Litter Robot automatic self-cleaning cat litter box, $30.

Even those of us who don't own cats are aware of the myriad 'self-cleaning' cat litter boxes available. But there's one brand of self-cleaning litter box whose name and look you must be aware of - the Litter Robot! The Litter Robot costs so much that even the parts and pieces sell very well on eBay!

This particular unit was made available to me because its previous owner was moving into an apartment that didn't allow pets.   

If there’s one thing about the Litter Robot I really admire, it’s the fact that it’s very solidly-built and very easy to clean. Everything about it is ‘industrial strength’, and is made many times stronger than it has to be. I really have to hand it to the folks at Litter Robot.  

To operate the Litter Robot, all you have to do is load it with about eight or nine pounds of clumping (it has to be clumping) litter. When kitty steps on the front step of the Litter Robot, a sensor is depressed, starting the countdown to the cleaning process. After a programmed seven minute delay (intended to allow the cat to finish up its business), the top drum begins to slowly rotate, via a gear in the base that engages the teeth along the rim of the upper globe. As the globe rotates, the litter is sifted through a coarse screen, where the clumps are separated from the rest of the litter and deposited into the drawer at the bottom of the unit. The de-clumped litter is then returned to its original position for the next bathroom visit.

The waste collecting drawer in the bottom of the unit is intended to be lines with a plastic bag - many folks just use those little plastic grocery bags. When the drawer is full, you just pull out the bag and replace it with a new one.

I was very careful to state in my eBay auction for this Litter Robot that there were no returns. When you order one of these units new from the company, you get something like a 90-day money-back guarantee. The Litter Robot folks know that no matter how good their product may be, there will still be a certain percentage of returns. Not having the deep pockets of the fine folks at Litter Robot, I do not want to deal with some capricious buyer who will try to return it to me if things don’t work out. I sell it in perfect shape, but no returns.  

Something funny to mention here is that when I took this Litter Robot unit to my mother's house to test it out with her four cats, she liked it so much that I had to leave it with her! Oh well, that happens sometimes. However... always remember that the real value of so many items can be determined by how well used examples sell on eBay. And in the case of the Litter Robot automatic self-cleaning cat box, even used examples like this one currently sell for $250 to $300! So as you can see, people love these Litter Robots!