Have a cat but hate cleaning the litter box? If cleaning your cat's litter box frequently is a struggle, you might benefit from an automatic self-cleaning cat litter box.
The Casa Leo Automatic Self-Cleaning Cat Litter Box is a smart litter box that not only cleans itself but can also help you better understand your cat's health. This litter box cleans itself right after use, providing odor control for your home, and making the litter box a cleaner and more inviting place for your cat.
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Specs:
- 24 inches long
- 22 inches wide
- 27.6 inches tall
Pros:
- Takes the work out of keeping a litter box clean
- Odor control
- UV light sterilization
- Controllably via smart phone or smart device
- Monitors weight and health of your cat
Cons:
- Large size
- Area for cat is relatively small
- Needs to be plugged in and kept a few inches from walls and furniture (not really a con, but something to consider)
Design
The Casa Leo Automatic Self-Cleaning Cat Litter Box is a state-of-the-art robotic self-cleaning litter box that provides your cat with a sanitary litter box and keeps your house smelling fresh. The litter box automatically separates waste from litter and stores the cat waste in an enclosed drawer separate from where your cat potties. The waste holder's charcoal filters help trap unpleasant odors.
The litter box has a clean and streamlined design, and the domed covered litter box has a front access entrance for cats. The litter box is available a variety of color options, like pretty pink, avocado green, baby blue, and gray accent color options.
Because the litter box is electronic, it does need to be plugged in to use, so if you (like me) have historically kept your litter box out of sight in closets, that probably won't be an option with the Casa Leo (unless you have access to power sources in your closet).
The litter box also needs to be kept a few inches from walls and furniture. The box comes with a litter mat to catch cat litter that your cat kicks out of the box.
Unboxing
When the new litter box arrived, I was surprised by the sheer size of the box, and a little overwhelmed. When it came, my cat was interested in playing on top of the box, and for scale, the box was larger than my giant breed dog!
The unboxing of the litter box took two people because of the size and amount of packing materials involved. Although I was excited to try the litter box, getting it out and setting it up was a bit overwhelming. There are some printed instructions as well as QR codes included in the box to help walk you through the setup for the litterbox. To use the litter box to its fullest capacity, you'll need to install the Casa Leo Smarty Pear app. Fair warning: at least for me, the syncing process getting the connected app synced to the litter box and my Wi-Fi was slow.
Ease of cleaning
The main feature of the Casa Leo Automatic Self-Cleaning Cat Litter Box is its self-cleaning function. This smart litter box knows every time your cat goes potty, and automatically cycles and cleans the litter once your cat has safely left the litter box.
Note: you must use clay clumping litter with this box, so if you have a cat who is picky about their litter and doesn't like clay, this litter box might not be for you. Luckily, my cat prefers clay litter, so transitioning to this litter box was easy for us.
After your cat uses the litter box, the interior rotating drum cycles and sifts out your cat's liquid and solid waste, leaving a clean box for the next time your cat visits. The box knows when your cat has left, and for safety, it won't clean while your cat is in the box. As it cleans/rotates, the waste that is removed from the litter box is then sterilized using UV light to help prevent the spread of germs in and around the litter box. That waste is deposited into the bottom drawer and can be easily thrown away. Ideal for multi-cat families, this smart litter box makes sure your fur baby always has a clean litter box to potty in!
Price
The Casa Leo Covered Automatic Self-Cleaning Cat Litter Box retails for $649.99. Compared to a traditional litter box and litter trays, the Casa Leo litter box is significantly more expensive, but how much would you pay to not have to scoop a litter box anymore? For cat guardians who dislike scooping, have a busy schedule, or have physical limitations that make it difficult to keep the litter box clean, this litter box may be worth every penny.
The company also offers free shipping, a 90-day trial period, and a one-year warranty. (More details on the Casa Leo website.)
For ongoing use, you'll also need waste drawer liners that fit into the bottom drawer where your cat's urine and feces are stored. The drawer liners retail for $14.99 for a pack of 25 drawstring bags, which fit into the top of the waste drawer for easy emptying. The litter box comes with a "starter pack" of 10 bags.
Size
My biggest reservation with the Casa Leo Cat Litter Box is its immense size. As a former New Yorker, there is no way I could have comfortably fit this litter box into any of my New York City apartments. Now, living in a spacious house, I was able to find a place for the litter box, but it does become a focal point of any room.
The litter box has a streamlined shape, but it's still a large plastic object in the corner of a room, which can be less than aesthetically pleasing. Although the litter box is quite large, the cat potty area was surprisingly small. My cat is not a large cat, but he seemed frustrated by the confined area compared to his usual spacious litter box rooms. I'm not sure how comfortable large cats would be using this litter box.
Features
The Casa Leo Too Automatic Self-Cleaning Cat Litter Box can be fully controlled from your smartphone via an app for Android and iPhone. In addition to the self-cleaning features that keep this litter box fresh and clean for your cat, the litter box box has built-in health monitoring features to help you monitor your cat's health.
For your convenience, the litter box can connect directly to your smart home appliances like Google and Alexa. The litter box motor is quiet sifting to prevent your cat from being worried by the sounds, and doesn't draw attention to itself while cleaning.
When the litter box is synced to your phone, it can also send you notifications when your cat uses the litter box. It also has built-in weight sensors that can tell you your cat's weight after they use the litter box.
Introducing a cat to the Casa Leo Covered Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box
The entrance of the litter box is raised, so it would be difficult for young kittens to negotiate. If your cat is used to an open-topped litter tray, you may have to introduce your cat to this new style of litter box. You can use positive reinforcement training to introduce it slowly.
Some cats, especially those who are already familiar with top-entry and other raised litter boxes may adjust right away to using the new litter box design. For cats that are less certain about using the new litter box, you'll want to use treats, catnip, and/or cat toys on the step of the Casa Leo Cat Litter Box to encourage your cat up and into the box. After a few repetitions of this your cat will start to understand they can get into the litter box and will be ready to start using it.
Who the Casa Leo Covered Automatic Litter Box is best for
So, did my cat use the new litter box? Eventually. My cat wasn't worried about getting into the new litter box, but it took a couple of weeks for him to poop in it for the first time.
As mentioned above, I would probably not use this litter box for larger cats or very young kittens. (In this FAQ, Chewy says the minimum weight needed to use this litter box is 2 pounds.)
My cat is used to using open litter boxes in a large walk-in closet that we cut a cat door into and turned into a private bathroom. At 9 years old, he's fairly set in his bathroom habits, and he's fine making me scoop his potty boxes daily instead of having the box cleaned automatically. Given the size of this litter box, and that my cat prefers his other litter boxes, I'm not sure that it will become a permanent litter box in my home. But for people who, because of schedules or physical health, struggle with keeping a litter box scooped daily, the Casa Leo Cat Litter Box is a great option.
Note: After this review was originally published, the company hanged the name of the product from Smarty Pear Leo's Loo Too to Casa Leo.