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We have updated this guide through the FAQ section and refreshed the entire purchase link.

We have updated this guide through the FAQ section and refreshed the entire purchase link.

Since the last update, a new automatic trash can has been released, and we will consider testing in the future. But in general, we still do not recommend most cats (or people) to use them.

After spending more than 40 hours researching and testing automatic litter boxes, we cannot recommend any of them. Self-cleaning trash cans are expensive, prone to failure, and are generally more difficult to clean than traditional trash cans. The Litter-Robot III Open Air is the worst model we have tested, but you probably shouldn't get it.

We do not recommend buying an automatic trash can, but if you really want one, this model can collect the most trash without jamming.

*At the time of publication, the price was $450.

Litter-Robot III Open Air can hold enough waste, you only need to empty it once a week (single cat). Compared to most other models, it also has a lower frequency of clogging and is the second fastest of the self-cleaning bins we tested. But its exterior is large, and its interior is too small for most cats. It is also expensive, and it is still more prone to breakdowns than the prepaid $450 plus annual maintenance costs of $65.

As an alternative, nothing can compare to traditional trash cans, such as Nature's Miracle High Sided Litter Box. At the price of Litter-Robot, you can get a simple box that is easier to clean and provides more space for your cat, as well as five to seven years of garbage. If you prefer something more modern, you can always upgrade to Modkat Flip Litter Box at a price less than what you pay for most automatic designs.

I am a lifelong pet owner. I have worked in an animal shelter as an ordinary volunteer, adoptive parent, and work group leader. As a pet staff writer at Wirecutter, I reviewed everything from dog boots to pet carriers. For this guide, I spent more than 40 hours researching, testing, and interviewing experts on automatic dumpsters.

Pet experts recommend scooping at least one litter box a day, possibly more often, depending on the individual cat (their grooming behavior, disease, or whether they live with other furballs). Self-cleaning bins can be shoveled on their own, so you don’t have to do this, and some allow you to program them to shovel up trash multiple times a day. All you have to do is throw away the garbage collected once or twice a week. Our experts say that a good automatic litter box should be scooped frequently without collapsing or overflowing, run quietly, and provide enough space for most cats. However, none of the bins we tested met any of these standards.

Any automatic litter box we tested, even the litter box designed for multiple cat families, did not have a large enough litter bed.

The main reason you may want an automatic trash can is that it will scoop up your promise for you, but these devices often fail to accomplish this task. The spoon may become sticky or clogged, leaving the machine to stand by. For example, the Litter-Robot III Open Air will get stuck when we load too much garbage or the wrong type of garbage. In one case, it malfunctioned because the cat's excrement blocked the sensor, so it mistakenly considered garbage. The box is full. When using PetSafe Simply Clean, there were a few times when the caked urine was jammed by the conveyor belt, obstructing the path of travel and spilling dirty trash on the floor.

Some litter boxes also take a long time to be scooped out correctly, which means that cats who like a neat litter bed may go to the bathroom elsewhere instead of waiting for the litter box to complete its work. CatGenie takes 30 minutes to wash away the cat’s urine and poo, while PetSafe Simply Clean takes a full hour to remove any dirt.

Self-cleaning bins are not only expensive to purchase, but also expensive to maintain. Between the cost of replacement parts and reusable accessories (such as carbon filters and special cat litter), you will find yourself spending a lot more on life cycle operating costs than using a traditional litter box. For example, many cat owners who want CatGenie to shovel twice a day expect to spend between $160 and $200 per year on replacement of clean ink cartridges and plastic waste particles. Those who own PetSafe ScoopFree Ultra will experience a greater sticker impact: the litter box requires a special litter box filled with crystals, which costs between US$540 and US$720 per year in a multi-cat household. (Our choice of cat litter, Dr. Elsey’s Ultra, currently costs $15 for 40 pounds and lasts about two to three months, for a total of only $60 to $90 per year.)

