Tidy Cats Breeze Litter Box System Review. ...
"Tidy Cats Breeze system.." 2008-06-29
By G. Diseth
I've had this for a few weeks, and I'm really happy with it.
The hugest advantage to this system is the urine is separated from the 'litter' and odor is greatly reduced. The litter consist of pellets similar in shape/size to the wood-based natural litters, but they are of a hard clay, which doesn't break down with moisture, and they keep their shape. Thus, the urine drains straight down through a grid to the pad (in its own slide-out drawer), and the poo stays on top to be scooped away.
The pee will not ferment with the characteristic stench, and you don't have to deal with clumping litter which doesn't really clump, and is just plain stinky and messy to scoop up.
The proprietary 'pee' pads are kind of like a giant maxi pad, and absorb a lot of liquid. Also, the bottom side of the pad is plastic, and the pad fits into the tray in a way that the plastic is upturned to keep the tray itself dry. Maintenance consists of merely taking the drawer out to the trash, and sliding the pad out, putting in a new one, and sliding the drawer back into the bottom of the box.
The litter itself are hard pellets, which hardly get tracked, and it is 100% dustless. A pellet or two stick to paws, but are easily picked up and tossed back into the box. Scooping is easy, and if the poo is dry, you can kind of shake it around in the scoop to knock off some of the pellets, then throw it in the trash instead of wasting water with a toilet flush.
It takes mere seconds to maintain the box vs. 10 minutes of scooping and scraping soggy clumping litter which doesn't really clump, but falls apart.
When it's time to change the litter (once a month), it just pours into the trash, no scraping the soggy wet concrete of old.
Some say you get a 'poo' smell, since kitties can't bury it quite like they did with the old type of litter, but I'll take that over the overpowering stench of fermented urine any day. And, the smell goes away quite shortly, just like human smell in the bathroom. Note that you should just use one bag of the pellets in the box, the litter won't be as deep. I just give the box a quick shake daily to even it back out.
Cat adaption to the new box: This won't work for everyone, but this is what I did: I set up the new Breeze system next to the old box (which was fairly gross, as I let it get bad) to see what would happen. I placed a clump of the old litter into the new box to let him know it was 'his.' My 9 year old fellow was pretty much using the new box right away (probably out of curiousity more than anything). After 3 days or so, I removed the old box and inserted it directly into the garbage, never to be dealt with again. No problems, 100% compliance on Max's part.
If Tidy Cats came out with a fully hooded version of the box, it would be great for the folks who have standing pee-ers, but my fellow doesn't do that, so I'm lucky.
Finally, some say the pellets and pads are expensive, but I estimate the cost as about equal to the old style of box over the long run - and the convenience and ease of maintenance should erase any other doubt.
Also, this system has the potential of keeping tons of conventional clay litter out of landfills.
Highly recommended.
"like it so far(1 day) , added info after a week" 2008-07-13
By D Bollman
I got this yesterday and so far it looks good, I've been using silica litter but even the cheap stuff is not that cheap and is fairly dusty, so I've been looking for an alternative and this seems to be it. The silica works great for drying up odors until it gets pee saturated. I sprinkled at little of the old wet litter on the breeze litter and the cats used it right away. The pee does drain through and the pads are good, they've used it quite a few times and the pad still feels dry. I'm actually hoping they DON'T poop in it and continue to use the silica for that, then I'll have the best of both worlds, the poop will dry and the pee will be able to be gotten rid of so the expensive silica will last longer.
After a week, still on the first pad and haven't noticed any odor problems. Have 3 cats and left the silica so they are using both but they are using the breeze a lot. Adding crystals or enzyme spray to the pad might stretch it's life out even longer. They've pooped in the breeze too and I haven't noticed a smell but lots of pellets glue tight so I'm losing quite a few each time. I'm used to the silica, which is much cleaner than clay or clumping and I haven't noticed any increased odor with the breeze.
Changed the pad on the 8th day because, well really how far do you want to push it, and no sign of trouble. It was HEAVY with no sign of leakage or deterioration (I didn't really try to stress test it, but it came out of the tray and into the bag with no problem).
"My tips for making this system work" 2008-08-24
By Ariane Benefit (NJ - NYC Area)
We have 3 long haired cats and have tried every litter box under the sun that promised "no tracking". This system is the first that truly delivered. WE still get a few pellets outside the boxes but they are easy to pick up with our hand vacuum.
We've been using the system for 4 months now and here are some tricks we found to make it work. We find that Pet Fresh (made by Arm & Hammer and usually used for carpets is a BIG help in keeping the odors under control. It's really cheap too.)
1. Right after they go number 2, we sprinkle Pet Fresh on it. This is because one of our cats doesn't cover his poops after he goes. The scoop works best after they have a chance to dry out a little.
