The Litter Robot 3 was the piece of tech that saved me the most time
So why did I need to get a Litter Robot 4?
Pets. We love them. We complain when they pee and poop on the floor. Can't live with them, can't imagine life without them. So anytime there is a gadget that can improve this give and take with our pets, I'm all for it.
The Litter Robot is a device that I've written about before. It's an amazing little contraption. When my daughter was born five years ago, I decided I was done scooping cat poop. I was becoming a busy parent, I didn't have time to mess with a litter box. It was one of many gadgets that I was convinced I needed as a first time parent.
And for the most part, it was an amazing purchase! My cat joyfully used that box day in and day out for the last half decade. It undoubtedly saved me tons of time everyday and was worth every penny of its lofty asking price.
So now, why am I replacing the robot?
Yes, the day has come where I upgraded my trusty old Litter Robot 3 Connect (the connect part means there is an app to tell you when your cat uses the bathroom!) to the Litter Robot 4.
Did I just fall victim to the allure of a new gadget for controlling my pet's waste? No, this wasn't product purchased on a whim. I knew that the end may be coming for my old Litter Robot. It just hadn't been acting right lately. For the most part it still worked, but I would see it get stuck in various stages of the litter turnover process. When a cat goes to use a litter box and finds an upside down opening with no litter in the tray, there will be problems. These problems were showing up all over the house and something needed to be done.
One of the things I like most about the Litter Robot is that it's so easily repairable. It's really just a few mechanical parts that you can purchase a la carte from the company's website to fix things yourself. I swapped out the Drawer Full Indicator sensor (this lets you know when the thing is too full of excrement to continue functioning). And then I got a new latch key for the rotating globe to ensure it still turned properly. Basically, I tuned up the old model and thought I was good to go.
But the siren song of the new model was still there. It looked more modern. It claimed to be more quiet. It even added a new feature where it could automatically add a little bit of litter to the box every time the cat did its business. That was enough for me to pull the trigger.
So I did set up the new Litter Robot and so far things are working great. It's nearly silent, it looks nicer, and my aging cat seems very happy. But what to do with the old box?
It's amazing to me how much of a resale market there is for used contraptions that have been filled with cat poop. Used Litter Robots regularly fetch $200-$300 on the local Craigslist market. Maybe even more if you include some accessories and supplies like extra litter or bags. I'm going to gussy up the old feline toilet bowl and prepare it for its second act! I like nothing more than selling old tech to folks who will appreciate the time and energy saved. A slightly used Litter Robot will make someone's life so much easier if they've been used to scooping litter multiple times per day.
The tech circle of life goes on, Ruby the Cat happily defecates, and I continue to use the device that has saved me more time than any other piece of gear in my collection.
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