Any automatic litter box we tested, even the litter box designed for multiple cat families, did not have a large enough litter bed. Experts suggest that the length of the litter box should be one and a half times the length of the cat, and the width should be the same as the length of the cat. Our favorite traditional bin is 18 inches wide and 24 inches long. In contrast, CatGenie's round garbage bed is 17 inches wide. Both the Litter-Robot and PetSafe ScoopFree Ultra beds are 14 x 14 inches. PetSafe Simply Clean has a conveyor belt that occupies almost half of the annular bedding bed, leaving only 7 x 18 inches of usable space.

Some cats (and people) may be bored by the noise of the automatic litter box-if a cat has a negative impact on the litter box, it may not use the box. CatGenie is the most noisy litter box we have tried: in our tests, it rinses the water loudly when removing waste, and this effect may scare cats that are already scared. When it was scooped up, the sound became louder, and the arm banged because it shook off the loose garbage particles in the clumps of waste. The PetSafe ScoopFree Ultra is one of the quietest machines we have tested, measuring about 50 decibels (approximately the volume of a family conversation) when scooping out garbage. Although it is quieter than other models, some experts say they believe that tilting movements or any mechanical sound can stop some cats. "I usually advise against using automatic trash cans because if they have any problems, it will scare them away and they will never want to use it again," said Mary Molloy, ASPCA animal behavior consultant and owner. Nirvana Tails, a pet training company, is located in New York City.

Even if your self-cleaning litter box works well, it is still not suitable for all types of cats. Kittens and cats weighing less than 5 pounds are too small to trigger a motion or weight sensor that tells the litter box when to scoop and when not to scoop; an accidental scooping action may startle or make your cat do business Get stuck in the process. Elderly cats with knot problems may not be able to get in and out of the self-cleaning box easily because of their high plate height. The height of the Litter-Robot III Open Air from the floor to the pan is 13.5 inches, and there is a small step of 7 inches, which is too narrow for some cats to use. Our traditional litter box choice Nature's Miracle High Sided Litter Box has a 5½ inch high entrance lip. Even if you have a healthy adult cat, they may still avoid the automatic litter box altogether: "Cats really don't like changes," Molloy told us. "You just hope they will use this new trash can, not a bathtub or sink."

Cat guardians with limited mobility may turn to self-cleaning litter boxes because they think this model is easier to clean than traditional litter boxes, or if they don’t want to rely on household or home health tools. But in our tests, we found that these machines still require regular, intensive cleaning and often break down, so they may be too troublesome for some people with limited mobility. If the cat owner cannot bend over to scoop things, some assistive technology experts also recommend placing a dustbin at the height of the table. This arrangement becomes complicated for owners of automatic trash cans because these devices are large, heavy, and require a power source. In addition, if their cat needs to jump to a very high altitude to go to the toilet, things will become more chaotic. (Cats don’t always insist on landing.)

Compared with the average life span of cats, the warranty period of the automatic litter box is also very short. For example, CatGenie offers a two-year warranty-this is the longest warranty period of the machines we have tested-but it often has complaints about malfunctions. This is not very reassuring for expensive technology that is responsible for cleaning your litter box without staining or harming your cat.

Litter-Robot III Open Air provides an 18-month warranty, with an optional 18-month extension, and the price is $50. Both PetSafe models we tested have a one-year warranty.

I researched dozens of automated trash bins from retailers and read their customer reviews to gain insights into overall performance. The self-cleaning litter box is small, so I only considered models made for multiple cat families because they are bigger and give your cat more space. Looking at those who have long-term good reviews, I narrowed the list to four, with prices ranging from $80 to $450 for testing: CatGenie Self Washing Self Flushing Cat Box, Litter-Robot III Open Air, PetSafe ScoopFree Ultra Self -Clean trash can and PetSafe Simple clean automatic trash can.

To test, I looked at several properties.

