Introduction

Welcome to the CatGenius project. CatGenius is alternative firmware for the CatGenie automated cat toilet. This project contains the source code, but also a vast amount of information gathered over the years, such as diagrams, photos, datasheets and measurement results.

CatGenius

CatGenius is alternative firmware the CatGenie 120 self-cleaning litter box.

No affinity with software development? Or looking for a fully reversible alternative? Then CartridgeGenius may be a better alternative for you. Please check it out here: CartridgeGenius

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CatGenius/catgenius/master/documentation/wiki/catgenie_p0wned_800.png

Don't just own your CatGenie; p0wn it!

The box

The CatGenie is a brilliant product every (house) cat owner has dreamed of for a long time; It's a fully automated self-washing litter box. It is connected to water, electricity and the sewer - just like a laundry machine or a dishwasher - and it cleans itself with water and soap. It uses washable plastic granules as litter, to make your feline friend feel right at home and to relief you from lugging around bags of dusty clay.

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/CatGenius/catgenius/master/documentation/catgenie120/Exterior.jpg

The washing program first scoops out the solids. After that it washes the granules with water and soap, using the waste water to flush out the grounded down solids. At the end it will dry the plastic granules and level them to a smooth surface, readying the box for it's next visit. It can operate on a timer, to wash itself 1, 2, 3 or 4 times a day. Or it can be operated in cat activation mode. In this mode it will detect the presence of a cat and start washing a couple of minutes after the cat has finished it's business. Naturally washing will not start if the box is occupied, regardless of the mode.

The problem

As with every brilliant product, there are always a couple of people who think it could still be a little bit better. In my opinion the box has a number of small flaws:

• The box has no clock, so timer operation start from the moment timer mode is changed.
• The washing program is 40 minutes long.
• There's only a full washing program, no option to just scoop every 2, 3 or 4 visits.
• Cat activation mode ignores visits for 12 hours after it has washed.
• The washing program doesn't flush out the solids first. Instead it washes with the solids floating in the wash water in the hopper, needlessly contaminating the box by backwash.
• Using the "tech mode" to resolve issues is extremely unuser-friendly

Most people can live with minor flaws like these, but besides these, there's a major design flaw: The SaniSolution cleaning agent is sold in cartridges. And just like ink-jet printer cartridges, SaniSolution cartridges cannot be refilled because they are protected with a chip, keeping track of the level. So even if the cartridge is refilled with an alternative cleaning agent, the chip will still tell it's empty. And unlike some ink-jet cartridge chips, SaniSolution cartridge chips cannot be reset. Now there is a work-around for that (CartridgeGenius), but that's a different project.

Now the cartridge chip wouldn't be be so bad, if the box would continue to work, optionally with a disabled cleaning agent pump to discourage refilling. But unfortunately an empty cartridge turns this brilliant litter box into a big annoyingly beeping paper weight.

"CatGenie can't run without SaniSolution, like a car can't run without petrol." is often heard. But that's a flawed analogy and an insult to most people's intellect because it's the laws of physics that prevent a car from running without petrol, but it's a flaky business model that prevents CatGenie from running without SaniSolution. When this project first started, early 2010, I didn't know what cleaning agent to use, so I decided to postpone this selection procedure. But after running without any cleaning agent for over a year, my test box was no dirtier (or cleaner) than my standard box, proving that the box can run without cleaning agent very well. Having said that, I too would rather run my test box with cleaning agent.

The solution

This project is developing alternative firmware for the CatGenie model 120 and model 60 automated cat toilets.

Please be patient; this project is still a work in progress. But I'm sure that with your help we can make it a wealthy source of information, open to the public.

If you only have one CatGenie box, I recommend you not to program just any version, if you want to reprogram it at all. Some versions may leave your box in a wet state, without the means to dry it. Having a second box with original firmware around is a big help then to clean things up.