Litter-Robot™ review & giveaway 3/7 *Closed!*

Litter Robot

Automated Pet Care Products, Inc.

by Kaye Whitfield, my wonderful loving mother (and A.J. the kitty cat!)

I was definitely overjoyed to find a HUGE box on my porch when I awoke containing the Litter Robot. Initially I thought what a task lay ahead to assemble this, but I was Oh, so pleasantly surprised!! 

My reaction, however, did not compare to the reaction of my oldest cat, AJ, the dominant male. He has to be the first to check out anything new that enters HIS domain! In fact, I could barely open the box for him climbing, sniffing, ect. It was as if he sensed it was something new for HIM!

I loved the fact that it was so securely packaged. Believe me, it could have withstood pressure, dropping and any other danger en route. I found inside two large pieces that comprised the box, a wall plug, and an instruction booklet. 
I am no engineer, so I wondered if I was prepared for the task ahead of me. Happily, I was! If you can read and follow directions, you have this thing knocked!! I would caution you to make certain you read the entire booklet before attempting to assemble this box, however. There are tweaks that you may have to make with the sensor in order for it to recognize the fact that the cat has stepped on the landing. It is pressure sensitive and requires that ALL cats to be using it must weigh at least five pounds.

 The Litter Robot uses any brand of self clumping litter. Filling is easy, the globe  rotates into position for this. When in the proper postion, it stops. To make it do this, you press the button marked "fill" on the control panel  located right above the entrance. Then the globe that sits on the stationery base rotates. Next  it stops and you can add litter through the square holes on the top. Or if you prefer to skip this step altogether, you can opt to add the litter in through the opening of the box. Sounds easy if you are not a messy Tessie!  There is a fill line that shows you where to stop adding. I was surprised at the small amount of litter I used. It says 8 lbs. or 1-½ gals. Not much, considering my other boxes use around 15 lbs. each, once a week and I have four!! What a substantial savings I foresee!! Once finished filling, press any button and it rotates back into the original position. Very high tech and automated, it reminds me of the gadgets on The Jetsons!  It is recommended that you add a cup of the old, used litter from the old box to encourage the cats to use it. Great idea, I think.

The globe does make noise as it turns, cleans, ect.  Mostly my cats just sat and stared at it. They were not frightened, but more curious as to what was happening.  The red light indicates that the cat sensor has been activated and the Litter Robot is going through the 7 minute countdown before starting the cleaning cycle. If the cat sensor is tripped again within the 7 minute countdown, the timer resets itself. The globe will not turn until another 7 minutes have passed.  And if you are concerned that it will begin to move while your cat is inside, rest easy. The sensors will make it stop once it detects pressure on the step.


Also note that there is a contol panel lockout feature that prevents your kids or your pet from pressing the buttons and cycling the unit. It will still work normally in the automatic mode when the contal panel is locked. You just hold down any button for ten seconds.  Do the same thing to unlock the contol panel.  Bells and whistles, folks, it has plenty of them!

The control panel  has a green light that says "OK" that is lit when it is ready to be used. Once the cat steps on the step, the red light turns on that says "sensor/timing", There are three buttons on the control panel, "cycle", "fill" and "empty". When it is cleaning itself this is what the booklet says happens: " The Litter Robot Globe has an internal guard that covers the waste ports. The purpose of the internal guard is to prevent cats from entering the globe through the waste ports. It also prevents litter from getting kicked out.
 During the cleaning cycle, just before the globe reaches the "dump" position, a mechanism moves the internal guard out of the way to open the waste ports.
When the Litter Robot globe starts rotating back to the home position, the internal guard automatically closes, covering the waste ports again."

As far as smell goes, I have not noticed any smell from the box. That is also a most pleasant surprise and one of the most lovely aspects of the box, (in my opinion.)

After emptying the waste drawer, cleaning the globe  is easy.  You can just wash it out with a sanitized cloth like Clorox Cleanups or Lysol wipes or you can wash it with detergent. First, however, you must get in into the proper position by pressing "empty" on the control panel.  There are no electronic components in the globe which can be damaged by soap and water. Be certain it is dry before replacing it. Never submerge or soak the base unit. The drawer uses 8 or 10 gallon waste bags, any type. It comes with 3.

The Litter Robot  has a carbon filter pad that absorbs odors in the drawer. One filter should last a few months under normal use. There is also a customer service number listed in the booklet for questions, concerns or to order replacement filter kits. No cost is listed, but it says they are sold in a three pack at www.litter-robot.com. Most importantly of all, there is a money back guarantee and warranty.It can be returned within 90 dys for a full refund. Of course, you pay shipping costs back to the place of purchase, pretty standard policy for most companies. You have to have a RMA *return material authorization" number that can be obtained through customer service. I would suggest keeping all original packing materials for the 90 day trial  period. But I am most certain there are very few (if any) of these units returned. The Litter Robot  is covered by a full warranty for 18 months from the date of shipment. The warranty covers all parts, labor and shipping costs within the lower 48 states.


I give this product a 100% for it’s efficacy, style and use of technology. I cannot express enough how wonderful this box is!! In my opinion,  It is well worth the suggested retail price and then some!! 

RULES 
*Disclaimer*  I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. Your experience with the product may differ from mine.  

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