Homestead

The Litter Robot

Interactive cat litterbox

Litter Robot is a perfect example of how approaching a design from a completely different perspective can produce a vastly superior tool. This is the cat litter box they’ll use on the Death-Star! Its interior is a barrel which automatically rolls in such a way the catch basin opens, the poo is separated from the litter, it drops into a trash bag, and it all rolls back into place leaving the catch bin completely sealed and odor free and ready for the next use. To clean, just pull out the old bag from a front drawer and drop in a new one. Any plastic garbage bag will do.

Yeah, at $329 it’s expensive, but unlike other automatic litter boxes, once you buy it you don’t have to keep buying litter refills or disposable cartridge pans. You choose your favorite clumping litter and just remember to change the bag once a week and sprinkle in some fresh litter.

Did I mention it is as odor free as you can get? And it looks like a robot, so it’s cool. I recommend buying the lip extender/fence attachment for the door which keeps vigorous cats from kicking litter out the front. There is a neat animation on the website on how it works.

I replaced my ‘Scoop-free’ with this one. (Scoop free was also great product, and I have no complaints about it except refills were terribly expensive, and it was still a conventional ‘box’ design.)

-- Dana Reynolds 05/20/09

(Yes, it's an expensive robot litterbox with digital cat sensors. It also plugs into the wall. Yet the Litter Robot comes with an "eco" version! This pricy/thrifty robot saves on cat litter, which has to be mined and ends up in landfills. So is a robot toilet for cats a Bright Green intervention -- or a consumerist assault on an endangered planet? Dog owners, please don't answer that. -- Bruce Sterling — editors)

© 2022