Catit SmartSift Hooded Litter Box with Biodegrable Liners

Update to my original review July 2021 I recently had a handle snap which I ordered a replacement from catit own website but the fractured plastic was impossible to remove the cat pan was out of stock but luckily came back in so I ordered it and its fixed handle does get a lot of use stress over time. Still a great product. I bought two of these and after a few weeks use I'd say they make the job much easier and it smells less. My daft catties are indoor cats and couldn't work out the door so pooped on the floor but I just removed the doors as no amount of showing was helping after that fine, is slightly fiddly to assemble once done not too bad. If you have a cat who likes clawing she shredded the inner liner bag I tried double bagging and it failed so resorting to using without inner liner but does wipe clean easily with a dettol wipe. She also clawed the charcoal filter so abandoned that but ammonia buster seems good. If like my boy cat you have one who puddles everywhere sometimes it drips down to the inners and bottom tray but easy to wipe. To get the correct amount of cat litter tip the sifter tray and pour in so it fills up to the grill anything more you'll waste works well with Morrisons clumping cat litter. If you're using the top liners the clips to undo sifter are a little fiddly but easier the more you use I'd think over a long period of time I might worry about the plastic fracturing but I think they do an inner tray replacement other wise super easy to use I'd definitely recommend easy to clean usually I dettol wipe. Makes the job much faster and less smelly, far less full litter changes. Link showed me liners for bottom drawer make sure you get the link for the bigger liners for the top from their store. Overall excellent I'd never go back to a standard cat litter.