In addition to checking the garbage robots used in cat cafes, for a variety of reasons, we did not test any finalists with real cats. After conducting preliminary tests on factors important to humans (noise, cleanliness, size, and installation), we already knew that we would not recommend these devices. Cats usually don’t like changes, so we think it’s meaningless to repeatedly hurt our cats by letting them shit in four different narrow, noisy, and strange boxes. We have fired these boxes for other reasons. Even if your cat tolerates or likes automatic litter boxes, they may be equally satisfied with ordinary litter boxes.

We do not recommend buying an automatic trash can, but if you really want one, this model can collect the most trash without jamming.

*At the time of publication, the price was $450.

The Litter-Robot III Open Air is the best automatic trash can we have tested, but we still cannot recommend it to most people. Pick up the most waste in a short period of time, but it is troublesome to clean up, and occasionally there will be malfunctions or blockages. Although it has the largest garbage collection capacity in our test group, you still need to empty it several times a week. Its garbage bed is one of the largest garbage beds we have tested, but the inside of the box is still too small and the outside is too bulky. Although it is easy to set up, it costs $450 and requires expensive wearing parts. We have also discovered the failure complaint patterns of long-term car owners. In short, if you have purchased Litter-Robot, don't be surprised if your cat has left unpleasant gifts around your house instead of in this pile.

Despite its flaws, Litter-Robot is one of the better automatic trash bins in our test group, and it can accomplish its purpose: shovel trash. The earth of the garbage robot first rotates counterclockwise and then clockwise to screen the garbage bed and dump the dirty garbage into the waste container. In our tests, it removed more garbage than the other models we tried because the rotating action helped to remove sticky garbage from the sides and bottom of the garbage bed, which other models might sometimes miss. The globe will not spill trash out of the box like the PetSafe Simply Clean design, nor will it stir urine back into the trash bed like PetSafe ScoopFree Ultra. In our test, the screening process took 2.5 minutes, which makes Litter-Robot the second fastest automatic trash can in our test. (ScoopFree Ultra’s rake system only takes 1 minute and 10 seconds, while Simple Clean’s conveyor belt takes a full hour to scoop and sort the trash into the trash bin.)

When the earth rotates, it buzzes at 55 decibels, which sounds like a grumbling paper scanner. This is slightly louder than the average indoor conversation, and slightly higher than the 50 decibels of ScoopFree Ultra. But the sound did not seem to bother the 13 cats at the Meow Parlor cat cafe in New York City, where there is a garbage robot that cats like to use. (The employees there told us that cats prefer to use Litter-Robot compared to the traditional litter box in the cafe. I often see cats sitting in front of the Litter-Robot so they can watch it spin.) It also Much less. It sounds more intrusive than CatGenie. When it shakes the trash from the spoon, it flushes frequently and makes a loud crashing sound.

Litter-Robot contains more garbage than any other self-cleaning bin we have tested. It contains 4 cups of urine clumps (16 of our 1/4 cup of water sample), enough for you to empty it with only one cat once a week, or empty it every three or four days— -Cat family. PetSafe ScoopFree Ultra can hold approximately 12 liquid samples before its rake system becomes viscous and the crystal sand tray needs to be replaced. PetSafe Simply Clean’s trash can only contained about six liquid samples, and CatGenie’s non-absorbable particles left a muddy mass in the bowl before the trash was discharged.

In our tests, [Garbage Robot] removed more garbage than the other models we tried because the rotating action helped to remove sticky garbage from the sides and bottom of the garbage bed, and other models might sometimes miss these places.

Although garbage robots do a good job of shoveling garbage, cleaning up garbage is a chore, and it can be said that it is more painful than shoveling traditional garbage cans every day. It’s difficult for us to empty the Litter-Robot’s trash drawer without spilling dirty trash on the floor, because if it’s too full, we can’t easily tie up the small lining of the trash bag. Some garbage will fall out. In a single cat household, the owner should change the padding at least once a week, and if there are multiple cats, change it 2 to 3 times a week. When the drawer is full, this machine will not automatically scoop, so when the litter bed overflows, the cat may look for other bathroom locations. Most importantly, the garbage drawer has a design flaw: if too much garbage is accumulated near the drawer sensor, it will tell the garbage robot to stop scooping prematurely, so the cat owner needs to shake the garbage tray regularly to prevent accumulation.

