Is Litter-Robot's Self-Cleaning Litter Box Worth The Price Tag?

Raise your hand if you're ridiculously obsessed with your cat. Now, raise your hand if you're equally obsessed with the idea of never scooping litter again. If you're anything like me, both your hands are raised high in the air.

I first heard about the Litter-Robot a few years back, and it honestly sounded too good to be true. It was right when I adopted my first cat, Jameson Wasabi Lassner, and has been on my bucket list ever since. When I found out there was a brand new model coming out — the Litter-Robot 4 — I immediately jumped on the opportunity to test it out. Is it everything I had hoped it would be? Is it worth the price tag? Here are my honest thoughts.

​(While I did receive the Litter-Robot 4 by Whisker in exchange for an honest review, all of the following thoughts and opinions expressed below are my own and are not influenced by Whisker, in any way.)

The Litter-Robot 4 is a WiFi-enabled, automatic, self-cleaning litter box for cats. After each use, the device sifts the litter, separating and removing the waste from the clean litter. The dirty clumps then get deposited into a tightly sealed waste drawer that neutralizes any and all odors. Once the drawer is full, as indicated by the corresponding phone app, you simply open the drawer, remove the plastic liner (any trash bag works), and dump the dirty litter. This only needs to be done about once per week, per cat.

First, you will fill any clumping litter up to the fill line in the robot. Your phone will indicate when it's time to refill. You should check about once per week. Each time your cat uses the box, the cat sensors are activated, and once the cat exits, a countdown to the cleaning cycle begins. If at any point during the cleaning cycle the cat touches or enters the litter box, the globe will stop, ensuring your furry child is always safe.

The Litter-Robot can be controlled both by your phone and by the buttons on the litter box itself. The buttons include a power button to turn the device on and off, a cycle button to begin a cleaning cycle at any time, a reset button to reset the cat sensor or pause a cycle, an empty button to use before emptying the Litter-Robot's drawer, and a connect button to control the WiFi connectivity. You can also start cycles through your phone.

The app — compatible with both iOS and Android — includes a complete history of your cat's litter box usage. I personally set mine up to receive a push notification each time Jameson uses the box, but you can totally silence these notifications. Plus, each time your cat enters, the box records their weight.

Jameson has very few inhibitions, so he adjusted to the new litter box pretty much immediately. I placed the Litter-Robot next to his old box for a few days before setting it up, and the moment I put litter inside, he went to the bathroom right away. It was actually pretty unbelievable, even for him.

Other cats may take longer to acclimate, and the Litter-Robot manual includes a full list of tips for helping your cat adjust, including placing one scoop of their old litter into the new box to help with familiarity.

This innovative device has endless pros. One of the biggest for me is the box's odor neutralization. I live in a very small studio apartment that used to always smell pretty terrible, to be honest. I literally cannot smell a thing from Jameson's litter box anymore. The most major upside is obviously the fact that I never have to scoop litter again. I'll simply never get over this convenience. Plus, much less litter escapes the Litter-Robot than my old box, but I'd still recommend adding on the Litter Trap Mat to catch any litter your cat may track into your home.

I have only encountered a single con since I began using this litter box nearly three months ago. One time my machine had a "cat sensor fault," which just means the litter box has stopped rotating for some reason. You immediately get a notification on your phone if this occurs, and it's really easy to fix by resetting the box and starting a new cleaning cycle. It just happened in the middle of the night and I didn't realize it until morning, so there were a few hours where Jameson didn't have a functioning litter box. Minor mishaps happen with all technology (especially since I have been testing it while the app is still in the beta phase), but it's just something to note.

There's no way around it: The Litter-Robot 4 is expensive — $649, to be exact. If you can fit this into your budget, this purchase is 100% worth it. The convenience is simply unmatched and the technology is flawlessly executed. You will not regret making this investment, I promise.

Whisker Litter-Robot 4, $649

Litter-Robot