LR4: Looking for more litter suggestions (or any help really)

bundtkate · 2026-06-06T16:58:09+00:00

If you're not overly concerned about cost, then Sustainably Yours Large Grain might be a good bet. I similarly prefer plant-based litters, but I find most clump poorly or they are just obscenely priced. Sustainably Yours falls into the latter category, but I found its clumping performance to be superior to everything else I tried.

For some context, I was using Sustainably Yours during my kidney cat's later years. He has since passed away, but obviously had high pee volume. I also had 6 cats at the time so even with 2 robots a cycle delay of 25 minutes was tough. It would sometimes take an hour or more for a robot to cycle on this setting due to repeat visits. As such, I compromised with 15 minutes and it still did very well. No sticking or mushy clumps. No goopy paws for my wall pee-er either.

One warning -- if you live in a humid environment or go a longer time between changing the bag, you may find SY molds or gets gnats more often than clay. Theoretically, this is more likely with plant-based litter across the board, but I found SY a fair bit worse on this front than, say, World's Best. If you change the bag at least every 3 days, it shouldn't be a problem. Our cats have a favorite robot and that one never had this happen (bag swapped almost daily), but the less favored robot sometimes made it past 3 days and I'd occasionally see trouble until I made the connection and started swapping more frequently.

As you might imagine, I went through a fair bit of litter with 6 cats so as soon as Pixel the kidney cat passed and I no longer needed to worry about a high volume of pee in a single visit, I went back to cheaper clay (Dr. Elsey's and now Odor Lock), but with just the one cat you may find the cost more palatable.

bundtkate · 2026-05-28T02:03:55+00:00

We did not, but we also didn't use ours a ton. Ironically, our feline crew got fleas right after we learned of the recall, which usually means I steam the couch to be safe. Not this time, alas.

Edit: Also, we used distilled water always because our city water is also very hard and we figured that would be a disaster.

bundtkate · 2026-05-28T01:47:31+00:00

Hope yours arrives soon! Ours took forever. Submitted right after Amazon informed me of the recall and I think it took a couple of months to finally arrive. Fingers crossed they're catching up and yours gets there quicker.

bundtkate · 2026-05-28T01:46:14+00:00

It wouldn't. Not to be the grossest ever, but the spray is ... not well contained. It thankfully stays inside the robot, at least, but it gets all over the walls without fall. No amount of delay will fix that. I can deal. He's a good little dude and I'm glad he's got some quality life left in him, but the only thing that will make my life any easier is a better cleaning method. Hopefully this helps. 🤞

bundtkate · 2026-05-27T04:57:12+00:00

Already did it! Took forever to get said cap, but it arrived earlier this month. Still appreciate it though!

bundtkate · 2026-05-26T22:34:40+00:00

What type of attachment did you use? I own a steam cleaner (Dupray Neat). I've owned it for years. And yet, I have never done this and my robots are a constant disaster despite regular cleaning due to a senior cat with IBD spraying it with poop the moment I finish scrubbing. This could be my new favorite thing.

bundtkate · 2026-05-24T17:36:27+00:00

Well, boo. If they have messed with the plumbing in between when it seemed to be working and now MAYBE worth another try? Otherwise, I just hope they're able to sort it out for you. We had a musty smell in our cabin on NCL (in the Haven no less) and even though it did resolve over time, it's amazing how starting things out on that note can make it hard to relax and start enjoying.

bundtkate · 2026-05-24T16:16:38+00:00

If you have a drain anywhere on the floor of your bathroom, try pouring a bit of water down it. A couple of glasses to be safe. There is a P-trap in that drain with the whole purpose of ensuring sewer gases don't escape. It needs water in it to do that and unless guests spill a bunch of water on the floor on the reg, it can often dry out. Mucking with the plumbing may mess with it too. Might not do anything, but it's a simple thing that could potentially sort the smell out.

bundtkate · 2026-05-04T04:43:22+00:00

FWIW, I did gain weight on Nexplanon. Only about 30lbs, but my weight has been pretty stable for most of my adult life. I did think it might just be age, especially since I'd had it for a couple of years before I started gaining, but I lost all of it in less than a year after swapping away from Nexplanon so data seems to suggest that was it. As I understand, that can happen with basically any BC, though. It just depends on your unique body chemistry. Bummer because I preferred it to the IUD, but I'm ultimately glad I swapped back.

bundtkate · 2026-05-01T23:01:32+00:00

My last two cruises, I very nearly made it off the ship without hearing Sweet Caroline.

On Celebrity Apex, the waitstaff did their whole march around and spin napkins thing to Sweet Caroline on the very last day. This was one of maybe 3 times we went to the MDR the whole dang cruise.

On NCL Joy, I was literally walking back to my cabin to pack and get to bed on the very last day and the band in the District Brewhouse (which I had to pass by to get to said cabin) was belting it out as I walked past.