Even if you save time for scooping, you still have to disassemble and deep clean the Litter-Robot itself monthly or quarterly, depending on your cat's bathroom behavior. This process takes 20 to 30 minutes each time. 1

To clean the garbage robot, you must empty the garbage bed, unplug the machine, remove the globe from the base, empty the waste drawer, peel off the carbon filter and mat, wash all parts by hand (while being careful not to submerge the electrical components), and then let They dry before you can add fresh garbage and turn the machine back on.

Both PetSafe models are easier to clean than Litter-Robot because they are smaller and have fewer components. On the contrary, the CatGenie machine is the biggest headache for cat owners because they have to take it apart and clean the bowl and water pipe. CatGenie recommends that the equipment be thoroughly cleaned twice a year, but if the owner uses hard water and does not purchase a maintenance filter, it may need to be cleaned more frequently because the filter is designed to prevent lime accumulation and must be replaced every quarter.

Litter-Robot is the largest trash can we have tested and it is an eye-catcher. It doesn't look very fashionable, a cat-sized black egg-shaped recliner. The size of the litter box is 30 x 25 x 27 inches and weighs 34 pounds (including the required 10 pounds of cat litter), so this model is not a prudent choice for hiding the cat’s affairs.

The garbage bed itself is too small, only 14 x 14 inches. This is much lower than our recommended length of at least 22 inches (suitable for a 15-inch long cat), and it leaves the smallest space for your cat to move inside the spherical machine. Don’t be surprised if your cat’s butt sticks out of the garbage robot when going to the bathroom. (You can buy a plastic fence for $25 to prevent accidents, but this will give your cat less bathroom space-and there is no guarantee that the fence will contain overshoot.)

This alien-like trash can is the easiest to set up among the tested automatic trash cans because it is fully assembled with some accessories, including liners (although you can use any 10- to 13-gallon trash bag), carbon Filters and sealant strips to lock in odors. Maintenance is not cheap: According to Litter-Robot's customer service, you should replace the carbon filter every quarter, and if you do not thoroughly clean the waste drawer, the seal may need to be replaced once a year. Litter-Robot sells a three-pack of carbon filters and a pack of sealing strips for $20, and 100 trash bags sell for more than $45 (however, you can also use any 10-gallon trash bag). There is no reason that a $450 cat box requires another $65 annual maintenance fee, not counting the cost of litter.

According to online owner reviews, Litter-Robot III Open Air has left many buyers unmoved. Sensor problems, malfunctioning globe rotation, and unpleasant smells were the most common complaints we received during our research.

Amazon reviewer H Kim wrote that the litter box worked for a year before it started running: “The cat litter robot keeps flashing a yellow error light, and the manual describes it as a cat pinch error. It does not describe how to solve the error, and my The cat is not among them, so I don't know why it generates this error. I tried to clean up the entire unit, but it still keeps giving me this error. If you spend more than $300 on this, you want it to work perfectly. I bought this because it has received enthusiastic reviews, but a $20 trash can is more effective."

Amazon customer Cassandra also owns a Litter-Robot III Open Air for more than a year, and has some complaints: "My only problem is that the weight of the sensor needs to be constantly adjusted, or I have to unplug/plug the device several times a few times a week. Because it’s not riding a bicycle. There are also many times when it gets stuck in an intermediate dump cycle-this is worrying in case it happens when we are away for a long time-we have to unplug/plug the device to make it reset itself , Because pressing the reset button will not solve the problem. In general, although I am still satisfied with this purchase, it’s just because it’s easier/more enjoyable to change the bag than to scoop."

