No matter how much we love our cats, no cat-lover has ever uttered the words, "You know what this house is missing? A box of poop."
I have two cats that are the most perfect animals that ever lived. Ace acts like a dog, and follows our two large pups around constantly, claiming his spot in the pack. Bruno is happiest purring on a lap. They don't scratch up the furniture, fight, ruin the plants or do any of the annoying things some cats are known to do.
But what comes out of those two, perfect, adorable animals when they hit the litterbox absolutely stinks. And to add insult to injury, they are so bad at covering it up.
We have a small home, so I was always reluctant to buy a robot litterbox. The area where our litter box lives is compact, and I had convinced myself there would never be room. For years I've ignored PR requests to test one, passing them off to cat-owning colleagues with larger spaces than mine. I'm not sure what made me break down and agree to test Neakasa's new robot litterbox — the first to open on top instead of the usual front-entry.
Setup really couldn't have been easier. The box itself comes assembled. All you need to do is pop the legs on. There is also an easy-to-read "Getting Started" sheet that comes in the box. Once you download the app, you follow some very intuitive instructions to get it going. The only hiccup with setup for me was that the box does not use 5G, so if that is the only internet connection you have available, you won't be able to control the box from the app. But you don't have to use the app — the box operates perfectly on its own using the physical buttons on the front of the box.
The Neakasa has a function called "Kitten Mode" for pet parents of small cats or those who are just a little more cautious. This disables the automatic cleaning function and allows you to start the clean cycle by pressing a button on front of the box. You can also set the amount of time the box takes to clean the litter once your cat has exited it.
Robotic litterboxes are bigger than regular ones — there is no way around that. They are always going to look bigger and take up more space. Maybe it's the fact that most of them sit on legs that makes them appear even larger. But once you get over that, you'll see that the actual square footage of space it takes up is generally the same as your average litter box. I was actually pretty shocked at how quicky I got used to it.
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Neakasa's open-top design ensures your cat will never be trapped inside a closed globe. It also uses multiple sensors to detect weight and presence. There are no pinch points to hurt your cat, and the safety sensors also work to detect other animals near the box. As mentioned, there's also a "Kitten Mode" that turns off all automatic cleaning and allows you to control the cleaning from a button on the front of the box.
For the dust and slight mess around the unit, here are a few practical setup tips Neakasa provides that may help improve the overall experience:
The cons just aren't enough to keep me from singing the praises of this litter box. It has eliminated odors from our house that I've been fighting for years to control. And not physically scooping litter waste has improved my quality of life. The open design and comprehensive safety sensors also put this over-protective pet parent at ease.
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