Little did I realize that next cat would be an 18 pound (maybe a pound overweight, she’s not a fat girl, just a big ol’ ragdoll lass) Ragdoll.

I purchased a normal box with sifting liners and resigned myself to that fate (though to be honest, sifting liners aren’t all that bad), you know, the daily emptying of a litter box, smelling up the house, as easy as liners were, they are not as easy as the worlds best litter box.

But I kept scouring the web for instances of people using the litter box with larger cats, and heartened by the reviews on this site and the Google results, I ordered a refurbished litter robot II with a bubble unit.

We’ve had Miss Amanda for just over a week now, and today I did the cold turkey switch to the litter robot II, I figured it would either work or it wouldn’t.

I did one last round of the sifting liners, leaving behind her old (but mostly clean) litter. I switched the Death Star on, waited for it to cycle, then hit the fill button. I loaded up the ‘bot with the left over litter, turned it off and waited to see what would happen.

Lo and behold, about ten minutes later she decided she needed to use the loo. Sniffing around the Death Star, she knew her litter was there, but couldn’t quite find it, at first. Then she stuck her head in, hesitantly crawled inside, turned around and stuck her head out for a few seconds. She turned around a couple more times, pawed at the litter and sedately left the globe.

“Cool”, I thought, “she now knows that’s her box, now let’s see if she’ll actually use it!”

I shone a flashlight into it to see if I could see any clumps and I didn’t. But on a whim, I did a manual cycle and after a few moments was rewarded with the solid thunk of one of her epic urine clumps dropping into the drawer.

I almost shouted for joy, but instead, I gave her a nice helping of her favorite treat and turned it off.

So, the pessimist in me thought, “Great, she used it for #1, what about #2?” Well, a few minutes ago I heard it cycle (she wasn’t scared of it at all when I did the manual cycle) and I sprinted to the Death Star just in time to see her #2 drop into the drawer.

Oh, happy day, she took to it right away! Now, I just hope it continues!

Scott

Vallejo, CA

PONTIAC, Mich., Mar 15, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Spring cleaning ushers in the new season with a fresh, clean home. For households with cats, the litter box always needs special attention and springtime is a perfect opportunity to finally get rid of one of the dirtiest and unwanted jobs — cleaning the litter box. Automated Pet Care Products, Inc. has eliminated that dreaded chore with the Litter-Robot(TM), the only automated, self-cleaning litter box made in the USA.

With the Litter-Robot(TM), cleaning the litter box is as simple as changing a kitchen garbage bag every few days. Seven minutes after a cat uses it, the Litter-Robot automatically rotates and its patented litter sifting process gently separates the waste clumps from the litter and deposits it into a large waste drawer lined with a plastic bag, leaving behind a clean bed of litter for the cat.

Litter-Robot(TM) ensures an odor-free environment and forever eliminates scooping a dirty litter box by hand. The sifting system is so efficient that owners will save up to 50 percent on litter as compared to manual scooping.

“The Litter-Robot(TM) is unique in that it saves owners both time and money, something we’re all trying to do,” said Brad Baxter, president of Automated Pet Care Products. “Best of all, by completely eliminating this household chore, it gives owners the time and freedom to do other things or even take a weekend trip without worrying about the litter box.” Additionally, the Litter Robot(TM) system does not require any special waste trays, expensive litter crystals, or chemical cartridges to operate; simply use a favorite clumping litter and line the waste drawer with an inexpensive kitchen garbage bag.

Litter-Robot(TM) features include: — Patented litter sifting system; No rake that can jam or clog; No special receptacles or bags; — Works with any clumping litter; Dramatically reduces odor; Uses less litter; — Made in USA; 90-day money-back guarantee; 18-month full warranty Litter-Robot(TM) is made in the USA and costs $329 – $349 and includes shipping.

It is available online at www.litter-robot.com.

About Litter-Robot(TM) Automated Pet Care Products, Inc., based in Pontiac, Mich., is the maker of the Litter-Robot(TM), the only automated, self-cleaning litter box product made in the USA. The Litter-Robot makes life easier for cat owners by eliminating the daily hassle of litter box scooping. An innovative and talented team has created a safe and reliable automatic self-cleaning litter box that is efficient, works flawlessly, and requires only minimal attention. The Litter-Robot(TM) made its market debut in April of 2000. Made from tough recyclable plastics and industrial grade components, the Litter-Robot(TM) was designed to last. It is a quality appliance, not a dispensable product that needs to be replaced every year. The company stands behind this self-cleaning litter box with an 18-month full warranty and 90-day money-back guarantee. Litter-Robot(TM) is available for purchase online at www.litter-robot.com.

SOURCE: Automated Pet Care Products, Inc.

CONTACT: Media Contact: PublicCity PR Monica Luoma, 586-612-8220 mluoma@publiccitypr.net Copyright

Thanks for the wonderful product!