Although Litter-Robot saves some owners from the hassle of scooping, we do not recommend most people to buy it. Expensive, cumbersome, too small cat litter bed, machine temperament. Two Amazon buyers put it best: arnobp "has been looking for the quality of appliances-got another fancy half measure", and DjiSamSoe described Litter-Robot as "disappointingly huge."

You should clean the automatic litter box deeply at least once a month, or when you replace the litter bed with completely fresh litter. (Similarly, when cleaning the traditional litter box, you should replace the clumped cat litter at least once a month.) You need to take out all the remaining cat litter, unplug the automatic litter box, and then take it apart. Soap and mild detergent are sufficient to disinfect the components, but if you prefer to use a disinfectant spray, we recommend that you spray it from the trash can onto a cloth or paper towel to avoid wetting the control panel by mistake. Also, avoid ammonia or citrus cleaners that cats don't like. Finally, make sure all parts are completely dry before adding fresh bedding to avoid clumping due to exposure to wet surfaces.

Installing CatGenie Self Washing Self Flushing Cat Box is like adding another toilet to your bathroom. You connect it to a cold water pipe, such as the pipe of a bathroom sink, and then connect the drain hose to the toilet. In our tests, it stuck frequently, and I had to take it apart and go through the funnel to fix any blockages. Later, when I discovered a slow leak, I completely suspended the test. (And I'm not the only one experiencing a lot of installation problems.)

In our tests, it takes an average of 30 minutes to clean, rinse and dry CatGenie’s proprietary artificial particles, which is not ideal in a multi-cat household (especially if your cat often uses the litter box back to back). To flush CatGenie twice a day, you need to spend $160 to $200 per year to replace the clean ink cartridges and synthetic waste.

"My drive failed and the drain hose failed. There have been no innovations and no new versions for many years," said Joshua Warchol, a Wirecutter reader and CatGenie owner, via Twitter DM. Warchol told us that he bought CatGenie in 2008 but returned it for personal reasons. Since 2013, he has owned two more apartments and purchased a third when the second died. He pointed out that the three models are exactly the same.

The PetSafe ScoopFree super self-cleaning litter box looks like a cheap litter box with a cover, but among the models in our test group, it is the most cost-effective option for maintenance. This box uses a disposable tray filled with non-toxic silicone crystal cat litter, which needs to be replaced every two weeks in a multi-cat household. A popular music is nearly 20 dollars, and a year's pallet is worth as much as 720 dollars.

PetSafe's simple clean automatic litter box does not require any additional accessories to operate-but this is its only advantage. This circular litter box rotates a full circle every hour to screen the cat litter, and send the litter onto the conveyor belt and into the litter box. In our tests, rubbish often blocked the conveyor belt, causing more rubbish to accumulate on top of itself and scattering rubbish on the floor.

We also considered the Littermaid LM980 Multi-Cat self-cleaning cat litter box and Nature's Miracle Multi-Cat self-cleaning cat litter box (NMA980), which look identical to each other (both labels are owned by Spectrum Brands). These boxes use a rake to scoop the waste into a small disposable trash can, and throw it away when the trash can is full. New designs for both models will be released in 2018, so we decided to wait for them to be tested until we update this guide next time.

We skipped the Pet Zone Smart Scoop automatic trash can because its design is similar to Littermaid and Nature's Miracle automatic trash cans, but you still need to use a trash bag as a trash can, such as PetSafe Simply Clean. SmartScoop is the same as the Pet Zone model, but in our research, its evaluation is very poor. The overall rating on Amazon is 2.8 stars (out of 5 stars).

Ask your veterinarian how often you should disinfect your litter box if your cat has a parasitic infection or has a sensitive stomach when the diet changes.

