We Tried The Fanciest Litter Box In The World And It Changed Our Lives

Scooping your cat’s litter literally stinks.

But it turns out that self-cleaning litter boxes are actually a thing. The question is, though: Are they too good to be true?

We tested out the Litter-Robot 3 Connect to see if it’s really worth the hype — and here’s why it earned our Paw of Approval.

Litter-Robot is known for making self-cleaning litter boxes, but the Litter-Robot 3 Connect takes that convenience to a whole new level. It’s linked to an app so you can stay up-to-date on your cat’s business wherever you are.

The self-cleaning mechanism is designed to sift your cat’s waste into the waste drawer just minutes after he’s finished doing his thing, which is great for keeping those nasty smells at bay.

The sifting process is designed to only get rid of the clumps, so you don’t have to worry about wasting perfectly good litter.

When the waste drawer is getting full, you just empty the Litter-Robot 3 Connect out into any bag you’d like and toss it (just like you would after scooping your cat’s litter box).

And don’t worry about your cat being inside when the sifting starts — it has sensors that are designed to make sure that doesn’t happen.

What makes the Litter-Robot 3 Connect different from other Litter-Robot boxes is that it links to the AutoPets Connect app, which sends you notifications when it’s cycling (aka removing poop), when there’s an issue, or when the waste drawer’s full.

You can also use the app to check the waste drawer level whenever you want, review your cat’s usage history, and troubleshoot any issues that come up.

On the Litter-Robot 3 Connect itself, there’s an automatic night light and an indicator that’ll let you know when the waste drawer is full without checking the app.

It also has an 8-hour sleep mode feature, so you don’t have to wake up to the Litter-Robot cycling in the middle of the night, and an option to lock all the buttons on the control panel (presumably so your cat can’t mess with the settings).

You do need to use clumping litter with this self-cleaning box, and if you don’t already have a clumping litter, Litter-Robot offers one.

The Litter-Robot 3 Connect comes fully assembled and includes:

The Litter-Robot 3 Connect costs $550, which is definitely expensive but pretty standard when comparing automatic and self-cleaning litter boxes. Most competitors fall in the $400 to $700 range, although there are a handful that go for $100 to $200.

We picked two Dodo cats whose parents could really use a self-cleaning litter box.

We loved so many things about this self-cleaning litter box.

“The Litter-Robot seemed perfect for keeping Oscar's space clean and limiting our need to focus on litter to once or twice a week versus daily,” Frangos told The Dodo. “We only need to clean the litter tray once a week or even biweekly.”

“The Litter-Robot cycles by itself after a set time, so it's always fresh for Oscar to use again,” Frangos said.

Your cat will really enjoy stepping into a nice, tidy litter box whenever they need to do their business.

“Brooms also LOVES clean litter boxes, so I think that's why he took to it so quickly,” Cabrera told The Dodo.

In fact, cats will sometimes go outside of their litter box if it’s too dirty, which is why having a self-cleaning litter box comes in extra handy.

“I was pleasantly surprised it came with an app that can track what the Litter-Robot does as well,” Cabrera said.

And if you ever need support from the Litter-Robot team, they’re on top of it.

“We have not experienced any issues with the quality of this item, and the customer service team is prompt to reply to all needs,” Frangos said.

The Litter-Robot 3 Connect isn’t super loud, which was a nice surprise because a lot of whirring machines can be.

“It's actually pretty quiet when it cycles,” Cabrera said.

There’s so much to love about this self-cleaning litter box, but there are still some areas for improvement.

Even though most of the litter box is covered, one of our testers noticed her cat would kick litter outside of the box, creating a bit of a mess.

“Like any cat in any litter box, Oscar will occasionally find a way to kick litter out of it when burying his waste,” Frangos said.

“Our reaction was, ‘It looks like an escape pod for a space capsule! What did we buy?!’” Frangos said. “Later in the day, we realized what a great investment it was.”

“Occasionally, the Litter-Robot gets ‘jammed’ and stops mid-cycle without being able to reset itself,” Frangos said. “It requires some human button-pushing.”

While both our judges took to it, Brooms’ cat brother, Mopps, wasn’t too happy to have this new thing in the house.

“Mopps kept an eye on it from a distance and was thoroughly spooked as soon as he saw it move,” Cabrera said. “Now he's OK with it around, but he doesn't enter.”

“Brooms was able to figure out that the waste drawer opens, so now he opens it himself?!” Cabrera said. “So I had to keep a weight in front of it so he doesn't open it and it doesn't mess up the Litter-Robot's system. I wish the tray had a latch so it stays closed.”

Our pet parents were also torn about the cost. At $550, it’s definitely a serious splurge for a litter box.

“I wish it came with more litter bags (especially at that price point),” Cabrera said. “There should at least be a couple months’ worth of bags.”

Despite the downsides, both of our human testers would recommend the Litter-Robot 3 Connect to other cat parents.

After all, isn’t that the dream, never having to stick your hand in your cat’s smelly litter box to scoop out his poop?

The Litter-Robot 3 Connect’s self-cleaning capabilities were super convenient for our human testers, because they actually make scooping a thing of the past.

And thanks to the app, it’s easy to stay on top of when exactly you’ll need to empty the waste drawer (which is the most cleaning you’ll have to do).

It’s definitely a big investment, but not having to scoop poop seems pretty priceless, don’t you think?