EDIT to my original review. 6/4/2024 This worked as my original review but my kitten is now over 6 months old & I have a second kitten who is 10 months old and find that the litter box no longer works well. When my kittens do number 1 it clumps on the grate and the litter tray and then the box starts smelling nasty straight away, also my older kitten poos in corner missing the tray and it's stuck all in the crevice, I then need to dismantle and clean out completely which defeats the object. This is daily so I have bought an Omega roll litter box regular (I had looked at this before I bought the smartsift & the only reason I didn't go for it was that I thought I wouldn't be able to roll it but that was not a problem actually in the end) I have now bought another Omega box in large and I am very happy as both boxes are very good indeed, the size I have in my utility room downstairs and the regular size is upstairs in a spare bedroom. The smartsift was dismantled and cleaned and is in my garage waiting for hubby to take to the dump. I would not recommend the smartsift as it seems to only suit very young kittens and cats that don't pee & poo in the corner of smartsift or by the grate. It's a no from me. I am disappointed as at first it did work for me but then everything went pear shaped. Also when the urine clumped on the tray and grate the box really smelt bad which up to then I had not experienced bad smells from the smartsift. I hope my review helps someone in their decision on what to buy. I do recommend the Omega Paws though. I got a 9 week old kitten in November & waited to use this box before reviewing. I researched for about a 6 months before ordering this Catit litter box. I bought the grey & white model. I first thought that one of these electric powered all singing & dancing boxes were the way forward but after reading reams of reviews I was put off by the problems & faff (I wouldn't mind the expensive £500 price if they worked seamlessly) I thought why would I want to spend my time trying to solve the problems they seem to come with when the whole point is to have a litter box that saves me time & effort, so it was a no from me. Then I looked at a similar litter box which worked on the same principle but you manually roll the whole box, as I have Arthritis I would struggle with that, although it seems reasonable & cheaper if you could manage it. I then thought I would buy a large top entry simple box and just empty the box every day (no way do I ever fancy sifting poo & wee balls lol lol lol) so then I spotted this one. First I will list the the things that are annoying before I list the positives. Cons:, 1)The litter box arrived in its original box only which was battered and torn (this I thought was awful as it was not in another parcel protection brown cardboard box) this is down to the company which is why I knocked a star off as I was not impressed especially with a price tag of £100. 2) The handle is flimsy (although you can buy a new one cheaply directly from the company website) but I would prefer to pay an extra £10 to have a sturtier handle. 3) I my opinion only, I think that if you have a cat that stands close to edge of box you will have a problem with wee running over the edge which wouldn't be a big problem if the bottom waste tray didn't have a whole in it due to the way the drawer fits into and is secured. For me this is not a problem as my female kitten never stands to wee. Pros: The footprint of the box is similar to a large ordinary litter tray, where it is bigger is the height as the waste drawer is at the bottom, then the litter sifting tray is on top, around that is the hood so as long as you have a place that can accommodate the height it is not a problem. The box is easy to put together, the handle is a little stiff when first used only because it's new, so after a couple of days this loosens up. It's easy to add litter to it & to scoop out all month old litter when doing a full clean. I use a cat safe disinfectant and a cloth to give it a good clean but I only do this every 4 days when I change the waste drawer liner and no need to take hood off. I have been surprised that I have not had any bad odour from the box at all (it pongs when you open the waste drawer to change the liner on day 4 lol) I would not leave waste drawer for 7 days (company claim 7 days, as I keep the box in a bedroom this may be different if box was kept in a garage or utility room you may get 7 days before a change is needed) as I experimented when I first got it and at the end of day 4 I got a slight musty smell by the box and day 5 it was in the air not just by the box, so I think it needs changed on day 4 (which I think is amazing). The secret to getting a good result with this box is as other reviewers have said, fill the sifting tray to just below the line mark on the sifting tray and when pulling handle do it slowly, then you will not get clean litter falling into the waste tray. The box has a charcoal filter that needs to be changed every couple of months but I will not bother getting another as this box really doesn't smell 😊 I tried a couple of litters, Best cat clumping which I found clogged the sifting slatts and tracked badly, pets at home ultra clumping which was very dusty & tracked badly but made really good wee balls that just fell into the waste drawer, very occasionally I needed to tap on the sifting tray for it to fall from the tray wall, odour control was very good, Ever Clean Multi cat (even though I only have one cat) this one has a smell of fresh laundry which is subtle and very nice, excellent odour control, tracks a little & sticks occasionally to the sifting tray so you need to give the tray a harder tap for it to drop into waste tray, what I do now is I add a little pets at home ultra clumping to the Ever Clean which gives me a better result without the dust & tracking. My little kitten was 9 weeks old so I put a shoe box in front of the entrance to help her climb in & out which she did with no bother at all, I actually have a small kitten tray because I thought she would be to little to use the big one but she took to it so quickly & then within days stopped using the kitten tray and will only use the big one now. I love this box it's so fabulous , it does everything a good litter box should. I read reviews which said don't bother with a liner in the top box only get liner for the tray which is what I do and I agree you only need a waste drawer one. I use Ever Clean litter as it suits the box very well. I use cheaper waste bags for the drawer from pets at home they do a big box in large size. I recommend this tray as it is easy to use easy to clean & my kitten is very happy using it.

I have severe chronic pain (particularly back pain) so my biggest problem with caring for my cat is cleaning and maintaining her litter box. I previously bought another litter box with a similar sifter built in but the problem with it was that you have to roll it upside down to sift it which still requires effort and strength that I don't often have. It would also need extra effort occasionally as the used litter wouldn't always fall in the right place so I would have to reach in and contort myself to get everything out. This box is completely superior to my old one. The used litter will fall into the right place every time and doesn't require any excessive effort to maintain it. You just pull the lever and it's done. The lever system can be a little bit heavy when the box is filled with litter but it's really minimal. Like it could be a bit too difficult for a child under 5 years old-ish but it's so simple and easy to use that children definitely could use it without any help. I'm not quite sure how effective the deodoriser is but it's nice to have it built in. The door system is also quite nice as my cat doesn't love being in an enclosed space for too long so we keep it open for her to stick her head out when she uses it. It's also just oddly fun to use. The only downsides I've seen is that it's quite a big box that takes up a lot of space and the entrance is quite high up so my Luna cat has to jump a little bit to get in which may be a problem for senior cats with limited mobility (Luna is a year old so this isn't a problem for me currently). I also couldn't figure out how to use the liner for the litter tray specifically but the bin liner for the waste drawer was easy to install and that's the more important part to have the liner in in my opinion. There is also a minor problem as you have to use clumping litter with it which will sometimes stick to my Luna's stinky butt and back legs/ paws but she's easy to clean even though it's not her favourite thing for me to do. Another issue with the clumping litter and these types of sifting mechanism is that the urine litter clumps can sometimes stick to the tray so I have a flat litter scoop nearby to scrape off anything stuck to the tray. I may have to properly clean the unlined tray sometime in the future but it's easy to take apart so it's not a problem for me. It's my understanding that you need to have two litter boxes for one cat and one extra for each additional cat in a household. So, because I love this box so much, I'm heavily considering buying another to replace the one I have to roll. It's somewhat expensive but it's a great option as I can't get a fully automatic one due to the cost and lack of electric power where I keep the boxes. It's definitely worth every penny and I can't recommend this enough especially for those who have disabilities or limitations that make cleaning the litter difficult.

