Who says there's no drama in the automatic self cleaning cat litter box world?  If anyone has been following the Scoopfree vs. Scoopmaid saga, you already know that super high-tech is not the only place there is legal drama.

Littermaid holds the primary patent for automatic litter boxes that use a rake to scoop waste into a container at one end of the litter box.  In the past 4-5 years, other companies have designed and marketed similar devices, the main difference being that the drive mechanism is not on the rake itself.  Scoopfree is one of those companies.

Then, recently, Littermaid introduced the "Scoopmaid" brand of litter box and companion litter tray cartridge, which to the common observer is a near exact clone to the Scoopmaid version.  The motors even sound the same.  The average shopper for Scoopfree brand replacement litter cartridges has noticed that the only version available in Petsmart is the Scoopmaid brand.  And now Scoopfree has a patent on their own box/cartridge combination!  Who's violating who's patent?   This is all very confusing, but it will be interesting to see how this all shakes out and see if consumer choice is impacted negatively.  It is to all consumer's benefit to have a variety of manufacturers offering a variety of different solutions to the self cleaning cat litter box market.  This keeps prices competitive and gives more choice to consumers.

LitterWorks will stick to its plan of offering accessories to improve the function or to conceal or hide automatic self cleaning litter boxes, whatever the brand may be.  So, whatever brand of litter box you use, make sure to stop by LitterWorks regularly as we are constantly innovating new litter disposal systems as well as litter box cabinets, cat litter,  and accessories.