This is Poopy Cat. A British product. The whole thing is entirely disposable. You buy a pack of 4 disposable litter boxes with the litter material inside the box already (£24.95 single order – $38.37). They come folded – flat packed. The manufacturers say that one box lasts one week. At the end of the week you throw it away in the trash can. I admire the entrepreneurship.
They suggest that there is no need to scoop up poop. It’s all very convenient. It plays on the convenience factor and we know how important that is nowadays. Dry cat food is built around the “convenience factor”. Look how successful that is.
Note: I am unclear whether you scoop poop during the week’s lifespan of the box or just leave it and throw it at the end of the week. If the litter is scooped daily then you will run out of litter within two days so that indicates to me it is not meant to be scooped, which is unworkable for me. Just a thought
I see the advantages of it. I also see the disadvantages. Firstly, I don’t think you can leave a litter tray for a week without cleaning it out. In my opinion, it should be cleaned out twice a day but each of us have our own way of dealing with cat litter.
Also, the concept seems to be based upon the throwaway society rather than reusing things and making better use of materials. The Poopy Cat is made of cardboard. It actually looks very good. Do we know the source of the material from which the card orders made? It is probably recycled material because they claim their product is environmentally friendly. But will it be recycled again after it has been thrown away in the trash can? That depends upon the person. Not everybody is bothered with recycling. The Poopy Cat appears to promote more waste but I don’t want to be overly critical.
The Lovemeow website enthuses about the video and how wonderful it is to work at the Poopy Cat office with cats. Actually, the video shows an unworkable office because there are far too many cats which leads me to believe that this is not the normal situation at this office. They may have one or two cats normally but not like this because it would be impossible to work in this office. So, with respect to a competitor’s website, I disagree with them.
Would you buy this sort of litter box? Perhaps it is more suited to temporary or emergency situations. For example, you might be renting a place for a short time and your possessions are in storage. You need a temporary solution and so buy a pack of 4 Poopy Cat disposable litter boxes.
Or, perhaps, you might be visiting relatives or staying with friends for a while and they agree that you can bring your cat; so you bring your flat packed, disposable, cardboard box with you as well. Neat solution! But, for me, not a permanent answer.
Finally, the price (as a permanent solution). This product is definitely for the well-healed modern family. The type who throw away good food because they buy too much. The price be would prohibitive for most because, in financial terms, you’re buying a new litter box and litter every one to two months.
I agree that for temporary or emergency use they could be the ideal solution, but long term I’d rather stick with a conventional tray.
Perhaps the manufacturers should be aiming their sales pitch towards shelters and shops selling pet products. Shelters could sell (or even include) one of the boxes as part of the adoption pack. People who live in natural disaster areas might want to keep a pack of disposable trays in case they and their cats have to evacuate their home at short notice.
Neat ideas. It definitely has value for specific situations as opposed to a permanent solution.
The concept is a good one. It’s just more of a niche product and personally I’d want to recycle as much of the cardboard as possible.
They’d have been ideal when I was moving to live in another country. Lost count of the number of litter trays I bought and then had to dump when I moved again.
It’s a shame that things are being invented to make ‘cat owning’ convenient for people who shouldn’t really have a cat if they can’t make time for their fundamental needs. It should be a pleasure doing things for much loved cats. If they have disposable litter boxes to save time on chores I wonder if they will have more time to spend playing with their cat? I very much doubt it.
If it is for temporary use I can accept it but if used permanently I’d say the wrong people are looking after the cat.
Cost too much for most.I need that money for their food and other needs.I will just clean my trays out.
Absolutely. It is for the moneyed, consumer-orientated modern family or for special occasions.
Michael,
I can see the usefulness of this for travel or for sick cats- that would be great for cats who may have contageous illness to just get rid of the box and its contents. But cats impregnate their litter boxes with their scent- and even if we wash them thoroughly the scent lingers and it’s their home base. Therefore I think that as a daily or weekly use it would upset the cats and throw them off kilter with a “new” box every week.
I am all for convenience as long as it doesn’t take away from feline needs. Cats are not toys- and trying to make things easy for us- rather than easy for the cats is something for which I am not in favor.
Not only that it is extremely pricey. I would rather spend my money on high quality cat food than disposable boxes. But I do like the idea of having something like this on hand for travel or illness.
Keeping cats is NOT an easy task if done properly. Money needs to be spent on the cats health and wellness, imho at least.
Agreed, it is good for certain situations but not as a permanent fixture. The price will put off 90% of buyers I would have thought.