Do you use the smartbox?

I know the Smart Cat box is advertised on the page, but I want to know from actual users- does it smell? It seems like a box that has cat pee and holes in it would not be pleasant.

 

I think not too many people/cats here use it...

You may want to make a new post asking for suggestions / best way to test urine for ketones -- you'll probably get more replies that way.

Ketones are mainly a risk when Blood sugar is very high, so usually in the early days of diagnosis before the right insulin dose is found.

Also, some cats seem to be more prone to developing ketones than others. I have now had 3 diabetic cats, and none have been been at risk (lucky?).

 

I think it's appropriate for a "Dale" to answer to a "Dale". LOL

I have several Smart Boxes. Got them several years ago and still use them although they have turned a yellowish color but no big deal. I use safflower seeds from the garden center. And if you empty the urine holder a couple times a day it doesn't smell. I also use a feline pine-type litter in other boxes so I just put some of the feline pine in the urine holder to absorb any deposits while I'm at work. It definitely is an easy way to collect urine for a ketone check. However, if you are not ear testing and doing urine glucose testing you have to remove the safflower seeds because they will add some sugar to the urine. But the safflower seeds don't affect the urine if testing for ketones.

Because I use a feline-pine litter I also have these litter boxes which can be used like the SmartBox. In fact, if I have a kitty that wants to pee right outside the litterbox, I'll put the felinepine litterbox empty in front of the main litterbox and for some reason they'll pee in the empty box. Cats...who can figure them out! And they sure have ME trained to cater to their preferences. http://www.felinepinelitterbox.com/index.htm

Hope this helps.

 

I've used these for nearly two years now, and they are the only boxes I use. I love mine and several friends have also purchased them after seeing mine. I have three cats, one of whom has renal failure so he pees a ton, and another cat with diabetes that isn't regulated so the boxes get heavy use. One of my cats has anemia and eats clay litter if his levels get too low, so I'm really grateful they exist. I have gotten urine samples from them but mostly they are just a nice system. I do not notice an odor with the boxes, but I clean them out regularly. I probably change seeds every 6 weeks or so, but remember I have two cats that flood the boxes. If seeds get soaked they will look gray. I scoop out solids and stir up seeds, then lightly mist with Clorox Everywhere. Usually the gray seeds dry out but if I start to notice any odor then it means that the underpart needs a quick clean or that the seeds need changing entirely. After about 3-4 weeks of use if you remove the top slotted tray you may notice that some smaller seeds have fallen through to the next level so removing them and using some Clorox to disinfect gives me several more weeks of use before seeds must be changed. When seeds are mushy looking I remove the seeds and dump outside (good ground cover and they do sprout) and disinfect the entire thing, including putting in new seeds. My friend has tried buying seeds at Lowes but I just buy their seeds because I have to change them so in frequently.

I am not sure if many people use them or not but I love mine! No dust, no heavy litter to buy, and no smell to deal with. Ive used pine, wheat, and corn litters and even one with rocks years ago, but this system is the best in my book.