2. The loose stool issue. It can be a real mess trying to get them out with a scoop. I found that using paper towels or toilet paper to pick them up is the easiest and cleanest way to get them out.
3. The pan that holds the pads starts to retain the smell of urine after a month or 2. Solution: Sprinkle Pet Fresh on the pan, then put the pad in the pan.
4. Issue: the sides of the pan start to smell and poop gets stuck to it. Solution: We keep Wipes, paper towels and spray cleaner near the box and wipe the box and scoop whenever it gets dirty.
5. Expense: We have found that if we look out for coupons and sales we can get the pads for about a dollar each and the pellets last a month in each box. We used to change the litter ever week and went through so much that we have found this system to actually be cheaper. The worst place to buy the pellets and pads is Petco - they are triple the price. Best place for us has been Target and Stop & Shop - we stock up when they are on sale.
6. Transitioning: It took us almost a month of increasing adding the pellets to the old litter. Every time we scooped the old litter we added more pellets. The whole time we had the new system right next to the old one. By the time the old system was almost all pellets they were using both so we got more breezes and got rid of the old. We did have a couple times where they went outside the box, but that was it.
It wasn't easy to change, but to not have litter and urine tracked all over the house is such a god send that it was well worth the trouble. My greatest fear is that they might stop making the refills! I was glad to read that someone said you could use the system without with the pads if you dump the urine every day. That would be not be ideal but it's nice to know it works. I was also thinking you could use doggie pee pads if necessary. As for the pellets, I'm going to try "Yesterdays' News" pellets and see if they would work. or may even tiny river rocks that are washable? washable pellets you don't have to replace would be awesome for the environment. Trouble is they won't get to make as money off them - but I"m going to be on the look out for something that works!
"Pure heaven!!!!!" 2008-07-17
By Layla B.
I was skeptical, as I'm sure you are! I read review after review just to make sure I knew of any known issues. Which are few are far between. To say the least, I am absolutely amazed by this litter box and wish it came out 10 years ago!
I am, now, the un-proud owner of a Litter Mate litter box. For the last year I have used it as a regular litter box (where I would scoop myself. Just too frustrated with the mechanism of the whole thing.) Anyway, I finally found a litter that did a decent job in that box, it's hard to find one! I settled on Tidy Cats scooping litter. Well, one day I was comparing prices online at my local grocery store and at Target when I came across this system. I decided to check out Amazon and the reviews.
With little hesitation I ordered the litter box, pellets, and pads. I also put the pellets and pads on Amazon subscription to receive 15% off each order and I could cancel at anytime. I ordered the pellets and pads because I didn't think the litter box came with anything and I was anxious to use it once I received it. Well, it did come with a 4 pack of pads and a 3 lb bag of pellets, enough to get you started.
I set it up right away, right next to their usual litter box. I checked the pad the next day and a cat, or two, had used that box! I was so excited! I left it there for 3 weeks because neither one of my cats went #2 in the new box. I was getting discouraged. I did what was suggested by putting some of the pellets in the regular box so the cats could get used to the feel of them. Still nothing. So finally, with fingers crossed, I eliminated the regular litter box and only made available the Breeze litter box. I came home from work that evening and prayed they would use the box for both duties.....AND THEY DID!!! I was thrilled!!
I have never smelled the #2 like some reviewers have mentioned, I don't know if they do it while I'm away or asleep, but there has been no odor.
I would suggest either getting more than one box if you have 2 or more cats. Tidy Cats suggests 1 box for each cat plus one. I only have one box and change the pad 2 times per week and it has worked perfectly, but knowing how well it works and how easy it is to maintain, I will be buying a second one!! I love that there is no litter to vacuum up or get tracked on the wood floor only to step on in bare feet!
I love this litter box!!
August 9, 2008: UPDATED I still LOVE this litter box!! It is by far one of the best things ever invented! I am telling all my cat owner friends about it and insist they buy this! I have to admit, I am a lazy litter box care taker, because of a busy life. This litter box makes it a lot easier to care for and it's so quick to clean! I plan to move it to a bathroom soon so I can flush the solids since I tend to scoop them out every day or two, it would make it that much easier.
If you are hesitating at all, you really should give it a try. I bought it before they reduced the price by $20! I risked $40 to try it, you can risk $20!
"Easy to use & no odors" 2008-10-20
By SongbirdK (Sarasota, Fla)
I have tried many different litter products for my Siamese Princess. From traditional littler boxes to automated ones. They all left the roomwith a litter box odor even the automated ones which scoop and hold in a closed container. None of the products out there did not create an odor. BUT NOW I tried the new Tidy Cat Breeze Litter pads and litter. To my surprise there is no odor. I can go for a whole week and change the pad once in seven days and there is no odor at all. Even my husband who has a very sensitive nose can not smell anything. Your product is the first to live up to the claims. Thanks for making such a good product. PLEASE DO NOT DISCONTINUE THIS PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By G. Diseth
I've had this for a few weeks, and I'm really happy with it.