Douglas

North Little Rock, AR

Robert

Fort Meyers, FL

As an extra side note, I want to commend the representative, Shirley, that was so very helpful to me.  I made a new friend dealing with her…..what a caring person and anyone would be lucky to deal with her in any transactions you might have.  A big thank you to her and to the brilliant person that invented this wonderful device.

Joanne,  WI

-Laura

Oregon City, OR

-Bernie

Tucson AZ

Jun

Cambridge, MA

The LR-II makes up for my scooping inefficiencies. Yes, its expensive but well worth the convenience of having it do the scooping for you. I think the LR-II does a better job at cleaning the litter than I did – small chunks would flake apart when I scooped the litter box so the litter would get dirty very quickly. However, the LR is very gentle and doesn’t seem to break apart the clumps as much which means fresher litter longer. I’m not going through my bag of World’s Best litter as quickly either!

I have to admit I was afraid my cats wouldn’t use the LR-II because one is 11 years old and accustomed to the litter box and the other is scared of motorized noises (vacuum, hair dryer, electric razors, etc). Also, my cats are very large (14 lbs tabby and 19 lbs Maine Coon) so I bought the LR-II Bubble. They fit fine inside the globe and I think the “sky-light” makes it less scary because the interior of the globe is black. After training them to use the LR-II and getting them used to the noise, the LR-II is now the litter box of choice.

Here’s what I did: I was very excited to receive the LR-II and even more excited to have my kitties use it. Of course, they could have cared less – just sniffed it and walked away. So, against the instructions, i tried to (gently, very gently!!) shove them into the LR-II which didn’t work. Then I attempted to bribe them by lining the lip and interior globe with treats. They just stuck their head in, grabbed the treats and left. Defeated, I decided to let them go in on their own time while I stopped cleaning my original litter box.

The next morning I found pee and poop in the LR-II! Success! Well, semi-success since they were still using their original litter box. By day 3, I decided to remove the litter box altogether because I couldn’t stand the stench anymore. I waited, and waited, and started to panic because the LR-II hadn’t been used in the 24 hours since the other box was removed. I ran around the house looking for pee and poop. Nothing. Just as I was about to put the original box back, my older cat decided to finally use the LR-II. PHEW! I praised him and gave him a treat when he finished his duty. After seeing this, the younger cat (who is very motivated by treats) decided to follow suit. Another praise and treat. Training completed!!

As for the noise, I was scared my younger cat wouldn’t use the LR-II because it was motorized so I “trained” him to become accustomed to the sound. For the first 2 days I decided to run the cycles manually and turned the faucet on to lessen the noise while I ran it. Then, the next few times I would turn it on and immediately go and pet him outside the room while he heard the cycle going. The next step was to run it while he was in the room but I used a paper bag to block his view. After a while, he became accustomed to it and actually went over to watch it cycle. Thank GOODNESS because now I can let it run automatically!

If I sound super excited about the LR-II its because I truly am. Its a great product and well worth the investment.

Erica

Los Angeles, CA

Reprinted from Pawprintsthemagazine.com

By Stacy E. Smith

Who has an electric, automated, self-cleaning litter box (LitterMaid, etc.)? Raise your hand. Who wishes they had one, but would rather not spend a couple of hundred bucks on a litter box? Who has one and wishes they hadn’t spent a couple of hundred bucks on it? We can relate. We have one that sits unplugged and is now scooped just like a traditional, non-electric, non-self-cleaning, non-automated litter box. The rake that moved back and forth across the litter in order to sift out the clumps and leave clean litter behind seemed to always be clogged with the sticky combination of urine/feces and kitty litter causing the entire machine to jam.

I came upon Litter-Robot a while ago, by accident, on the Internet (as I do many products) and based on the differences, thought we should give it a try. What is the difference? Litter-Robot is round – sort of shaped like a globe. We call it “Kenny” because, to us, it looks like the so-named, hooded, parka-clad character on the animated series, “South Park” on Comedy Central. The cat enters the globe, does its business and leaves just like a traditional covered litter box. Litter-Robot has an electronic sensor that tells it cycle seven minutes after a cat leaves. It slowly rotates and the clean litter is sifted through a grid into a holding area below. The beauty of this system is that there is absolutely nothing on which the cat’s “clumps” may become stuck. The unit then rotates back and forth a few times dumping the clumps into the receptacle tray below, and finally the last rotation allows the clean litter back into the globe with the unit returned to its original “home” position. There are a series of three lights that let you know what the Litter-Robot is doing; the green “ready light” signals that it is ready for use again (not that your cat needs to learn those). There is a safety mechanism in place that prevents the Litter-Robot from operating when a cat is inside. The globe rotates so slowly; so slowly that I’m not sure there would be much of  a problem if the cat decided to re-enter the globe, but there is an additional safety feature in place that shuts off the motor automatically if that were to happen. It is impossible to imagine any cat that would climb into anything that is moving and making noise.

The receptacle needs to be lined, but one of the features of Litter-Robot is that there are no special liners to buy; ordinary kitchen garbage bags will do the trick.