The Litter-Robot

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.

Have you ever found your Litter-Robot stopped in mid rotation and possibly with the red light blinking? This could be a sign that your cat sensor needs adjustment. Sometimes after adding litter or replacing litter in the globe, the total weight of the globe becomes high enough that during the rotation or even while stationary (without cat inside) the cat sensor is triggered. If the Cat Sensor is triggered continuously for more than 2 minutes then the red light starts to blink. This problem can be easily fixed by simply adjusting the Cat Sensor. Here are recommended steps for adjusting the Cat Sensor:

1. Turn off unit and remove Globe.
2. Turn on power with Globe removed. Does gear turn?
3. If NO go to step 4. If YES, turn off power and go to step 5.
4. Try ‘exercising’ the Safety Line in the Base – push and release it several times such that you hear the clicking noise of a switch. Turn the power off then on again. Does the Globe now turn? If NO try repeating, but if still no rotation of the gear, then you will need to contact Customer Service. If YES, you are done. Re-position Globe and verify that it completes a clean cycle (in this case adjustment of the cat sensor was not needed).
5. Turn the Base upside down so you are facing the bottom surface. Find the round black adjustment foot and simply turn it Clockwise (2) full complete turns (720 degrees).

6. Replace Globe and turn the unit ON. Verify that the Globe completes the clean cycle – if YES you’re done. If not, repeat step 5. If you are still having trouble, contact Customer Service .