Update 11/2/2011: Total vet bills were approximately $3400. I have contacted Tidy Cats and requested that a warning be put on the package for dog owners. My dog is at home recovering and requires meds every few hours.I own this and LOVE it. However, I got it at walmart for under 35.00 for the whole system (pee pads, pellets, entire cat box and a special scooper sized just for the pellets.) I do recommend buying an extra packet of pellets when you're just starting out, as cats used to litter are used to a certain depth of substrate. They wouldn't be able to acclimate quickly if the pellets weren't deep enough.
Costs about as much to maintain per month as a clumping litter box. One refill of pee pads (four, use one a week, 5 dollars) and one-two bags of pellets (about 8 dollars each.) I was spending that much already on clumping litter!
Buy Tidy Cats Breeze Litter Box System Now
Updated: I got 2 kittens a year ago, and started them out on the breeze box. I loved it at first. Then I hated it.What I like about The Breeze System:
I love the concept. In theory its the best idea since the cat box itself. Its very clean (at first) and easy to maintain (at first). The pee situation is under control, and there is very little urine odor wafting in the air.
What I dislike about it:
In general, the poop situation with the Breeze System isn't great, because they can't bury their poop well enough to encoat the poop. The pellets are hard clay and don't do anything to reduce the smell. So with the Breeze box, there is pretty much a poopy smell in the air when the cats do their thing, just like an unflushed toilet. I suspect my house smelled more like cat poop then I even knew (no one would tell me so, but I sensed it when I had guests, esp my mom. She didn't have to say it, I just knew).
What I HATE about it (and you will hate about it):
The first time my kittens got the runs, then my like/dislike affair with the Breeze system came to a grinding halt. The system does not accommodate runny poop well. In fact it was a disaster. Give me two kittens with diarrhea, and I'm running out in the middle of the night to get regular clumping litter and a regular box.
The kitten's runs lasted a week, then were gone, so I evolved everyone back to the Breeze. Whew. That was close I thought. Then fast forward a month later. Another bout of runs. Just for a day. And I'm back to pulling out the regular box and running out to buy clumping litter. NOT COOL.
Which brings me to present day. I've tried many other combinations of litter boxes since writing this review, including a custom solution using giant boxes from container store, which turned out to be too big and hard to keep clean. I've gone in a different direction now, and am fairly happy with what I've been using the last three months: The Clevercat Top Entry Litterbox. It comes with a lid, but I use it *without* the lid, just so I can make sure to keep an eye on the cleanliness. I don't see much need for the lid anyway, as it seems to be unnecessary. The box is deeper than all other boxes so the poop gets really good absorption, which is key to odor control. The cats can get in and out quite easily even though the sides are quite a bit higher than a normal box. Nothing is perfect when it comes to cat boxes, but the Clevercat Top Entry works as well as possible when used with a good clumping litter. I tried it with and without the liner, and do not recommend using the liner because it gets torn easily while scooping, probably because the box shape is rounded not squared off.
Back to Breeze: I still keep my Breeze boxes as a back up, just so the cats have more options throughout the run of the house. BUT, truth be told, they've literally used the Breeze box ONCE in the last year, so they're a waste of space. I'll probably give (or throw) them away at some point, but I paid so much that I can't bring myself to do it yet.
In theory The Breeze system is a great idea, and I wanted to love it. But in reality, it is truly not solving my main problem, which is that I want to smell as close to ZERO pet odor as possible in my home. I give the Breeze an A for urine, and a Dor even an F for poop.