The hugest advantage to this system is the urine is separated from the 'litter' and odor is greatly reduced. The litter consist of pellets similar in shape/size to the wood-based natural litters, but they are of a hard clay, which doesn't break down with moisture, and they keep their shape. Thus, the urine drains straight down through a grid to the pad (in its own slide-out drawer), and the poo stays on top to be scooped away.
The pee will not ferment with the characteristic stench, and you don't have to deal with clumping litter which doesn't really clump, and is just plain stinky and messy to scoop up.
The proprietary 'pee' pads are kind of like a giant maxi pad, and absorb a lot of liquid. Also, the bottom side of the pad is plastic, and the pad fits into the tray in a way that the plastic is upturned to keep the tray itself dry. Maintenance consists of merely taking the drawer out to the trash, and sliding the pad out, putting in a new one, and sliding the drawer back into the bottom of the box.
The litter itself are hard pellets, which hardly get tracked, and it is 100% dustless. A pellet or two stick to paws, but are easily picked up and tossed back into the box. Scooping is easy, and if the poo is dry, you can kind of shake it around in the scoop to knock off some of the pellets, then throw it in the trash instead of wasting water with a toilet flush.
It takes mere seconds to maintain the box vs. 10 minutes of scooping and scraping soggy clumping litter which doesn't really clump, but falls apart.
When it's time to change the litter (once a month), it just pours into the trash, no scraping the soggy wet concrete of old.
Some say you get a 'poo' smell, since kitties can't bury it quite like they did with the old type of litter, but I'll take that over the overpowering stench of fermented urine any day. And, the smell goes away quite shortly, just like human smell in the bathroom. Note that you should just use one bag of the pellets in the box, the litter won't be as deep. I just give the box a quick shake daily to even it back out.
Cat adaption to the new box: This won't work for everyone, but this is what I did: I set up the new Breeze system next to the old box (which was fairly gross, as I let it get bad) to see what would happen. I placed a clump of the old litter into the new box to let him know it was 'his.' My 9 year old fellow was pretty much using the new box right away (probably out of curiousity more than anything). After 3 days or so, I removed the old box and inserted it directly into the garbage, never to be dealt with again. No problems, 100% compliance on Max's part.
If Tidy Cats came out with a fully hooded version of the box, it would be great for the folks who have standing pee-ers, but my fellow doesn't do that, so I'm lucky.
Finally, some say the pellets and pads are expensive, but I estimate the cost as about equal to the old style of box over the long run - and the convenience and ease of maintenance should erase any other doubt.
Also, this system has the potential of keeping tons of conventional clay litter out of landfills.
Highly recommended.
By D Bollman
I got this yesterday and so far it looks good, I've been using silica litter but even the cheap stuff is not that cheap and is fairly dusty, so I've been looking for an alternative and this seems to be it. The silica works great for drying up odors until it gets pee saturated. I sprinkled at little of the old wet litter on the breeze litter and the cats used it right away. The pee does drain through and the pads are good, they've used it quite a few times and the pad still feels dry. I'm actually hoping they DON'T poop in it and continue to use the silica for that, then I'll have the best of both worlds, the poop will dry and the pee will be able to be gotten rid of so the expensive silica will last longer.
After a week, still on the first pad and haven't noticed any odor problems. Have 3 cats and left the silica so they are using both but they are using the breeze a lot. Adding crystals or enzyme spray to the pad might stretch it's life out even longer. They've pooped in the breeze too and I haven't noticed a smell but lots of pellets glue tight so I'm losing quite a few each time. I'm used to the silica, which is much cleaner than clay or clumping and I haven't noticed any increased odor with the breeze.
Changed the pad on the 8th day because, well really how far do you want to push it, and no sign of trouble. It was HEAVY with no sign of leakage or deterioration (I didn't really try to stress test it, but it came out of the tray and into the bag with no problem).
By Ariane Benefit (NJ - NYC Area)
We have 3 long haired cats and have tried every litter box under the sun that promised "no tracking". This system is the first that truly delivered. WE still get a few pellets outside the boxes but they are easy to pick up with our hand vacuum.
We've been using the system for 4 months now and here are some tricks we found to make it work. We find that Pet Fresh (made by Arm & Hammer and usually used for carpets is a BIG help in keeping the odors under control. It's really cheap too.)
1. Right after they go number 2, we sprinkle Pet Fresh on it. This is because one of our cats doesn't cover his poops after he goes. The scoop works best after they have a chance to dry out a little.
