouble with litter sticking
• You may need to give the box a shake every now and again to make sure the motor scoops well

Best Suited For:

This litter box is best for people with kittens, or those with only one cat. Just because you only have one, doesn’t mean you have to scoop twice as hard.

​Littermaid LME5500

The LME5500 is just as good as those other Littermaid boxes out there. It works great to clean up your cat without a hassle, and ensures that your household will be kept healthy and fresh. If you happen to have dogs too, the automatic cleaning will ensure that your dog doesn’t get into trouble either!

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Including carbon filters and a cat cleaning ramp like the other available Littermaids, the LME5500 cleans up litter in a snap. Waste receptacles and included carbon filter for the mess without you needing to get involved. This model even includes a sleep timer and ionic air filter to make your litter life fresher and easier than ever. Full list of features here

How it Works

Once your cat leaves the box, this Littermaid rakes the litter away and keeps it in a container that locks out smell.

All you have to do is throw out the container! The ionic air cleaner eliminates those odors in a snap, so all you’ll smell is the sweet scent of success.

Well, after things are cleaned up. The included sleep timer then makes sure that you won’t hear a thing while you’re sleeping.

Pros:

• The rake for easy cleaning works much better to remove the litter
• Removable automatic rake
• The molding is designed so litter can’t get trapped in out of the way places
• The wire is redesigned in this model, so it isn’t visible and is more durable
• Has a safety bar to stop the rake in the event of a blockage
• Designed for multi cat households!
• Has a paw cleaning ramp

Cons:

• Some of the waste gets stuck on the actual rake if you don’t have some sort of non-stick spray

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Tips To Use Them Better

If you want any of these boxes for your cat, they’re very easy to utilize and set up. There are a few things that you can do though to make your box work even better though.

For example, make sure that you always keep the litter somewhere between the two red lines on the side. Too much litter can upset the cleaning rake and make it go back and forth without stopping, which will end up shoving lots of litter into the back of the box.

Speaking of the litter, make sure to have good clumping litter. This type of litter will ensure that the rake isn’t struggling and that the motor isn’t strained.

Know too that if your power ever goes out, your unit will be reset to its off mode. You will need to manually go over and turn it back on, which is helpful to know before your cat runs into the box and starts digging around. You’ll also need to be careful not to get the sensor on the box wet because this could damage the functionality of the unit.

And if you have your box close to your bedroom, think about turning it off at night. Some brands of automatic litter box will have a sleep mode that you can set, but this one requires you to manually turn it off at night. You might seriously consider turning it off if only because this unit might just wake you up. It’s not extremely loud, but it’s not super silent either.

Know too that despite the fact that these boxes are made to remove your cats litter and catch litter that your cat tracks out of the box, there will probably always be a mess. Your cat will likely still track litter out of the box, so consider combining your box with a cat litter mat to catch anything that your cat still tracks out of your box.

Waste Containers

The littermaid lm980 mega self cleaning litter box does require replacement waste containers, which you usually will need to purchase, and which are thankfully not very expensive. Some people have figured out a way to reuse these containers though, and if this is something you want to do, you can get a normal shopping bag wrapped in a garbage bag and place that in the waste bin. This will let you reuse the same container many times over again without needing to buy new containers once in a few weeks or so. This is especially a good thing to do if you have multiple cats using the same box and don’t want to buy bunches of replacement containers.

They Work Great For

The LM980 mega self cleaning works wonderfully for people who want extra help scooping the cat litter box, although you do still need to maintain the box; it will not do absolutely everything for you, even if it does a great job at scooting the litter into the waste receptacle.

Make sure that your cat isn’t scared of loud noises either. Even if this LM980 mega self cleaning box isn’t terribly loud, some cats are a little skittish and won’t want to utilize the box due to the noise it makes. You can help your cat familiarize with the box, but just be aware that some cats have problems with the noise.

General Customer Reviews: Littermaid LM980 Mega Self Cleaning

For the most part, the reviews say that cat owners loved LM980 mega self boxes. They made it clear that as long as people filled the cat litter box box the proper amount, it was easy to utilize and worked perfectly. A lot of reviews mention that the waste containers were simple to utilize and install, and the automatic rake for easy cleaning really did go on and off easily.

Owners didn’t even have any trouble setting things up. Mostly, they were pleased that they didn’t have nearly as much dirty work to do. Even cat litter box reviewers that had good things to say however had a list of extra things to add on to the box. They loved how it worked, but they needed to apply cooking spray, a specific litter, add on extra containers, get their own bags, and tons of other tricks.

If you want to operate this box, there’s definitely a certain amount of maintenance required. That was the main issue with reviewers, as many of them commented that without these tricks, the box didn’t really work properly.

That being said, one of the great things about this box is that it is a little more low-key than other options. Some cats don’t want to use boxes that make them feel enclosed or that are too fancy as compared to what they’re used to. These boxes thankfully are more casual, and are close to what your cat would expect out of their usual box. This means that it should be relatively easy for your cat to get used to the littermaid, although some cats do certainly still have trouble.

Hillpig

The Verdict?

If you want to make your life a little easier, the Littermaid Brand is certainly one way to do it. I can’t speak for other automatic litter boxes. But the Littermaid lm980 litter is great for cleaning up your life one step at a time, starting with the cat litter. There’s no more worrying when you work long hours and just want to sleep. Push the button and it’s all done for you! Compared to Litter Robot, I still say that Litter Robot wins. Read more about my Litter Robot Review here.

Extra Large Litter Box