It depends on what you mean by "work". Most of the automated trash cans we tested did not meet the advertised requirements. The main task of the automatic litter box is to scoop out pet excrement, and the model we tested often failed to complete this task. For example, the Litter-Robot III Open Air gets stuck when we load too much trash or the wrong type of trash, and it malfunctions when the cat's excrement blocks the sensor (it mistakenly thinks the trash can is full). When the caked urine got stuck on the conveyor belt, PetSafe Simply Clean failed many times, obstructing the path of travel, and spilling dirty garbage on the floor.

Some automatic litter boxes also take a long time to scoop up, which annoys cats who like the original litter box. They may go to other places in the house while waiting for the litter box to work. For example, CatGenie takes 30 minutes to rinse the dirt, while PetSafe Simply Clean takes an hour to scoop out the feces.

The automatic litter box is also very noisy and may scare some cats to the point that they avoid the machine altogether. When the spoons are running, some will make a flushing sound, and some will make a popping sound.

No automatic litter box is suitable for kittens or cats weighing less than 5 pounds because they are too small to trigger sensors that tell the litter box when to scoop and when not to scoop. (If the sensor does not know to wait until the cat leaves the pot, it will start scooping by mistake while the cat is still in the pot, which may cause injury.)

Pet experts recommend scooping at least one litter box every day. Depending on the cat (their grooming behavior, disease, or whether they live with other cats), you may need to scoop more frequently. But the fun of having an automatic litter box means that it scoops out dirty garbage, so you don't have to worry; just make sure you adjust the settings to scoop as often as your cat needs.

We do not recommend buying automatic litter boxes, because in general, they are expensive and loud, and the spoon will become sticky or clogged. Some models require 30 minutes to 1 hour to scoop up. The litter bed is very small and the sensor is not Suitable for cats weighing less than 5 pounds.

Litter-Robot III Open Air is currently the best automatic trash can, but we still do not recommend it. It is only the size of a small armchair-30 x 25 x 27 inches and weighs 34 pounds-so you can hardly find a place to put it in your home, and the large size is also difficult to clean. The 14 x 14 inch trash can is smaller than the size recommended by experts and should be at least 22 inches long. This machine was stuck or malfunctioned at a price of $450, which exceeded our expectations of expensive equipment. The 18-month warranty requires you to send the entire robot back (including shipping at least), and to extend the warranty for another 18 months requires an additional payment of $100.

We prefer large standard trash bins, such as the $10 Nature's Miracle High Sided Litter Box, because it never fails and does not require gadget maintenance. In addition, it is also important to scoop the garbage bin yourself regularly to track the health of the pet. If you check the waste only when you empty the garbage collector on the automatic trash can around the week, you may miss blood in your cat’s urine or worms in your feces.

Ryan Anderson, PetSafe Waste Management Department Manager, email interview, October 11, 2017

Dr. Ann Hohenhaus, attending physician at the Animal Medicine Center, telephone interview, October 12, 2017

Mary Molloy, Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA) of Nirvana Tails and Animal Behavior Consultant of ASPCA, telephone interview, November 6, 2017

Staff (and cats), Meow Parlor Cat Cafe, face-to-face interview, October 20, 2017

Joshua Warchol, owner of CatGenie, Twitter direct message interview, October 25, 2017

Kaitlyn Wells is a full-time writer covering all pets and styles. She had never met a pet she didn't like, although she couldn't say the same to the shoes. Her first picture book "A Family Looks Like Love" tells about the love that a puppy learns, not your appearance, which is part of a family.

Authors: Shannon Palouse and Caitlin Wells

Good cat litter helps reduce odor, clumps and is easy to clean. Three years later, we still believe that Dr. Elsey's Ultra is the best litter for most cats.

Authors: Mark Smirniotis and Kaitlyn Wells

Nature's Miracle high-side litter box has ample internal space, high walls that are easy to enter and prevent from being scattered, which is everything a cat needs in a litter box.

Most pet owners (especially cat owners) leave their pets for a long weekend-but automatic pet feeders are not a substitute for a caring person.

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