Litter-Robot Automatic Cat Litter Box Review: It Actually Works!
Say goodbye to scooping.
As the caretaker of three adorable cats, I’ve eagerly read every Litter-Robot automatic cat litter box review I’ve come across online. For the uninitiated, it’s a litter box that cleans itself! If you share your home with a furry feline friend (or a few), you have also likely wished for such a hands-off way to keep the litter box clean and odor-free. While cleaning it out frequently does work, imagine if you didn’t have to go scooping every time nature calls?
Though I’ve done the research, I have still been hesitant to pull the trigger on investing in a self-cleaning litter box because, well, it just seems to good to be true! So when I got the chance to try a Litter-Robot out for myself, I jumped at it — especially since our family had just welcomed two new kittens into our home (to the dismay of our grumpy older cat, who was used to having my full attention at all times).
Spoiler alert: The new kids on the block, Winston and Wilbur, and their big sister Winifred (aka Freddy), all love their new self-cleaning litter box — and so do I! Keep reading for my full Litter-Robot automatic cat litter box review — and the “full scoop” on how it works.
How does the Litter-Robot cat litter box work?
You might be wondering, like I was, exactly how an automated litter box works. While a self-cleaning litter box might sound too good to be true, it’s actually pretty close to what this is — and here’s how it works. When your cat uses the bathroom, a sensor in the Litter-Robot waits until they’ve safely exited the chamber, then starts the cleaning cycle.
The chamber separates and starts to rotate, sifting the litter and emptying the clumps into the waste drawer below, while clean litter is deposited back into the main chamber to be used again. (The blue-lit chamber and whirring noise while this happen caused my children to joke that the Litter-Robot looks like a UFO about to take off.)
When the drawer is full (every few days for one cat, every day for our three little beasts), simply pull it out, cinch up the liner and toss in the trash (outside! It will be stinky!) and replace with a fresh liner.
What cat litter works best with the Litter-Robot?
The Litter-Robot company says any clumping litter will work, and we have found this to be true. However, silica-gel litter (like Pretty Litter) will also work with Litter-Robot! Litters like Feline Pine, which disintegrate into fine dust when used, rather than clumping, are not compatible with Litter-Robot.
Does the Litter-Robot work for multiple cats?
Yes! One Litter-Robot is rated safe for up to four cats (and the company says some households with even more than that have successfully used it). Our three cats like to watch each other doing their business, so it looks like they’re in line for the bathroom, which never fails to make me laugh. They also enjoy watching it perform its cleaning cycle, sitting in front of it like it’s a movie screen playing the latest Hollywood blockbuster.
How do you train your cat to use an automated litter box?
Maybe we were lucky, but our cats had no problems learning to use the Litter-Robot — even the little guys. We simply kept our old litter box next to the new one for a few days, as the instructions suggested, and our menagerie naturally started to use it. When we took the old litter box away, all three cats adapted fine, continuing to use the Litter-Robot without a problem. Easy-peasy!
Litter-Robot 3
Where to buy: $449, Litter-Robot
Why we like it:
- No more scooping!
- Easy to operate
- Sleek, futuristic styling
The Litter-Robot 3 is an automatic, self-cleaning litter box that lets you stop scooping your cat’s litter forever — and gives your precious babies a fresh bed of litter every time nature calls. Litter is automatically sifted after each use, depositing clumps into the lined drawer beneath, while the clean litter empties back into the main chamber, ready to be used again. This not only keeps you from having to scoop, it reduces spilling and tracking, and seals away waste in the odor-controlling, charcoal-filtered drawer until you take it out.
It works for larger cats, multiple cats, and kittens over five pounds, although our little guys managed it when they were even smaller. We simply kept it turned off and used it in “semi-automatic” mode, turning it on and pressing the cycle button when needed.
Want to take your automation to the next level? The Litter-Robot 3 Connect ($499, Litter–Robot) is WiFi enabled, so you can cycle the litter box, check whether the drawer is full, and see the usage history via a smartphone app that works with iPhone or Android operating systems.