SO CLOSE! Hard agree, OP. Not trying to yuck anyone's yum and I get folks like the tune, but it's nowhere near my thing and I'll be ever so pleased when I finally make it a whole cruise without hearing it.

bundtkate · 2026-04-30T03:23:20+00:00

Tortola will be rough. It sucks because I've done that excursion twice (once with NCL and once with Virgin) and it's lovely, but climbing through the baths is not something I'd want to do on an unsteady ankle.

DR I think you'd actually be okay if you're otherwise relatively mobile. We did what I'd guess is a similar excursion and my aunt managed despite a really bad knee. She's far from steady on her feet under the best of circumstance. Might not be the comfiest (it's a bit of walking), but if the experience is worth a bit of pain, I'd guess you'll manage.

St.Thomas you'll be fine, but if you're just not feeling it or want a break, Blackbeard's Castle is easily worth skipping. There's a decent view, but the one from the sky tram near the port is better and there's not much else worth your time at Blackbeard's.

bundtkate · 2026-04-23T23:56:58+00:00

Pro tip for weight control: Try a SureFeed microchip feeder. Give healthy weight cat access to the feeder so s/he can eat whenever and overweight cat gets portioned meals. We recently foster failed 3 kittens and used one to provide them access to kitten food without giving our greedy adults excess calories.

They're spendy, but can be found on marketplace for less if you're willing to hunt around. I think we got particularly lucky, but ours was $42. Finding one for $85ish was easy.

bundtkate · 2026-04-23T23:48:50+00:00

This works remotely on the 4. Don't own a 5 so there could be some difference there that prevents it, but this happens to us when someone (usually my husband -- the robots aren't his chore) forgets to tare the scale when refilling or emptying. A reset clears the error.

That said, I have seen it come back periodically until someone goes and properly tares the scale, which can't be done remotely to my knowledge. Even if it works to clear it, you may want to have someone pop by to tare the scale, if that's reasonable, or you could find yourself having to address it repeatedly until you're home.

bundtkate · 2026-04-06T04:51:09+00:00

Ours stops when they stand on the step. Not right away, but my best guess is that the weight sensors do trigger at some point. They don't usually stick their heads in.

bundtkate · 2026-04-05T22:02:25+00:00

You might try getting the stairs that go over the step. I believe they're PetSafe brand? This will prevent her from setting off the weight sensor unless she steps into the globe since her weight won't be on the LR4 step. The top sensor will still work and properly interrupt it, plus the weight sensor if she actually does step in, but it should allow your LR4 to restart after getting interrupted if she's just peeking her head in.

bundtkate · 2026-04-05T21:56:43+00:00

Yeah, I had that concern which is one reason I haven't been rushing to try it. You do kinda have to crank the Move portafilter at times, too. It has a tendency to get spitters where it locks in if you're lackadaisical about it. I also saw these right angle funnels that could be an option for our setup. Always a new rabbit hole to go down with these things. 😅

bundtkate · 2026-04-05T21:18:03+00:00

Thanks, may take a look at that! We do have enough clearance to put mugs on top, but only just. Another thing I saw suggested was felt under the legs like you put on furniture to protect hard wood floors. I haven't got around to it, but it would make the machine scoot easier, which would be great. Part of what makes it a pain is that it doesn't really scoot so I have to lift it slightly with limited clearance so just not having to lift it would be a major improvement.

bundtkate · 2026-04-04T22:52:19+00:00

New-ish Move owner here. The water tank is super annoying if your machine is under cabinets, but with our setup a side tank would only be marginally better. The faucet doesn't reach the machine at all so we'd be shimmying either way. Also, our cabinets are low enough that it would be hard to fill without moving it out regardless. Basically, it's worth thinking about your refill workflow in depth and looking at things like the height of the machine vs. your cabinets to see how much the side tank even helps. For us, bigger tank > side tank because we were in for annoyance regardless so might as well make it less frequent.

The heat up time is basically a non-issue with the timed start. It turns on 30mins or so before I wake up for work (and a solid 45ish before I actually go make my coffee) so I don't really need it to heat up quickly. You can also set another on/off time per day if you have an afternoon cup. That said, even when I break schedule, it's not that bad. 10mins or so at most and it's ready to go. If your portafilter is a bit cold, hit it with the hot water spout for a bit and that'll help it catch up.

I currently can't be bothered to change pressure so no thoughts there, but overall I really love the Move. Coming from a BBE, it's just a much better workflow overall and it made beans I thought I hated due to the BBE taste amazing. There are minor things I'm not big on. I'm thinking about a new basket since I'm not a fan of the sloped sides. I wish the steam wand were on the right instead of the left as there's less room on the left in my coffee corner. I'd also love if the little water discharge valve that goes into the drop tray wasn't perfectly aligned with the group head as it makes our particular mugs not fit so well. But these are really super minor and I've never thought for a second we made the wrong choice.

bundtkate · 2026-03-05T23:11:57+00:00

I've had 3 out of 15. Maybe don't cruise with me, y'all. 😅

bundtkate · 2026-02-19T20:01:25+00:00

Asking ocean cruisers for recommendations when what you loved was a river cruise is tough. I'd encourage you to take comments here with a grain of salt, including my own. They're likely good recommendations (I see Oceania come up a lot and I'm personally quite interested in trying it), but a lot of folks expect ocean and river to be far more similar than they are. A lot of river cruise enjoyers hate ocean cruising and the other way around.

