Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've used many different automatic litter boxes: Litter Robot 2 - Used this for the longest time with very few issues. Maybe 5 years? Drawback was this was barely a smart litter box. It was automatic, but the absence of an app to notify of a cycle error or anything became a problem. Over those five years I slowly evolved to where I didn't check the litter box every day because it mostly just worked. There were a couple issues over those five years where an error had occurred and the poor cats had no accessible litter box. Also without an app there's no way to confirm its working when I was traveling. Not ideal if you're gone for a week . When we moved into a larger house and the litter box had its own out of the way space, I figured it was time to upgrade to something I could link to my smartphone. Litter Robot 3 - Had issues with this from day one. I had sensor issues and weight issues and the whole package of horror stories people share about this box. Support was accessible and attentive and they sent me parts to fix it and walked me through on the phone how to install/replace the parts. So I got it working and kept using it. I started using crystal litter with it (after trimming the filter holes so it wouldn't throw out the good crystals each cycle) and the experience improved a lot. It'd last for a very long time between needing changes as long as the box would cycle and let the litter air out to dry. The issue was my small cat who has softer stools needs more time for the crystal litter to dry it out. This box didn't allow setting the cycle timing for 30 min, max was 15. So I started looking for a way to cycle it periodically. There's an API so that's not impossible but my time is more valuable than my money at these levels so I figured I'd think about trying something new out. I also had a minor complaint about the seal on the globe. it would seem to leak litter into the gears which would crunch it up into a fine dust that coated everything in the room. Then a few weeks into my search the box failed entirely and wouldn't cycle. Another sensor error. This was probably the 2yr mark. PetSafe ScoopFree - Bought this box cuz it was cheap and I wanted a gap filler to do the work for me while I did my homework on the next attempt. I LOVE crystal litter. Getting rid of the globe function eliminated the dust and also had zero tracking with the mats I use. So I ended up using this placeholder box for probably two years. Its also easy to tell a cat sitter how to change it. Just cut the plastic off the new box, dump the new litter in it, swap it for the old one and throw the old box out. However, with two cats the liquid would build up enough by about day four/five that one of the cats would start peeing in random places. I need 7 days of reliable accident free minimum. So for now, I'm cleaning this one out more often than I want to and I still use it because its the gap filler I continue to use 2yrs in while I search for something better. PetKit Max - Used it for two weeks before returning it. Seemingly an excellent litter box. HOWEVER, the emptying process is prohibitively difficult and not obvious until you actually have the box. In contrast with the litter robot's "empty" function you have to lift this globe off and manually dump it in a trash can. Not the kind of litter box you can leave simple instructions for a cat sitter for. Unfortunately this is not something that can be improved on with the other design improvement they made which was moving the waste drawer to the side in a thing that can be sealed. Great idea here, just need to decide if you want the good waste drawer or an easy to empty globe. I also had repeated problems in the two weeks I used it with finding pee in the base under the globe. That was the real deal breaker. The fact that it wasn't every single day makes me think a cat was peeing in a way that was somehow missing the box or on a seam inside the globe or something, though I never found any evidence of pee spray or streak marks or leaks or anything. My largest cat is a medium framed 14 pounds so if he doesn't fit then I'd think a ton of cats would have trouble making sure there were no leaks. So it's going back. if you have tiny cats who pee straight down into the relatively small round litter bed of these globe boxes and you don't mind the emptying/cleaning process being much more difficult then this is probably the best box of the bunch so far. Catlink Luxury Pro - The box had a very small number of seemingly good reviews so I figured I'd give that a try. It has been an unmitigated disaster. The box showed up and THEN I see the fine print in the listing description that says my wifi network has to only have letters and numbers. Annoying, but ok I'll set you up your own special litterbox network. Then the app says it requires the ability to make phone calls. What on earth do I need my litter box to make phone calls for? I'm five models and four manufacturers deep in my almost decade long hunt for a perfect litter box and not one single other automatic litter box has ever tried to make phone calls before. Fine, more annoying, but my time is valuable and I'm dreading packing it back up and shipping it back so I'll stay the course. After jumping through all these hoops I follow the directions to connect to the brand new specially formatted network I set up for it...no joy. Troubleshooting says it should beep 3 times, then pause, then beep once and voila its connected. I got that beep pattern...along with an error in the app that said it's not connected. Can't get past the error. Can't restart the app and have it check if a prior setup had worked....funnels you into resetting the box and starting setup over. So I did that, twice more, same outcome both times. Then I close the phone app again and try to reset everything and the app says I need to re-log in. When I try to log in, it says my account I setup the first time around doesn't exist. Ok try to create a new account.....except when I put my phone number in it says I already created the account. You really can't make this stuff up. So I thought I'd sleep on it and try again in the morning with some restored patience. Next morning, I moved it to my desk so I could at least get other work done while I waited for the slow steps in the process. Plan is to reset everything, make a new account with another cell number....what a pain. Plug it in...error in the initial cycle it does before you can even hit the buttons to set up the wifi. AAAAAAANd you're going back in the box. This thing never even saw any litter....don't waste your time.