Have you noticed lingering urine smell after emptying the waste drawer or encountered mystery pools of urine under your Litter-Robot? Welcome my friend to the world of high-peeing cats.
In this article, we will look at places to check and clean to keep your Litter-Robot as odour free as possible. Information on solutions to this intriging issue has also been sourced from our wonderful Litter-Robot users and Cat Evolutionaries and their inventive cats.
Many cat parents can't visualise how this happens because they don't have the pleasure of being owned by a high-peeing ball of fluff. Let me provide the scenario. Your furbaby enters the Litter-Robot, turns around to pee without squatting and aims high, shooting right up and out of the waste port in waiting position (yes, it's a thing but not for many cats thankfully).
The result of this is urine pooling in several places not immediately noticeable i.e. on the floor under the rear of the base, in the base (waste drawer cavity), the underside of the bonnet (near the night light), on the outside of the globe and sometimes inside the motor well.
HOW DOES IT HAPPEN?
Long legs and upward angles when bottoms are inside the Litter-Robot globe for business seems to be the common technique. Urine can get sprayed through the only opening in the globe, the waste port, located approx 1 o'clock when the Litter-Robot is in waiting position.
Pee goes up, hits the bonnet, and runs down with gravity to the lowest point.
Litter-Robot 3 is a more open design for accessing areas that may get urine pooled from hi peeing cats.
Typically, pee runs down the inside of the bonnet into the base via the right side (control panel side) rear bonnet slot.
It then seeps down the inside of the back of the base cavity, pooling in the rear channel (designed for this), and will drip out of the small formed holes at the rear.
A solution is to have absorbent material in the most convenient place for easy change out. For the Litter-Robot 3 that is the rear of the base cavity behind the waste drawer. You can easily access to change out when needed when you empty the waste drawer.
It is often easier to use your phone to take pictures in the hard-to-reach areas so that you don't miss some of the pee trails that can occur. This makes thorough cleaning easier as can be seen from some additional pictures.
If you notice urine on the seam at the rear of the base.
There will likley be urine inside the base as pictured below. It is impossible to see the below section unless you take a photo with your phone or unscrew the base, which is the best way to thoroughly clean the area.
If the volume of pee is large enough, or if your cat decides to spray the front control panel area, you may also see evidence inside the motorwell. It is important to clean all the areas thoroughly to reduce odour issues and avoid corrosion of electronic parts if drips go astray. The motorwell is designed to have the electronics up out of the well itself, with a drainhole under the motor. Checking under the Litter-Robot 3 can help monitor possible flow under where the drainhole is located.
Additionally, if the Litter-Robot 3 wiring or bonnet light is being affected, the components can be removed from the bonnet (leave the plastic cover) and the base connectors bridged to close the power circuit.
The more open design and understanding the flow path means the Litter-Robot 3 maybe the better choice if you do have hi peeing cats.
Litter-Robot 4 has an outer skin and an inner base. The main point of concern is if urine seeps between the skin and the base, as it will pool in the feet and affect the foot sensors and cause odour issues. You can access for cleaning but it's not as open and easy to access as the earlier model.
Urine will also pool in the base wells and can enter the motorwell, requiring cleaning.
The bonnet does not have any light or wiring. There is some room to place absorptive material, like puppy pads or even sanitary pads or panty liners, in the flow path (refer to pictures below).
This solution has not been live tested or Whisker originated, but is inventive and quite possibly effective for your situation if you have a hi peeing cat and a Litter-Robot 4. Absorbing the flow closer to origin should keep the urine contained and easy clean up by remove and replace as needed. Do share if you have success!
Pro tip, using the Litter-Robot Spray cleaner and/or wipes can provide a quick odour-effective cleanup for any cat deposits. A light spritz after removing the material will apply cat friendly enzymes to complete the cleanup. Especially effective on lingering pee smells!
Having a greater understanding of high-peeing cats and the design differences between the Litter-Robot 3 and 4 means that I purrsonally would recommend the Litter-Robot 3 as the better design for these cats, both for cleaning and durability considerations.
Cats are inventive in their toileting. Hi peeing is not common, but certainly provides additional challenges to choosing the right Litter-Robot to manage the litter box situation for cat families.
If you have questions, or additional insights, purrlease feel free to share, and I hope this assists with your research in to the best Litter-Robot for you and your furbabies.