I bought it based on the glowing reviews from other buyers, but my own experience hasn’t been quite so positive. It’s probably down to the cat, but. If you have a cat that, when using a normal litter tray (with a door), doesn’t sit down but pees from a height onto the back wall, then this wouldn’t be too much of a problem in this litter tray (you’ll just have to wash the rear grille and the inside of the litter tray every now and then to stop it smelling), but if, like our cat, she doesn’t turn round for some mysterious reason (this used to happen to her several times a year with a standard litter tray with a door), then she pees forwards and there’s no door there, so either she hits the edge of the opening and some of the urine seeps between the drum and the base (which is easy to take apart, but it’s extra work) or you end up with a puddle in front of the litter tray (though this happens about 10 times more often with this automatic litter tray). As I say, it’s a cat, but if the litter tray had a door for it to run inside through, there wouldn’t be any accidents. So the toilet isn’t suitable for cats that don’t squat down at least a little, or they risk not turning round properly and leaving their bum sticking out. Our cat isn’t a large breed, so it’s not because the litter tray is too small. I suppose it’s because she’s old (16 years old) and can’t stand innovation (not just from the EU).
The right litter – that’s something quite unique, too. Even the fastest cat litter takes a few seconds to absorb liquid and a few minutes to harden, so that it doesn’t crumble and smear the inside of the rotating drum. So, even if you have the best litter and set the delay before the drum starts spinning after the cat has used the litter tray to the minimum recommended 3 minutes (5–10 minutes is usually recommended), the problem of the missing door arises again – particularly when the cat does a number two – not even the built-in ‘spray’ can cope with 3 minutes (or more) of odour spreading freely into the room, and the litter tray isn’t smart enough to realise it needs to flush immediately because the cat has been pooping. I think that, at a price of over 10,000, it wouldn’t be entirely unrealistic to integrate this feature and the camera. So what’s the conclusion? If you’ve got a rubbish cat, even this litter tray will turn into a rubbish one, and you won’t be able to shake the feeling that you’ve wasted your money on a substandard product. If the developers had managed to incorporate a door (for the reasons mentioned above) and poo detection for quick cleaning, then this toilet would certainly deserve 5 stars; but as it stands, unlike its non-functioning competitors, it’s a functioning but imperfect machine that’s only worth an average of 3 stars – and probably a bit overpriced too, given that it costs as much as a washing machine or tumble dryer.