2. The loose stool issue. It can be a real mess trying to get them out with a scoop. I found that using paper towels or toilet paper to pick them up is the easiest and cleanest way to get them out.
3. The pan that holds the pads starts to retain the smell of urine after a month or 2. Solution: Sprinkle Pet Fresh on the pan, then put the pad in the pan.
4. Issue: the sides of the pan start to smell and poop gets stuck to it. Solution: We keep Wipes, paper towels and spray cleaner near the box and wipe the box and scoop whenever it gets dirty.
5. Expense: We have found that if we look out for coupons and sales we can get the pads for about a dollar each and the pellets last a month in each box. We used to change the litter ever week and went through so much that we have found this system to actually be cheaper. The worst place to buy the pellets and pads is Petco - they are triple the price. Best place for us has been Target and Stop & Shop - we stock up when they are on sale.
6. Transitioning: It took us almost a month of increasing adding the pellets to the old litter. Every time we scooped the old litter we added more pellets. The whole time we had the new system right next to the old one. By the time the old system was almost all pellets they were using both so we got more breezes and got rid of the old. We did have a couple times where they went outside the box, but that was it.
It wasn't easy to change, but to not have litter and urine tracked all over the house is such a god send that it was well worth the trouble. My greatest fear is that they might stop making the refills! I was glad to read that someone said you could use the system without with the pads if you dump the urine every day. That would be not be ideal but it's nice to know it works. I was also thinking you could use doggie pee pads if necessary. As for the pellets, I'm going to try "Yesterdays' News" pellets and see if they would work. or may even tiny river rocks that are washable? washable pellets you don't have to replace would be awesome for the environment. Trouble is they won't get to make as money off them - but I"m going to be on the look out for something that works!
By Layla B.
I was skeptical, as I'm sure you are! I read review after review just to make sure I knew of any known issues. Which are few are far between. To say the least, I am absolutely amazed by this litter box and wish it came out 10 years ago!
I am, now, the un-proud owner of a Litter Mate litter box. For the last year I have used it as a regular litter box (where I would scoop myself. Just too frustrated with the mechanism of the whole thing.) Anyway, I finally found a litter that did a decent job in that box, it's hard to find one! I settled on Tidy Cats scooping litter. Well, one day I was comparing prices online at my local grocery store and at Target when I came across this system. I decided to check out Amazon and the reviews.
With little hesitation I ordered the litter box, pellets, and pads. I also put the pellets and pads on Amazon subscription to receive 15% off each order and I could cancel at anytime. I ordered the pellets and pads because I didn't think the litter box came with anything and I was anxious to use it once I received it. Well, it did come with a 4 pack of pads and a 3 lb bag of pellets, enough to get you started.
I set it up right away, right next to their usual litter box. I checked the pad the next day and a cat, or two, had used that box! I was so excited! I left it there for 3 weeks because neither one of my cats went #2 in the new box. I was getting discouraged. I did what was suggested by putting some of the pellets in the regular box so the cats could get used to the feel of them. Still nothing. So finally, with fingers crossed, I eliminated the regular litter box and only made available the Breeze litter box. I came home from work that evening and prayed they would use the box for both duties.....AND THEY DID!!! I was thrilled!!
I have never smelled the #2 like some reviewers have mentioned, I don't know if they do it while I'm away or asleep, but there has been no odor.
I would suggest either getting more than one box if you have 2 or more cats. Tidy Cats suggests 1 box for each cat plus one. I only have one box and change the pad 2 times per week and it has worked perfectly, but knowing how well it works and how easy it is to maintain, I will be buying a second one!! I love that there is no litter to vacuum up or get tracked on the wood floor only to step on in bare feet!
I love this litter box!!
August 9, 2008: UPDATED I still LOVE this litter box!! It is by far one of the best things ever invented! I am telling all my cat owner friends about it and insist they buy this! I have to admit, I am a lazy litter box care taker, because of a busy life. This litter box makes it a lot easier to care for and it's so quick to clean! I plan to move it to a bathroom soon so I can flush the solids since I tend to scoop them out every day or two, it would make it that much easier.
If you are hesitating at all, you really should give it a try. I bought it before they reduced the price by $20! I risked $40 to try it, you can risk $20!
By SongbirdK (Sarasota, Fla)
I have tried many different litter products for my Siamese Princess. From traditional littler boxes to automated ones. They all left the roomwith a litter box odor even the automated ones which scoop and hold in a closed container. None of the products out there did not create an odor. BUT NOW I tried the new Tidy Cat Breeze Litter pads and litter. To my surprise there is no odor. I can go for a whole week and change the pad once in seven days and there is no odor at all. Even my husband who has a very sensitive nose can not smell anything. Your product is the first to live up to the claims. Thanks for making such a good product. PLEASE DO NOT DISCONTINUE THIS PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
