Maggie Panos
·6 min read
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Behind every fluffy, cuddly, Instagram-worthy kitty there's a litter box with poop in it. It's a universal truth of cat ownership: Cleaning out litter boxes every single day (sometimes twice a day) sucks. That's why when Litter-Robot introduced the world's first self-cleaning litter box in 2000, cat owners everywhere were united by a collective gasp. It seemed too good to be true! Could there really be a product that reduced the workload of this grotesque chore to a mere fraction of what it once was?
The answer is yes, and 24 years later, the innovative product has gone through several versions. Released in 2022, the Litter-Robot 4 is the brand's most optimized iteration, though the beloved Litter-Robot 3 Connect is still on the market. The product is such a huge success that the company rebranded to Whisker in 2021 and began releasing non-poop related products, like the Feeder-Robot. Naturally, our Country Living Pet Lab had to put the automatic litter box to the test.
But back to the Litter-Robot 4: It's about the size of a large bedside table and features a dryer-like barrel that rolls waste into a hidden drawer. Unlike other self-cleaning boxes on the market, the opening is large enough for even the chunkiest cats — and as the proud owner of a 14-pound Siberian mix, I would know. But does it deliver on Whisker's promise to "never scoop again"?
When I recently tested the most popular automatic cat litter boxes for Country Living, checking out the Litter-Robot 4 was my top priority. It was, after all, the first mainstream automatic box and the one with the most name recognition. Like the others, it arrived in a gigantic box. One might imagine it would come entirely disassembled, a jumble of bits and pieces à la a child's dollhouse, but it was pretty much entirely intact.
The toughest part was figuring out where to put this 24-pound behemoth so that our cat, Murphy, would have access, but we wouldn't be staring at a moderately sized appliance in our living room. We decided on a corner of the bedroom where we previously had a hidden litter box, hoping that Murphy would be familiar enough with the location to immediately start using the new box.
Setup was easy — Whisker has an excellent support page and a detailed assembly video — but connecting to the app was a little tricky. I needed to unplug and plug the box into the wall a couple times before our Litter-Robot 4 would connect. Once it did, I was impressed with all the bells and whistles! The app allowed me to input Murphy's breed, size, and health issues so the box could monitor his output levels and any changes in weight via the SmartScale feature. That's definitely not something our old plastic tub could do. As cool as the app is, I did notice that it would sometimes miscalculate Murphy's weight.
How I Tested the Litter-Robot 4
Murphy is a champion at tracking litter all over the house — blame the long fur between his toes and his inherent desire for chaos — so I wanted to set him up for success by using Whisker's own litter, GreatLitter, and the brand's LitterTrap Mat. (Technically, you can use any type of clumping litter and if you have a tidy kitty, you might not need the mat.)
When I tell you this cat used the box immediately, I mean the last kernel of GreatLitter had barely settled when Murphy crawled into the globe and marked his new property. Once he'd exited, the Litter-Robot 4 waited seven minutes until it rotated to dispose of the clump into the waste drawer. You can change the amount of time between when the Litter-Robot 4 senses the cat has left and when the barrel starts moving, but seven minutes is the factory setting, as it's the average time for clumps to set. The pee clump landed in the drawer and my app let me know that the cycle ran. Huzzah!
We've been using the Litter-Robot 4 for three months now and while it works exactly as advertised, Murphy still prefers a manual litter box. Full disclosure, he has feline lower urinary tract disease (FLUTD) so removing his regular box entirely wouldn't be the best move for us. For healthy cats, the Litter-Robot 4 could absolutely serve as the primary or sole litter box in the household. Users only need to empty the tray once a week and clean the barrel monthly.
Litter-Robot 4 Pros
Flawless cleaning
Informative app
Good for multiple cats
Odor control
Excellent customer service
Litter-Robot 4 Cons
Price
Large footprint
Cat might not like it
What to Consider Before Buying a Litter-Robot 4
The Litter-Robot 4 starts at $699 and the price goes up depending on your choice of bezel color. Before you shell out, here's what to think about.
Where will you put the Litter-Robot 4? As stated, the product is pretty big. It also has to be placed a few inches from a wall and will need to be plugged in. Make sure you have a space in mind before you order.
Do you want to invest in the extras? In addition to GreatLitter and the LitterTrap, Whisker also sells waste drawer liners, OdorTrap Packs, and Carbon Filters. You can get off-brand versions of all of these on Amazon, but it's hard to beat products made by Whisker specifically for the Litter-Robot 4.
What's your color scheme? The Litter-Robot 4 comes in black or white as a base color, then you can chose a color for the bezel part: black, white, lilac, fuchsia, mint, marble, woodgrain, or grey stone.
Do your cats have health problems? If your kitty has urinary issues that might affect their ability or willingness to use a self-cleaning litter box, consult your veterinarian before purchasing the Litter-Robot 4. While the brand offers a free 90-day in-home trial period and a one-year warranty, it might not be worth putting your cat through the stress of getting used to an unfamiliar bathroom situation.
Litter-Robot 4
GreatLitter
Waste Drawer Liners
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