I Made The Switch To A Smart Litter Box, And My Cat Love Its

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The Whisker Litter-Robot 4 retails for $700 and comes successful achromatic aliases white
• This self-cleaning litter container lets you support tabs connected your cat's wellness done nan adjuvant app
• However, it is an costly buy, and nan app often experiences glitches.

You're either a feline personification aliases a canine person, and this writer is simply a feline person. My cat, Norbert, is simply a loud, orangish boy and is nan cutest point ever. He's easy to return attraction of, but 1 point I, and possibly each feline owners, dread is nan litter box.

It's messy, smelly, and conscionable a downright gross chore to scoop your cat's business daily. You must beryllium diligent astir it, particularly since a litter container sits wrong your home. 

Also: The champion robot litter boxes

When I was fixed nan opportunity to effort Whisker's Litter-Robot 4 -- a self-cleaning litter container -- I was each for it. While it's costly ($699), it solves feline owners' regular problem of having to scoop retired their cat's litter.

Norbert and I group retired to effort nan robot litter box, and we were some impressed. I would spell truthful acold arsenic to telephone this instrumentality life-changing for feline owners, and while Norbert's only consequence was "meow," I tin show he appreciates having cleanable litter daily.

Setting it up

The robot litter container comes retired of nan container already assembled -- conscionable plug it successful and travel nan directions provided. You'll request to download nan free Whisker app and link nan portion to nan app via Bluetooth (it's besides connected to your home's Wi-Fi).

Overall, nan setup was doable, but I needed explanation astatine immoderate points. It took a while to study that nan instrumentality is ace delicate and will "sense" a cat, moreover if you're playing astir pinch nan container and figuring it out. It took immoderate playing astir pinch nan app and nan litter box's buttons, but ultimately, it took only a small spot of time.

No much scooping

The Whisker app gives you penetration into erstwhile your feline is successful nan box, erstwhile a cleaning rhythm is happening, and erstwhile a cleaning rhythm is complete, arsenic good arsenic an full history and your cat's mean use. I ne'er paid overmuch attraction to really often my feline was utilizing nan litter container during nan day, and I consciousness a batch amended now knowing each clip he's going and his normal range.

I tin spot nan history search helping pet owners to announcement things for illustration a UTI (when your kitty starts to urinate much frequently) and spot it early earlier it turns into thing serious.

Allison Murray/ZDNET

I besides emotion nan smart standard built into nan Litter-Robot 4, which automatically records your cat's weight each clip they usage it truthful that you tin support way of immoderate concerning weight summation aliases weight loss.

Also: The champion automatic pet feeders

The instrumentality is overmuch quieter than different robot litter boxes I person seen that my friends have, and it ne'er frightened Norbert distant pinch its noise.

The app tells you nan cleanable litter level and nan discarded level. It took astir a week and a half for nan discarded to scope 85%, which is erstwhile I emptied it. It was ace easy to return nan discarded liner retired and move it for a caller bag, and while nan Litter-Robot 4 comes pinch a fewer litter bags, you'll yet person to acquisition much connected Whisker's website.

Even pinch nan discarded astatine almost 100%, I ne'er erstwhile smelled his litter, which is refreshing, to opportunity nan least.

Is it worthy it?

After utilizing nan Whisker Litter-Robot 4, I will ne'er return to a regular litter box. The penetration it gives maine into Norbert's wide wellness and nan regular cleaning makes it wholly worthy it. Just beryllium diligent pinch nan setup process and your feline learning a caller routine. Norbert's sentiment besides upholds nan caller litter container since he was capable to modulation beautiful seamlessly and gets to person a cleanable litter container each azygous time.

Also: This service robot canine is portion of a bigger conflict for brain-machine interface tech

The Whisker Litter-Robot 4 is expensive, but nan institution besides offers nan erstwhile procreation Litter-Robot 3 for a spot cheaper astatine $549.