Air Catditioner: NOBODY likes the smell of litter boxes. No matter where you put it, that’s the room you don’t want to enter. One guy in Pennsylvania is a freakin’ genius in creating his solution. Ken Ryan is a big, friendly man who used to be a building manager in New York City. This building had window air conditioners everywhere, of course. Ken hit on a magically elegant idea. Take the housing from the air conditioner and rip out everything inside. Take that front panel (where you had the controls), and replace it with a simple hinged panel, and put a little cat door on the right side. The inside of the big metal box that’s hanging out the window, where you used to have the guts of the a/c, is now completely empty. It will therefore house any size litter box you like, perfectly. There’s even a little angled bar in front to keep the litter box from slipping around inside. Put a little shelf with a non-skid surface on the front for the cat to jump up on. He or she now enters through a little cat door, which activates a convenient light (so they’re not doing what they’re doing in the pitch dark – isn’t that considerate?). The light stays on for two minutes. Done. The bad odors? They vent to the outside. The hinged door makes changing the litter box so easy a child can do it (check out the website). Just plain brilliant. The kicker was Ken’s telling me that air conditioning units are required by law in New York to have brackets securing them to the outside of the building. That’s right, he’ll supply the brackets for you, too. Everyone on the team loved this product, which is why it made the ultimate Dr. Becker’s Best list, too.
It took Ken five years to make his dream a reality, and he thought of everything. THIS is the kind of story I love. Ken’s just a regular guy with a brilliant idea, a dream, and the sticktoitiveness to make it happen. He is proud to say the whole thing is made in the USA, and I’m proud of his entrepreneurial spirit, which made the Air Catditioner my favorite product of the entire Global Pet Expo. Long may his homegrown company, and the others mentioned above, thrive.
The products I loved: Dr. Becker’s Best named
By Dr. Marty Becker
AIR CATDITIONER
AirCatditioner
AirCatditioner.com
Retail: $299
Invented by a former New York City building manager, this product really caught our attention. As you can see, it looks like an window unit air conditioner, but it houses a cat litter box – and keeps it ventilated, too with hinged door in front. The hinged front has a small cat door. The box behind (which is actually outside, as a standard air conditioner would be) “stores” the litter box. The vents on the outside housing allows all litter box odors to vent outside, never inside.
The hinged door allows for easy servicing of the litter box. A shelf in front of the facing allows cat to jump up in order to enter the cat door.
Emily Engberg | Field Reporter,
TWIN CITIES LIVE
5 Eyewitness News
Good morning, Ken! It was great meeting you as well. Your invention is great. It’s so unique!
Thanks for the nice email. Let me know if you’re ever in the Twin Cities!
Have a great day.
Emily