Litter Genie Review: Is This Cat Litter Accessory Worth Trying Out?

One of the most daunting tasks of cat ownership is having to manually remove clumps and dispose of them.  Sure, there are automatic cat litter boxes but not everybody has the space or money for what can be a pricey purchase.  There are also plenty of non-clumping cat litters but that has their struggles in regards to odor control in addition to having to replace the entire container more often.

For those who stick to the most popular and conventional clumping cat litter products, you are probably used to picking up clumps and disposing of them.  Simply tossing them in the trash can lead to powerful cat waste smells if you let the trash sit for too long and many types of litter are not recommended to be flushed down the toilet.

Litter Genie has attempted to combat this problem with its Litter Genie Cat Litter Disposal System.  Essentially, this product is advertised as being an alternate disposal system for your cat waste that stores the waste for an extended period in its bag.  Once the bag becomes full, you simply cut the bag and tie it closed and dispose of it with the rest of your trash.

How Does the Litter Genie Work?

The entire process is pretty straightforward.  There is a bag that is loaded internally inside of the plastic shell in a similar way to a conventional trash can.  You deposit the cat waste by opening the top of the Litter Genie and dropping it in.  What makes it different than most trash cans is that there is an internal tray that “clamps” the bag shut, forming a tight seal and helping to keep the cat waste odors from escaping.

We have all experienced walking by a trash can and getting a powerful whiff of some sort of stinky contents.  This is because there isn’t much of a seal between the contents inside and your nostrils.  The trash can lid is more of a top to keep animals and other things out rather than an odor seal.

By including a sealing mechanism, Litter Genie has managed to allow you to store cat waste for weeks at a time without concern of odor leaking out.

If you are still unsure how exactly the Litter Genie works check out the helpful Youtube video below:

What are the Steps to Operating the Litter Genie?

There are essentially three steps to operating a Litter Genie.  First, you scoop up the clumps from your cat litter box.  Second, you open the lid of the Litter Genie and drop the clumps in like any regular trash can.  Finally, you pull the silver handles on the side which clamps the bag shut, sealing in the odors.

Of course, there are a few other steps for the entire process.  You will have to put a new bag in once you remove the old one (in a way similar to how you would do in a normal trash can).  Also, before putting the cat waste in, you will need to lift the lid and make sure that the handle is fully pushed in to allow access to the bag area below the seal.

And when removing the full bag you will have to make sure that it is properly tied to avoid a stinky mess while disposing of in your trash can.

Litter Genie: Does it Work Well?

We found no major concerns with the performance and operation of the Litter Genie.  We have heard from various people that the “new” model isn’t as good as the old and doesn’t do as impressive of a job of sealing in cat waste odors.  However, we found that the current unit was perfectly capable of storing the waste until the bag was full.  Even a few inches from the Litter Genie you could not smell the odor of cat waste.

Sure, the product itself is essentially made of somewhat thin plastic but for the task it is intended for, the build quality and materials are perfectly acceptable.

A Note on the Cat Genie Bags

Cat Genie sells what they call “Cat Litter Disposal System Refill Cartridges” which is essentially a long roll of film.  There is a bit of a process between getting the cartridge and having it ready to use.  The rough steps are as follows:

1. Open the refill by pulling the plastic tab on the outer edge and removing the outer rim.
2. Pull out some of the film (around a foot) and then push it back through the center of the cartridge.
3. Tie a knot at the bottom of the film to create a sort of “bag”
4. Open the lid to your Litter Genie and place the refill cartridge on the top of the unit.
5. Pull the handle on the side of the unit and push the tied film through the pail until it is below where the handle closes.
6. Close the funnel and lid

When the bag you have created fills, you can open the Litter Genie back up at the center and use the built-in cutter to cut the top of the plastic bag, allowing you to tie another knot at the top to close it.  You would then pull out some more film and repeat the process above.

Sound like a lot of work!  It sort of is!  And we aren’t big fans of having to manually tie both sides of the film to create a pseudo-bag.  However, we do like the film idea in that a single cartridge has quite a few “bags” that can be made from it.  Maybe in the future, Litter Genie could create cartridges that are already sealed at a certain interval with an opening on one side similar to how dog poop bags are.  Hint hint…

The other issue is that the cartridges are somewhat expensive.  Depending on where you buy them, you may end up paying almost as much for a single cartridge as you did for the entire Litter Genie unit!

Our readers have told us of a helpful fix to this dilemma.  Many of them use standard kitchen trash bags instead.  Instead of placing a refill cartridge on the top, they simply put a bag over it in the same way you do your trash cans.  Sure, you will have to add a new bag when you remove the previous but you don’t have to deal with tying both sides as you did with the refill cartridges.  Also, the trash bag solution is significantly less expensive.

Litter Genie: Overall Thoughts

Overall, we like what the Litter Genie brings to the table.  It approaches dealing with the ever-present challenge of controlling cat waste litter in a very simple and straightforward manner.  Also due to its simplicity, it is very affordable and should be within just about everybody’s budget.  The only issues we had were in the relatively expensive refill cartridges (but there is a trash bag solution for those who are trying to be as frugal as possible).

Also, the unit is rather lightweight and flimsy and you may accidentally tilt it or move it when trying to remove a full bag of cat waste.  However, these are minor issues and we think that you should consider adding a Litter Genie to your list of cat litter accessories.

If you are interested in trying out a Litter Genie you can purchase it here.