tech Is an automatic/self-cleaning litter box worth it?

[Aston Martin]

So I was looking at self-cleaning litter boxes online because the concept sounds interesting and never having to scoop cat litter again seems nice. However, they are ******* expensive (especially the ones that get the most recommendations), customer service seems hit or miss (depending on the brand), and some of them seem to have some design flaws. My cat's also a dumbass so idk if he would use it correctly either  

 

So does anyone here have one? Do you like it/hate it? Do you think they're a massive waste of money? Sound off ATRL

[RideOrDie]

can you post some links sis? some atrl users could find it useful to help clean the **** that comes out of their mouth 

 

[Aston Martin]

6 minutes ago, RideOrDie said:

can you post some links sis? some atrl users could find it useful to help clean the **** that comes out of their mouth 

 

Sounds like a good idea, though any users on here in need of one for their **** talking can spend their own money on it 

 

 

but this is the one that i keep seeing people like the best/actually works long-term: https://www.litter-robot.com/litter-robot/litter-robot-4.html but it's so ******* expensive

 

I hate scooping cat litter but I also hate spending $700 on damn near anything 

 

[Saint James]

my research has pretty much the same results as yours. one thing i've noticed is they're massive. if you live in an apartment like me, i don't think compromising so much space is worth it.

 

depending on what your issue is, i find there's a way to solve almost anything litter related.

[as-usual]

Yes so worth it. I have 2 cats and it's a god send! 

 

I recommend the Litter Robot 4 personally as it's what I have. But the 3 looks good too!

 

I also live in an apartment btw!

Edited September 4 by as-usual

[Aston Martin]

4 minutes ago, Saint James said:

my research has pretty much the same results as yours. one thing i've noticed is they're massive. if you live in an apartment like me, i don't think compromising so much space is worth it.

 

depending on what your issue is, i find there's a way to solve almost anything litter related.

I also live in an apartment, and my cat's current litter box is already pretty big as he's a pretty lengthy cat. I think it'd be an easy yes if I owned a house since I'd have more space and being in a financial position to buy a house means $700 on an automatic litter box isn't that big of a deal  thank you for answering! 

1 minute ago, as-usual said:

Yes so worth it. I have 2 cats and it's a god send! 

Thank you for answering! Which brand/product do you use (if you don't mind sharing)?

[Mittens]

100% worth it.   If my litter robot 3 broke today I'd buy the new version immediately.  I will never scoop again, and my 3 cats enjoy fresh litter every visit.    
 

It was expensive but worth every penny.  I used PayPal credit to finance it 0 interest.  My payments were only about $100 for 6 months and that helped me take the plunge. 
 

You don't need to buy their bags or litter.  I bought a 1000 pack of office liners from Amazon for $25 in 2019 and still have tons left.  I use a 40 lb pail of litter about every 6ish weeks for 3 cats.     I have definitely saved my money back by not wasting so much litter scooping / throwing out the bag & starting over often.  
 

Buy it sis you won't regret it 

[pigeon]

Maybe if you have several cats. I cannot justify spending 500€ for something that takes like 5 mins everyday. 

[TaggedGalaxy]

$700 for a litter box 

[YourFavoriteWeapon]

I have a Litter Robot 4 and I agree with @as-usualthat it's a godsend. I've owned it for over a decade and it's still in top-tier shape and works great. 

[Dancehall Queen]

Oh wow, big litter is winning me over in this thread. 
 

I haven't looked into a self cleaning litter box in years, maybe I should now 

[Ewan Chaos]

I still don't have one but would like to get one when I'm in a more permanent living situation since most of the good ones are pretty space-needy.

 

I used to assume they were all crap since my parents had one many years ago and it was meh for the price, but everyone I know who has either a Litter Robot or a slightly-lower priced competitor swears by them. So I'm sure I'll get one soon (just got some Amazon gift cards from work too ), but not rushing too much since I just have one cat and it's not overly disruptive.

[Aston Martin]

So update (that no one asked for lol): I've decided that if I get one, it will be the Litter Robot 4. It won't be for quite a long time though as it wouldn't necessarily be the best for my current living situation (my cat's picky about where his litter box is and where he likes it doesn't have an outlet nearby). But in doing research, I stumbled across this video warning that a certain automatic litter box that often gets private-labeled and sold on places like Amazon, Wayfair, and AliExpress has gotten some cats killed before because of its dangerous design and bad safety features. I'm putting it in spoiler tags because of the sad subject matter. It's just something to be aware of for anyone that's shopping for an automatic litter box on places like Amazon: 

 

Spoiler

 

Thank you to everyone who responded to this thread though. I appreciate the feedback!