Litter Genie Alternative Refills

Litter Genie is a convenient way to collect cat waste until you can properly dispose of it out of your residence. The device is rather inexpensive however they get you on the consumables. The Litter Genie refill states directly on the label that it is 14 feet. Another similar product, Diaper Genie, but marketed for baby diapers uses a round refill and it can be made to fit in the Litter Genie system as this Intructables will show. I suspected and verified by opening the Diaper Genie refill that it is over 21 feet, so you get more bag material and it generally costs less than the Litter Genie refill. The only drawbacks I found are that the Diaper Genie’s round opening is slightly smaller and the bag material seems a little thinner. I’ve gone through several Diaper Genie refills and never had a problem.

Step 1: Required Items

• (2) empty Litter Genie refills
• Box cutter or hobby knife
• Super glue or hot melt glue
• Tape
• Diaper Genie refill (for measurement and for actual use)
• one or more cats (not really required but why not)

Step 2: Prepare the Empty Litter Genie Refills

WARNING: The required cutting of the empty refills is very dangerous, please use caution.

• Cut one empty Litter Genie refill on the bottom leaving a lip of the flat area.
• On the same refill cut the upper lip off.
• On the second empty refill cut the entire bottom off.

Step 3: Start Construction

• Place the second refill into the first refill.
• Place the Diaper Genie refill inside to measure the height of the adapter.
• Tape the two Litter Genie refills so that Diaper Genie sits slightly below the top and be sure to level it all around. (if the Diaper Genie sits too high the rim lid of the Litter Genie system may not be able to close.)

Step 4: Complete Construction

• As long as the tape holds you can test fit it inside of the Litter Genie system.
• Remove the Diaper Genie refill and glue the two Litter Genie refills at the measured height.

Step 5: Use the Adapter

• Once the glue is set the adapter is ready for use with Diaper Genie refills.
• Place the adapter into the Litter Genie system as you would normally insert the refill.
• Now place the Diaper Genie refill into the adapter and close the rim lid.
• Change refills less often and hopefully save a little money.

Comments

[rsaritzky]

I've been using this trick for several years, but I found that after awhile, the round diaper genie refills were falling through because they weren't being supported by the plastic edges of the litter genie that were cut.

So I added a support piece made of Plexiglas (you could use thin plywood too). I cut it to fit inside of the litter genie snugly, then cut a hole in the center the same diameter as the inner ring of the round diaper genie. It strengthens the whole adapter and supports the diaper genie refill much better. A couple of pictures attached..

I've now found generic diaper genie refills on Amazon for as little as $3 each. I haven't found any generic litter genie refills.

[levin808]

great idea to reinforce it.

[John280]

Excellent post, thanks, levin808.
Also can adapt this system to use bio-degradable bags. The type with a draw string and the size can be from 25L to 35L depending on the dimensions (diameter and length) of the bag. Remember not to leave the bags with waste in too long as the degrading process may start to dissolve the bag inside the Litter Champ/Litter Genie/Diaper Genie!

[KeyshlaE]

Great idea! Bout wouldn't it be easier just to use the diaper genie as a litter genie instead? The bags are the same and the diaper genie is taller so you don't have to empty it as quickly.

[TinaB167]

No, unless they changed diaper genies. With my son's diaper genie ( 2000-2003), you place diaper in and with your hand push down and twist. I am sure you don't want to push cat poop and pee down with your hand. LOL The litter genie has the stopper. When you pull out stopper the clumps fall in bag by themselves and then the stopper goes back into place blocking the order..

[Lucas8000]

Clever solution :) Thanks

[JoanNotJoanne]

I did this!! Hope it saves some money. I have three cats so i go through the litter genie refills pretty quickly. I need one clarification: once I cut and assemble the empty litter genie containers, do I glue them to each other or glue them to the litter genie?

[levin808]

You would glue them to each other. The Litter Genie unit itself is unmodified so you can remove the adapter and still use the Litter Genie refills if you wanted.

[SandyM59]

Excellent idea! Costco sells 4-packs of diaper genie refills for about $20, so a much better deal. The material seems just as durable as the litter genie refills, so I'll be using them from now on. Thanks!

[jfoote5]

I use oversized shopping bags in the Litter Genie. you have to lift the lid assembly to place the bag, but to tie off and remove the filled Litter Genie bag you have to do the same... so as far as convinience goes not much difference and it's free...

[ebineesey]

am I reading this correctly; you're suggesting retrofitting the litter genie to accept diaper genie bags, because the roll is a few feet longer?

I need to do more research, but first impression is that each of the 'genie' products are about $10-$15. and the diaper refills are a few dollars more than litter...

we need an alternative that accepts ordinary trash bags if we really want to escape this cycle

[levin808]

yes, ordinary trash bags would be cheaper, but I stayed with the ease and simplicity of the original design. I only have one cat so it lasts a while for me, but I understand someone with multiple cats would appreciate an alternative with greater savings than mine.

I haven't priced the Litter Genie refills lately but in the past they were $7-$8, while the Diaper Genie refills were $6-$7. I recently picked up a 3-pack of Diaper Genie refills for $16 at Walmart.

[grannyjones]

Sometimes a diaper genie appears at a garage sale--they are more temporary than the litter genie. Is there any reason why that would not be possible?

[levin808]

I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure what you mean by "more temporary".

[grannyjones]

When a baby is (finally) potty trained, and parents believe this is the last child, they cannot wait to get rid of this reminder of poop in the house. Even if a cat passes, the chances are good there will be another cat along in a while. Diaper Genies (used) are easier to find than Litter Genies, simply because people keep the litter genie.

[levin808]

ah yes, and the cat will use it its entire life. I would think if a family with a baby got a cat they could continue to use the Diaper Genie in place of the Litter Genie. =)

[seamster]

Great idea, very nicely done!

[levin808]

thanks!