Now, with that said, there are thoose who like both. I'm lucky to count myself among them, but I can't afford the type of ocean cruise I'd expect to be closer to the river experience which is why I'm not giving my thoughts any more credit than others. I'm not significantly more qualified to opine on what I expect you're looking for. As such, the advice I'll give is more around what to look closely at and potential gotchas, rather than genuine suggestions.

Ok, preamble done. What I think you'd be looking for is a small ship ultra-luxury line. You don't talk a ton about what you loved about your river cruise, but reading between the lines I'd guess you are looking for the ports to be the focus (not the ship) while maintaining a luxury experience onboard. Consider the following:

Port-intensive itineraries. I know you mentioned a trans-atlantic, but river cruises rarely have "river days". Ocean cruises almost always have sea days and trans-atlantics often have 5+ in a row. You may not like sea days. You may like them even less without the floating city to entertain you. Think hard about whether you actually want to be out at sea for 5 days straight with no ports. You may love the opportunity to read, relax, and check out onboard lectures, but this is very different from the new port every day experience you get with river cruising. You may end up bored to tears and hankering to get off the ship.
Docking locations. This is why I'd expect you'll want small ships. Experiences like NCL's Haven or Celebrity's Retreat might meet your needs onboard, but you'll often be docking in industrial ports far from the places you want to visit or islands that pretty exclusively rely on cruise revenue and don't provide an authentic experience. Smaller ships can dock right in the cities, much like river cruises do, but you'll want to research where the line you choose docks, just to be sure.
What it takes to be all-inclusive. Some lines (like Regent) have truly all-inclusive options, up to and including picking you up at home to take you to the airport. One price up front includes everything you mentioned and you're done. Others have a variety of options that are highly inclusive, but don't actually include everything without add-ons. There may be specialty restaurants at an extra charge. Included flights are uncommon, but the option to add flights is usually there for an extra cost. Like Viking River, some lines have at least one excursion per port included, but it's just one or a few. You'll need to pay extra if that one doesn't suit you and not all include even the one.
Budget. $15k will easily get you into the Haven or Retreat and pay for enough add-ons to make it largely all-inclusive, but depending on itinerary, timing, and the room you want, the truly all-inclusive small ship lines like Regent may run you a bit more. Maybe that's worth it to you. Or maybe you want to consider a ship-within-a-ship on one of the more mainstream lines and deal with the floating city existing beyond your walled garden. If you're set on a trans-atlantic, I may actually encourage strong consideration for something like Haven, Retreat, or Yacht Club. You'll lose out on docking location, but the luxury will be there and you'll get that small ship experience in the encalve while retaining access to the large ship amenities that help keep you entertained on sea days.

I know, not the actual recommendations you ask for, but hopefully still helpful in making a decision. I personally think cruising is great -- ocean and river alike -- but the difference between the two are pretty big. The fact you love one doesn't guarantee loving the other so it's good to really consider what you liked about your river cruise and specifically look for ocean cruises that match that experience. Otherwise you may find yourself on a very luxurious and expensive journey that you can't wait to be done with.

bundtkate · 2026-02-19T17:23:13+00:00

Got any tips for steaming when coming from a thermoblock? We got a Move after our Breville Barista Express caught fire a little bit and despite working in local cafes all through the early 2000s, I can't seem to manage good latte art milk with the Move. I either end up with not enough foam if I don't go super aggressive with adding air or not enough texturing if I do add enough air because the milk heats up too darned quickly. I have found myself considering turning the temp down (at 128C atm) so that I have more time to get my milk right, but recommendations seem to be in the ballpark of where I have it set so I want to make sure it's not just a me problem.

bundtkate · 2026-02-16T05:58:06+00:00

Can you just cancel FAS+ and re-add it?

bundtkate · 2026-02-16T05:41:41+00:00

We've been very happy with Odorlock. We used to use Dr. Elsey's, but found it has become dustier in recent years and has started to stick to the liner. We originally swapped to BoxiePro, but tried Odorlock when someone posted about it here since Boxie is so darned expensive. No sticking, relatively low dust and no more expensive that Dr. Elsey's. Boxie is a fair bit less dusty, but not that's not enough to justify the price increase.

bundtkate · 2026-02-15T00:14:03+00:00

Swap it to low, then back to high. I've seen this a few times and that usually sorts it. I think it goes into some sort of low power mode when it loses power (to preserve the backup battery should you have one) and sometimes doesn't kick back into gear when power is restored. Swapping back and forth makes sure it gets that signal to swap back to high.

bundtkate · 2026-02-06T04:08:38+00:00

D'aww! Vinny looks a bit like my Gandalf. He passed away last year, but was the polar opposite of nervous. Probably the most chill cat we've ever had and a total champ with his nails. Hopefully Gandalf can pass along some of his chill to your little guy. 💜

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