Noooo! Not the sandbox!

February 11, 2007 10:09 PM

My trusty Littermaid litterbox seems to have run into difficulties. The rake arm went all the way to the end where the waste goes, and stayed there. and has stayed there. I tried wiggling it around, and no luck there. Anybody fixed this before?

I saw a "Littermaid repair guide" on ebay but its 12 bucks for an ebook, and who knows if it has any solutions in it. Any suggestions that might save me from the drudgery of endless scooping would be MUCH appreciated. Thanks!

posted by gilsonal to Pets & Animals (5 answers total)

Are youe sure? It looks likes the Littermaid Repair Guide has the information you need in Chapter Ten: Rake Arm Goes to End But Does Not Return.

Full disclosure: I fixed my first Littemaid by throwing it away and buying my second Littermaid. I fixed my second Littermaid by smashing it with a hammer. I hate Littermaids, mine were both expensive automated poop-flingers. Glad you like yours though.
posted by Fat Guy at 10:34 PM on February 11, 2007

Here's a link to the Littermaid forums on Automated Litterbox Central that might help.
posted by Fat Guy at 10:41 PM on February 11, 2007

I called customer support, mailed them the wire, and they sent me a new one.

Then I threw out the second one when it started doing what yours is doing.

Because they are expensive poop flingers, as Fat Guy said.
posted by wildeepdotorg at 5:14 AM on February 12, 2007

They are expensive poop flingers that I keep replacing when they quit flinging. The first and third boxes' arms broke, on the second one the magic eye quit working. The first two were bought in a disappointingly short time period (a year-ish), but I bought the last one nearly 3 years ago (on my wedding day, because the Littermaid never breaks unless it's the worst possible time to break).

I have my suspicions about repair manuals purchased on ebay, but it's also a pretty simple machine. I suspect it's a broken belt of some kind, and if you're handy and want to stick your face in a stinky shitbox for the time it takes to fix it, that may be worth $100 to you.
posted by Lyn Never at 7:13 AM on February 12, 2007

As long as it's under warranty call Customer Support as per wildeepdotorg. We had the same experience.

These things are set to last about 9 months and then die. Thankfully they have a year warranty. We went through four or five of them over 4 years before we lost our cat.
posted by IndigoSkye at 10:48 AM on February 12, 2007