If you are a cat owner like me (I have four feline overlords), you’ll know all too well the pains involved in dealing with their litter. If your cat is an indoor cat, or an outdoor cat that prefers the privacy of an indoor toilet visit, then the smell alone can be enough to make you yearn for a better alternative.
Enter the $699 Litter-Robot 4 by Whisker, a revolutionary pet care appliance that takes away most of your litter-cleaning responsibilities, replacing your involvement with a techno-toilet that you and your cats are going to love. Why? Read on…
What’s In the Box?
When you open the box, you are greeted with the following:
- Litter-Robot 4 with fence and step
- Power supply
- Robot literature
- Several free waste drawer liners
And that is it; just unpack the robot, find a place for it to live, and move on to set-up. You’ll need to take the spare waste drawer liners out of the drawer before you set it up, or the used litter will land on the fresh bags.
Take a Toilet Tour
Before we deal with set-up, let’s have a look at the robot’s appearance. Our test unit is white, although you can get it in a stylish black as well.
On the front is a step with a rubberized, ridged upper surface. This allows your furry friend to step up into the large globe where the litter is, and easily exit after going to the toilet. It also works to catch any bits of litter stuck to your cat’s paws.
Above this is the large opening through which your cats will enter to get to the bed of litter. A night light illuminates the globe when it is dark!
Above the opening is the control panel; the buttons include:
- Power: Turns the robot on and off
- Cycle: Activates the cleaning cycle
- Reset: Resets the robot
- Empty: Allows you to empty the globe
- Connect: Connects the robot to the app
The above controls are all physical buttons (as opposed to being touch controls), making it easy to know when you’ve pressed them and activated the command.
The rear of the unit is where you’ll find the input for the power cord, as well as a sticker with a QR code so you can connect the Litter-Robot to your smartphone.
The dimensions of the Litter-Robot 4 are 29.5” in height, with a footprint measuring 22” x 27”, so keep this in mind when considering placement. You’ll need a pretty big space in which to place the robot, although the footprint is about the same size as a large traditional litter box.
Setting Up Is a Breeze
First, note that you need to place the robot near a power supply, as it plugs into a regular wall socket. Or, if there isn’t one available near the spot for your Litter-Robot 4, then consider bringing a power cord extension into the equation.
The robot should be placed on a level surface, preferably hard-standing, as it has sensors in the base that allows the robot to identify when a cat has entered and exited the globe.
Once you have positioned the Litter-Robot and powered it up, you simply need to add the right amount of litter into the globe. You should use clumping litter for this (Whisker’s Premium Cat Litter for Litter-Robot being a good example), as the robot will separate any clumps from the remaining litter during a cleaning cycle. There is a helpful indicator line inside the globe to show you how much litter to add.
At this point, you should also download the Whisker app to your smartphone; it is available from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store. With the app on your smartphone, you just need to connect your robot to your wireless network and you’re ready to rock (Download: Whisker App (Android)/ Whisker App (iOS)).
Once you have the app, you simply need to press the connect button on the Litter-Robot’s physical controls, and this will connect it to your smartphone. You can get updates on when your cat uses the robot, and it will also weigh your cat each time! It’s helpful to keep track of your cat’s weight, as sudden changes could indicate a health issue..
Now all you need to do is let your cat have a sniff around the litter box and get used to the fact that this is now where it needs to go to the toilet. We recommend putting a little bit of litter from the old litter box in here as well, so your furry feline has a clue that this is the new normal for them.
The Litter-Robot will automatically sift out any used litter from the globe once your cat exits. You can set the delay time for cleaning for three, seven, 15, 25, or 30 minutes; we recommend starting with 15 minutes so your cat doesn’t get a fright if they are still hanging around the Litter-Robot after using it. You can then reduce this to three or seven minutes, which offer optimum odor control, once kitty is used to the Litter-Robot 4.
A Litter Box Revolution
I have to admit, I was a little skeptical about the Litter-Robot 4. $699 is a little on the expensive side for something for my cat to poop in. However, having used it for a week and not smelt anything remotely like cat waste, I can safely say that this is an excellent device, and one you should consider if you are sick of handling your cat’s litter box.
Tina and Leslie are the only cats in the house that use a box; the other two (David and Sylvia) prefer to go outdoors and use the lawn or the borders around the garden, so they haven’t used the Litter-Robot 4. However, Leslie and Tina have both been using it regularly, and accident-free, too. Not even a protest pee in sight!
The robot works by identifying when your cat enters the globe, goes to the bathroom, and then exits the globe. The robot then waits for the allotted time, before starting a cleaning cycle. During the cycle, the globe rotates and deposits the dirty litter into a waste drawer below, allowing the clean litter to remain in the globe.You never even need to get involved. No smell, no mess, just a clean litter box!
At the end of the clean cycle, the globe returns to its original position with all the clean litter back to where it should be. It is really quite ingenious. Both Leslie and Tina started using the Litter-Robot 4 straight away, and have not looked back since.
Every time your cat uses the robot, you get a notification on your phone via the app. Another great feature, as it means you can monitor toilet use for any unusual habits. You can see the usage history on the app. You can also set up profiles for your cats with their weight and so on!
In all, this is an excellent device for cat lovers, which is really easy to use and takes literally all of the pain out of changing your cat’s litter box.
Recommending the Litter-Robot 4 by Whisker
If you have the money to spare for what some might consider a luxury item, then I recommend the Litter-Robot 4 by Whisker. It is an ingenious appliance that genuinely revolutionizes the pet care space, and for that I really must commend Whisker.
The company has done a fantastic job with the Litter-Robot 4, and for me just not having to deal with the smell of a used litter box would make this purchase a worthy one. Meows of approval all around!
