HARDWARE
$300
Hands-free pooper-scooper
I love animals, but I've never been into picking up after them. The LitterFree self-washing cat box is made for squeamish pet owners - and for pets like Ellie May, the cat I borrowed to test it out.
Like it sounds, the LitterFree is basically a mini-toilet - flushing waste and its accompanying odors away. The intake hose attaches to a bathroom sink's cold-water pipe and the outtake hose to a toilet. When I tried to attach the intake hose, neither the 3/4-inch nor the 1/4-inch adapter fit. One call to LitterFree and a new 1/2-inch fitting was at my door in days.
It was time to get the thing working. I filled the box with the special Styrofoam-like "litter" granules and - to get Ellie May's attention - moved some feces from her old box to this one. She poked her head in, but quickly headed for her old pooping grounds. By the next day, though, she was squatting in her new john.
Rather than program the unit to flush automatically, I pressed the manual button to activate it once Ellie May was out of the room (it's really loud, and I didn't want to spook her). Water poured in, swirling vigorously in the basin for a couple of minutes before being sucked out of the LitterFree and pumped into the toilet bowl (leaving behind the reusable granules). The cycle repeats twice more - using a lot of water - after which the kitty droppings were practically gone. Then, a fourth cycle runs a floral-scented liquid through the litter to banish any smell. A few minutes of blow-drying prepares the box for Ellie May's next visit.
It's an awfully elaborate system for such a simple task, but it did the job I didn't want to do.
Pet-Centric: (866) 587 3733,www.litterfree.com.
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