Patent ID: 7798101

Claim:
An apparatus for removing animal waste from litter, the apparatus comprising: a receptacle for holding litter therein; a sifting member for separating animal waste from the litter; a drive connected to the sifting member to be operable for shifting the sifting member through the litter in the receptacle so that operation of the drive does not directly cause the receptacle to move while the drive is operated to shift the sifting member through the litter in the receptacle; a support for the receptacle configured to allow the receptacle to move with the sifting member as an incident of the sifting member being shifted through the litter so that the receptacle is only indirectly moved by operation of the drive to reduce power requirements for the drive; and a stop arranged to limit movement of the receptacle to a predetermined amount so that the stop is operable to keep the receptacle from moving beyond the predetermined amount while the drive is operated to continue to shift the sifting member through the litter in the receptacle.