CatGenie - Alexa/Smartthings/Google Home - Zigbee Remote Control

The following instructional describes how to integrate a Zigbee wireless interface into the CatGenie Litterbox.

I have had many CatGenies over the years and integrated Z-Wave and now Zigbee into them. I have 4 cats and 5 box's but currently only 2 in-use.

With 4 cats I can't really use the detection system as the box would be on all of the time.

I was tired of the scheduling system built into the box and wanted a unique schedule I could set.

Adding Zigbee allows me to schedule any interval (weekday/weekend) and control the box through Alexa.

Unit does require a Zigbee hub - I use Smartthings without any problems. This also works in Hubitat/Google/Hue.

• MHCOZY 1 Channel 5V 12V ZigBee Smart Relay

MHCOZY 1 Channel 5V 12V ZigBee Smart Relay Switch,Adjustable Selflock and Momentary Working Mode,Works with Philips Hue, SmartThings, Alexa, Google Home (ZigBee Hub Required)) - - Amazon.com

• Soldering iron
• Solder
• Wire cutters
• Extra Long Philips screwdriver
• Double-sided tape
• Heat Shrink tubing
• J.B. Weld Plastic Bonder
• Small Gadge Hook-up wire

• Place CatGenie Control Module face down and remove back cover screws (4) from CatGenie utilizing extra-long screwdriver (Note-This action voids any warrantee).
• Lift cover straight up and off to expose the inners.
• Lift the SaniSolution Cartridge Holder up and to the right enough to expose its fluid/electrical connections.

• Disconnect the RFI Reader cable, overflow drain tubing, solution pump connector and pump tubing.
• Place SaniSolution Cartridge holder to the side.

Take pictures of your own JIC.

• Disconnect all remaining plugs from all connections on the main board.
• Lift base mechanism body up/back/away from main board and facing cover.

Lots of information here .. In order for our Zigbee to work we need to be able to supply voltage to it and the connections to switch.

Power will come from tapping the bridge rectifiers output (RED/BLK) at top right of board.

Switch connections are done at pins 1 & 2 of the flex ribbon connector (YLW/PUR).

• Cut four wires about 18" long (better too much than too little) - Mine are BLK/RED/YLW/PUR..
• Unscrew the 4 screws shown from the main board.

Note - There is no screw in the middle hole (shown in blue circle)

• Remove and flip the board over to expose the foil side of the board. (Use "Key" as reference)
• Solder the Red/Blk/Ylw/Pur wires to the nodes shown.

Okay, so I am not a big fan of small wires and connections as they can pull away and take the traces with them.

Because of this, I use JB Weld Plastic to enforce and secure the connections and cabling. I literally could hang the board from my cord after doing this.

There is a lot of clearance from the bottom of the board to the facing but make sure you do not interfere with the screw holes.

• Use double-sided tape and a securing screw to hold the zigbee device in-place.

I taped this atop a small section of the RFI transmitter's antennae so this may cause an issue with that - but - let's be honest - if you are hacking your CatGenie for Zigbee, you probably have hacked the RFI too ;-)

The RFI is being used as a stand-off, so the board is closer to the height of the mounting screw hole.

• Connect RED wire to #1 (Positive) and BLK wire to #2 (Negative) terminal connections.
• Connect YLW wire to #4 (Common) and PUR wire to #5 (Normally Open) terminal connections.
• Secure wiring harness to SaniSolution holder using JB Weld Plastic.

The JB Weld plastic on the wiring harness has a double affect - it secures the cable AND supports the wiring which helps hold the unit in-place.

• Place all components back inside CatGenie controller - don't forget to check all connectors!
• Leave back cover off for now.

• Power on the unit.
• In Smartthings add device and select "Scan Nearby".
• Go to CatGenie Zigbee device and press the "PAIR" button and the device should be found.
• You can then rename it to CatGenie or whatever you like.

If you linked smartthings to Alexa (like me) then the device should immediately be available there too. As soon as I paired and renamed the device within minutes, I was asking Alexa "CatGenie ON".

Last words ... I know - will this guy ever stop?!

I am probably never going to ask Alexa to start my catgenie .. however, it is important to know ...

This version is just a simple momentary switch setup.

When you ask Alexa to "CatGenie ON" .. it sends to ON command.

If you ask Alexa "CatGenie OFF" - nothing will happen. That's because this switch only triggers from ON.

Having said this, if you wanted to PAUSE CatGenie for any reason, you could ask "CatGenie ON" followed by another "CatGenie ON" .. this would switch the relay 2 times .. once to start the machine and another would pause it - there is no "Off".