I've had a littlermaid for several years. Actually, I now have two. One is the Mega and one the standard. I LOVE them! No more poop scooping for me. When I brought Wallace home he was 12 weeks old. I just left the Littermaid turned off for a few days until he was used to it. Then I turned it back on and he had no problem at all. In fact, if he hears it turn on he'll run in to watch it. Several years ago the first one I had broke, and the company was really helpful and even sent me a brand new Littermaid. They even upgraded me to the deluxe model. I would recommend it to anyone. I've talked all the cat owners in my family into having one. There are little IR sensors on both sides. When the cat leaves, it starts a 10 minute time before it scoops. If the cat goes back in before the rake scoops, it resets the sensor to 10 minutes. There is also a sensor bar on the back of the rake in case the cat gets in there while it's operating. If the bar touches anything, it stops the rake. Just use a good, strong clumping litter. I do periodically take it appart and bleach it just to keep it clean. Other than that, it's just a matter of changing the receptacle when it's full. How long that takes depends on how many cats are using it. With one cat, I only had to do it once a week.