After 30+ years of living with and owning cats (or, being owned by cats), I can say I’ve done my fair share of scooping cat poop.
One of the first chores I was ever assigned was cleaning the cat boxes when I was old enough to know what chores were. We had nine cats back then and it took me over an hour to do all of the cat boxes. I can’t blame my parents for that one, scooping the litter box is by far the worst part about being a cat owner.
Well, it was the worst thing, until I got a Litter Robot.
When I was a kid, my childhood best friend had a robotic litter box, but the designs from the ‘90s have been put to shame, thanks to Whisker’s creation. The Litter Robot is like living in the future when it comes to pet ownership. I never have to use a pooper scooper anymore and I am blessed for that.
What is a Litter Robot?
The Litter Robot 4 is small enough to fit right between my couch and closet and barely takes up any space in our office.Ana Suarez
The name is very self-explanatory, the Litter Robot is a robotic litter box that does the scooping for you. Whisker is now on its 4th design and each model of the Litter Robot gets sleeker and sleeker. It has a QuietSift® cleaning cycle, which is whisper-quiet compared to the Litter Robot 3 Connect.
The robot is designed to sift out waste after every use so you never have to scoop again. Unlike the self-sifting boxes of the ‘90s, the Litter Robot 4 is enclosed and the clumps of used litter fall into a tightly sealed drawer, which keeps the odors at bay.
The robot sifts the box after every single use. So, that smell after your cat goes to the bathroom is not there for long. The Litter Robot 4 has a SmartScale sensor that can tell if your cat is inside of the box, and will never rotate while a cat is inside. Once your pet has hopped out, it automatically cycles out the dirty litter and spins to refresh what is left inside of the box. There is a tray underneath that collects the dirty litter and the smell stays hidden.
The SmartScale sensor can detect all cats over 3 pounds. It is also safe for tiny kittens, but for safety measures, it must have automatic mode turned off for kittens under 3 pounds. You just need to make sure you have your Litter Robot on flat ground to ensure the SmartScale is working correctly if you’re worried about your pet is close to the weight limit.
Litter Robot 4 Price
Now, I am not kidding that this robot is the most expensive pet product I own, and by a lot. Unless you count my cat’s $3,000 surgery to remove a bladder stone, but we didn’t get to keep the stone, so we don’t really own that.
The Litter Robot 4 costs $699. You can opt for a 90-day free trial, to make sure that the robot is the right fit for you, given the high price tag. The black and white model costs $699, while there are six other colorways you can opt for that will cost you $749.
It comes with a free 1-year warranty, or you can buy an extended 3-year warranty for an additional $100. Customer service is available to troubleshoot any issues you have (more on that later) on the website via a chat service.
If you don’t need the latest and greatest, you can save $150 by getting the previous model, the Litter Robot 3 Connect for $549. You can also buy a reconditioned Litter Robot 4 (currently out of stock) for $599.
Litter Robot 4 Size
The Litter Robot 4 has a 15.75’’ x 15.75” entryway for your cat to get in and out of the box and it takes up less than three feet. It measures 22″ W x 29.75″ H x 27″ D. We have ours tucked in a corner next to the couch and closet. Whisker markets the Litter Robot 4′s footprint as 22’’ x 27’’.
Is the Litter Robot worth the hype?
My 12-pound cat Sirius loves to jump on top of the Litter Robot when he’s not using it and it’s endured his playful spirit well.Ana Suarez
Yes. If you hate scooping poop, it really is worth the hype. I never have to use a scooper anymore.
My two cats, Luna and Sirius, have used this box every day for roughly nine months and it is great. I have to empty the bin under the Litter Robot just once a week and it takes me less than 30 seconds to do. I can also dump the entire tray of litter into the waster drawer below with the press of 1 button and don’t need to do any of the hard work.
The Litter Robot 4 comes with a few waste drawer liners and you can buy a pack of 25 bags from Whisker for $25. But any 13-gallon garbage bag works, so I usually get a 40-pack of Glad garbage bags for $10. You can buy Odor Traps (a pack of 3) for $15 for extra odor elimination, but we’ve honestly never needed them with this model.
The same goes with litter, you can buy Whisker’s Premium Cat Litter (ranging from $30 to $75 a month, depending on the number of cats you have). You need to use clumping litter (so no pellets!) with the Litter Robot 4, so I just use Tidy Cats litter because my cats have both used it since they were kittens and I knew better than to switch them off of something they know. I haven’t had any issues using this litter.
The Litter Robot comes with additional smart features, like a Whisker smartphone app with notifications and health features. The app will tell you when the waste drawer is 100% full. You can change the settings of the Litter Robot 4 directly from the app, as well.
I actually never use the app, but my boyfriend does. You can get notifications whenever your cat goes to the bathroom and it’ll even tell you your cat’s weight. We both think that the weight readings can be inaccurate at times, with our cat’s weight readings fluctuating from 8 to 12 pounds at times. My boy cat, Sirius, is about 12 pounds and my girl cat, Luna, is 10.5 pounds, so the first time we saw an 8-pound reading, we were confused. Otherwise, the app is helpful if the Litter Robot is having an error (which has been very rare).
We did have an issue with the power source about six months into having the box, which my boyfriend figured out after an error kept popping up in the Whisker app and he did a lot of Reddit and YouTube sleuthing to figure it out. Customer service was very quick to help us troubleshoot the issue and replace the power source. It has worked perfectly ever since.
$700 is not cheap. Getting a Litter Robot is a major investment. But, if you hate manually scooping litter, this is a worthwhile investment. I have to clean out my boxes once a week and I can do it in under a minute. Compared to my chore days of cleaning out the boxes for nine cats, this is a cakewalk.
Where can I buy the Litter Robot 4?
The Litter Robot 4 is available directly at Whisker for $699, as well as at Target for $699.99 (Target Red Card holders get 5% off), and at Amazon, with a special bundle for $899 (this includes 6 OdorTrap Pack Refills, 50 Waste Drawer Liners, Ramp, Mat and Fence).