Read Best Reviews of Tidy Cats Breeze Litter Box System Here
Let me start by saying that I love this litter system and I can only attest to how it works for a (1) cat household. I have tried many different products and have even gone the expensive route or automated litter boxes (Littermaid & Litter robot) all in the hopes of making the litter box a less disgusting issue. My fiance' has a huge issue with the smell that eminates from litter boxes and lets face it, no one actually likes litter boxes. After using automatic boxes for years and being frustrated that they make more mess than they are worth I finally decided to try something new. This system was a new adjustment for me and Ozzie (the kitty) but I followed the instructions of putting the new litter box next to the old one and putting some of the pellets in her old one and stop cleaning it as well. After two days of her looking at me like I was crazy she finally took to it. I would say the only con to this system is that the fecal matter simply sits on top of everything and it is really hard for her to bury (which she really dislikes). Unlike other reviews, I don't mind this as I have it placed in her privacy tent that I had with her Littermaid so I don't have to watch her use the bathroom or see the results. Standing next to the litterbox there is absolutely no SMELL coming from it which is amazing. When I scoop out the poop there of course is a smell but that's because ALL poop smells. I would highly recommend this system to anyone who is looking for a smell free and low maintenance system. I try to scoop her poop at least every other day if not every day but that is really only for her comfort. As to the urine pad below, I went over a week before I changed it and not because it smelled, I just figured there was no need to let it sit any longer. Do NOT waste your time with expensive boxes as they aren't worth the money. And if you don't like the look of it I would suggest a privacy tent which is inexpensive and both you and your kitty will like the privacy.Want Tidy Cats Breeze Litter Box System Discount?
Since Amazon sells this product several ways, I am repeating my review under each product because I feel it is important:I rarely ever write reviews, but I feel very compelled to do so. First, I must say that I personally LOVE the Tidy Cat Breeze system! From a human perspective, it is wonderful. I owned 3 cats over 20 years ago and all that was available back then was clay litter. It is messy. As a grown, married, woman with 3 children, I finally allowed our family to start having pets. We adopted a dog from a neighbor and then the God brought us our adorable kitty. We found our kitten as a stray. He was about 6 weeks old, borderline feral. We cleaned him up, got rid of the fleas, etc. He has been such a joy. He loves our family, and we love him. He is affectionate. He and the dog are great friends too! When we took him in, I decided to try the Tidy Cat Breeze. My gut told me I should probably stick with a litter that more closely resembled a cat's natural instincts to dig and bury, etc. But, so many people had great luck with the Breeze. Well, our kitten learned to use the Breeze very well. No issues....for 4 months.... I had always been a little concerned that our kitty could not dig and bury as normal, but he was doing fine with the Breeze. Well, for the past 2 months, we have (and our poor kitty) have been through hell. He is about 8 months old now. Starting at about 6 months old, he began defecating outside the litter box. Then he began urinating outside the litter box....couches, cushions, beds, etc. He stopped using the box altogether. It has been awful. No spraying, thankfully. He developed an aversion to going into any box at all, so he refused to try new substrates, locations or boxes. After quarantining him to a bathroom, he still refused to use a box and even urinated on his food mat and on his "bed". Our family was devastated. We did not know how to help our wonderful cat, but we couldn't live like this. We would cry. I would cry from exhaustion of cleaning and reading and trying things. Based on some expert opinions, he had to be crated. While in the crate, I put his Breeze system in it. He started using the Breeze again! I thought we were done! As soon as he was given a little freedom, he tried to go on a couch and bed again. After tons of research, $100s and $100s of dollars, vet visit, experts, quarantining Feliway, etc....by the grace of God we found a wonderful animal behavior expert and trainer who has more experience than I could write in a review. We paid for a consult. She said basically that our kitty hates the Breeze. No cats should be using a pellet system of any kind. It is not their nature. Immediately after crating him again but with a new box and clumping litter, he was forced into trying the clumping litter and LOVED it. He digs and digs and just loves it. When we go to clean out the box, he is right there ready to jump in and dig and do his business before I finish cleaning it! That is a huge clue. If your cat does not care when you "clean" your Breeze system, then you need to find something else. Our cat has moved out of his crate into a larger space. Next week, we will begin to transition him back to full house! He has remained loving and playful. We have been taking him out of the crate for supervised play. So, what is my message to you? If you have been successfully using the Breeze, please evaluate if your cat LOVES it, not just tolerates it. Does he sniff around it, does he jump in to dig at times, can he bury his business, does he rush over when you clean it? If you have not bought the Breeze, toss aside your human needs and get your cat litter that is close to being outside in nature. If your cat is using the Breeze but periodically eliminates elsewhere for no known reason, ditch the system. If your cat seems to have no issues with the Breeze, but doesn't bury his poop, ditch the Breeze. If you are using the Pine pellets, stop! I know they are cheaper, I tried those as well. But the smell is really awful to the cats. Their sense of smell is 1000 times better than ours. And, press your hand on top of the pellets...they hurt. Who wants to walk on that? I won't recommend a specific clumping litter here, but I will say get some type of traditional unscented.


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