Litter Maid cat litter boxes come equipped with a heavy duty rake that when activated, moves through the used litter, cleaning it and depositing the clumps in an easy to change cat litter tray. This container will need to be changed once a week at minimum or when it is full if there are multiple cats using it. The rake is activated by a sensor which starts a timer and initiates the cleaning cycle.

Once the timer is activated, there is a built in ionic air cleaner that comes on to filter the smell out of the air. This air cleaner will run every 10 minutes while the unit is in sleep mode to continuously keep the air fresh. Littermaid cat litter boxes are designed with your cat’s safety in mind.

There is a safety mechanism built in to stop the rake should anything obstruct it. If the cat should leave and return before the 10 minute cleaning cycle has begun, the sensor will restart the timer to 10 minutes and this will avoid it starting up while still occupied. These innovations keep your pet safe and you happy.

It is generally recommended that clumping cat litter be used in these, but the cat litter crystals will leave virtually no odor while sitting in the tray until disposed. Many of the customer reviews state that using simple clay litter should be avoided, as once it is wet and then dried the clumps left behind are like small concrete blocks. While the rake will still clean these out, it may lower the efficiency of the unit.

The patented sifting system in Litter Robot cat litter boxes cleans the litter after each use. The globe containing the litter actually rotates around and the cycle is complete when the globe returns to its original position. The weight activated sensor tells the box when the cat has entered and starts the 7 minute timer until the cleaning cycle is initiated.

The litter is then sifted, cleaned and the clumps deposited in a large capacity tray that may be lined with a simple kitchen garbage bag. This will save money on having to buy specific liners or disposable trays that some other automatic cat litter boxes require. Once full, this simply needs to be thrown away and a new liner installed.

The litter that should be used with this box needs to be the type that clumps rather than clay. This insures that the litter is completely clean after each cycle and little to no residue is left behind. Fresh Step clumping cat litter is one of the premier brands and fits the bill nicely for use in automatic cat litter boxes.

The Litter Robot self-cleaning cat litter boxes are among the best on the market and may be easily found online. The box is simple to set up: just add litter, plug in and it is ready for use. There are instructions included also with tips to help you train your cat or cats in its use. The manufacturer also provides an 18 month warranty on each one and a 30 day money back guarantee on the purchase price.

There are two basic types of cat litter boxes, automatic and manual. The automatic ones literally do all the work and it is just a matter of cleaning out the tray once a week and adding fresh litter occasionally. The manual ones range from the old fashioned type that need to be scooped out by hand to modern ones that are raked and cleaned without ever touching litter again.

ScoopFree cat litter boxes have taken the manual litter box to a whole new level. They utilize a disposable litter tray with cat litter crystal already in it. There is the simple matter of using the built in rake to “comb” the litter, removing the clumps to a sealed compartment and throwing the tray out when it is used up. No more touching litter ever again.

CatGenie litter boxes are at the complete other end of the spectrum. The Model 120 not only cleans and scoops the litter but also flushes it. There is a simple do it yourself water hook up that needs to be installed and the litter itself is washable and reusable.

The predominant difference between the different cat litter boxes is the price. The manual styles, like the Scoop Free, start at around $70.00 whereas the automatic ones can be as high as $350.00, depending on the model. There are many however that fall in to the middle range of these prices and one is available to fit almost any budget.