Animal litter containment and filtering apparatus

An improved animal litter containment and filtering apparatus, comprising:

• a first and a second container for holding particulate litter, said first container having a first perimeter and a pair of opposing end walls, and said second container having a second perimeter and a pair of opposing end walls;
• a pair of coupling means for temporarily securing said first container to said second container, wherein a first of said pair of coupling means includes a moveable member secured to a first of said end walls of said first container and a stationary member secured to a first of said end walls of said second container, and said second of said pair of coupling means includes a moveable member secured to a second of said end walls of said second container and a stationary member secured to a second of said end walls of said first container, wherein each of said pair of coupling means is secured to and engages only said first and second container, and wherein said moveable member of said first and second of said pair of coupling means is removeably engaged with said stationary member of said first and second of said pair of coupling means to temporarily secure said second container to said first container when said second container is inverted;
• and
• filtering means including a curved filter having two opposing ends, and edge engagement means attached to each of said opposing ends, said edge engagement means having a U-shaped trough located on top of a second inverted U-shaped trough, wherein said first trough is removeably engaged with said first perimeter and said second trough is removeably engaged with said second perimeter when said second container is inverted and temporarily secured to said first container.

A method for filtering solid waste and clumps of litter from particulate litter utilizing an apparatus including a first container having litter, comprising the steps of:

• removeably securing a filtering means to a perimeter of said first container, wherein said filtering means includes a filter having two opposing ends and a pair of edge engagement means attached to said two opposing ends, and wherein each of said pair of edge engagement means includes a first U-shaped trough located on top of a second inverted U-shaped trough, wherein said filtering means is removably secured by removably securing said first trough to said perimeter of said first container;
• inverting a second container and removeably securing a perimeter of said second container to said filtering means, wherein said inverting said second container includes inverting said second container and removeably securing said perimeter of said second container to said second trough;
• temporarily coupling said first container to said second container utilizing a coupling means, said coupling means including a moveable member secured to said first container and a stationary member secured to said second container, wherein said coupling means is secured to only said first container and said second container;
• inverting said apparatus so that said second container is upright and said first container is inverted;
• removing said first container from said filtering means;
• and
• removing said filtering means so that all solid waste and clumps of litter are removed from particulate litter.