Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Why I like it:
The Litter-Robot 5 has proven to be easy to set up and use. After unboxing it and filling it with cat litter to the fill line (I recommend the Boxie Cat Pro), it was a simple matter of entering information about each of my three cats. I have a 15-pound senior cat, a 14-pound middle-aged fluffy cat, and a lithe 2-year-old mini that weighs about nine pounds. I was able to get two of the three boys to use the litter box; The Thin One never felt comfortable with it, but he was always a little shyer and more skittish, so I expect he’ll be using it in a few months after the novelty wears off.
One thing to note is that the step towards the globe seemed a little high for my big cat, but I added a step stool for him, and he had no problems using it after that.
The Litter-Robot identified each cat by weighing it, reporting how long it had used the facilities and how much waste it had left behind. There’s a screen at the top that will tell you that at a glance, too. You can also set it up to automatically rotate after a set period of time after a visit, in addition to the manual option. By default, it’s about five minutes, but I changed it to about 30 minutes to reduce the risk of scaring the cats. The app also shows you usage history, how full the wastebasket is and litter level, and will tell you when to change the filter or empty the wastebasket, taking the guesswork out of things.
Currently, the app does not support the Waste ID feature, which provides health monitoring, but it appears that this feature is coming soon. If you opt for the Litter-Robot 5 Pro model, it will come with a camera that uses artificial intelligence for visual recognition. However, I personally disagree with not having a camera in my office or living room.
There were some issues with the app, like the Wi-Fi connection dropping occasionally and the robot recycling the trash for no apparent reason, but these were minor glitches in the grand scheme of things and didn’t interfere with my cat’s use.
The biggest draw for me was the amount of time I spent on my nightly routine. My wife and I usually have to scoop about three litter boxes each night and with three cats, they are all used heavily. According to the Whisker app, I’ve saved about 63 scoops as of this writing and that seems about right to me. If you’re tired of scooping trash and wasting it, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
Who is this for:
The Litter-Robot 5 is Whisker’s new smart cat litter box, offering significant upgrades over previous models making it a great choice for cat owners with multiple cats. Notably, I never noticed a huge mess stuck at the top of the globe, which was a common user complaint in previous generations.
Who should not buy it:
If you only have one cat, the Litter-Robot 5 may be overkill. Whisker offers a less expensive model, the Litter-Robot Evo, designed specifically for households with one or two cats. It will cost you $599 compared to the $799 Litter-Robot 5 garbage robot 4, The one we tested and liked previously is also still on the market for a discounted price of $649. There are also several competing companies that offer smart litter boxes, but I haven’t tested them. I urge you to be careful with unfamiliar brands that have a fully closing litter box, as they have been known to Cause harm To the cats.