So the design of this litter box is great. However wast so good for our 8 week old kitten. The good - Great design - Easy to clean - Carbon filter is a bonus - Easy operation The bad - This thing is huge! - Entrance is very high for kitten, (had to buiild it some improvised cardboard box steps to use) - The layer of litter is too shallow (Stuff sometimes sticks to the bottom) - Dosent filter out smaller soiled clumps whic end up either back in the box or worse stuck in the litter filter - Cat flap dosent seal very well so odours get out. - We was using corn based cat litter (Worlds best cat litter) It stinks! Dont use it with this one as it needs to be cleaned out every day, ootherwise you get a horrible farmyard yeasty smell, clumping clay litter is best - Propietary linners for the soil tray could become expensive It is still a very good design cat litter, but only for specific user cases and only if you have the space for it. Although our kitten used it, it did start soiling around the house. (We atribute this to the type of litter) We will keep this box and user it when the cat is a bit older but for now we are going to use a simple high sided box with a much smaller footprint.

I have 3 cats, previous to this I had a standard litter tray and used saw dust pellets as it meant i could flush solid waste however 3 cats meant I was having to change the litter twice a day obviously this was not practical. I read the reviews and decided to take a gamble and I have to say I'm glad I did. Upon arrival I was a bit overwhelmed by the size, however once in place it wasn't too imposing and the design is nice and sturdy and easy to assemble. I was initially worried that the cats wold not like or avoid the new litter box, however they were intrigued and jumped right in. My two older cats 9 months and 7 months had no issue getting in and out however I provided a small stepping stool for the youngest kitten which works fine and all of them have had no issues using the box, although one has taken to eating the filter however these are easy to replace. I have played around with various litters and each has their own merits, I find that the pets at home clumping cat litter works well whilst being a reasonable price, you may get the odd clump that sticks to the tray but I find a standard litter scoop easily dislodges it. I also use standard litter tray liners which you can buy from any pet shop or asda. I cranks the handle at various points throughout the day and require to empty the compartment every couple of days and change over the litter every 5 days which means its a lot less hassle. I tend to give the litter section a wash in between litter changes which is nice and quick. Overall I am very pleased with this product it has saved me a lot of time, money and effort. I smells better, looks nicer and the fact that the litter is waste free means the cats like using it. I'd highly recommend it. P.S. In regards to runny poos I find that as long as it's rolled around to get a decent coating of litter then it won't stick to the grill thus avoiding having to clean every time your cat does a less than solid poo. P.P.S It's a couple of months since buying this and I still love it, it makes life a lot easier. I would now however recoend using this litter: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clean-n-Tidy-Adult-Everyday-Cat-Litter/dp/B0061KHSM6/ref=pd_cp_petsupplies_0 It lasts much longer, clumps better and smells nicer.

I'm Willy the Wonder Cat and my mum thought she'd make all our lives easier by buying this tray. It sounded a bit too good to be true and I can report that from a cat's perspective it was also somewhat lacking. It just has too many issues for us and these far outweighed any perceived benefit. For now we are back to our original tray as Mum has arranged for the chaps from DPD to take the Smartsift back to Amazon HQ. My mum is a qualified cat "doctor" so needless to say she did plenty of pre-purchase research on this tray which included phoning the UK distributor to find out the most appropriate cat litter to use with this tray. Apparently Catsan Clumping Litter was the litter of choice as the litter used on the CatIt demonstration video is only available in the USA. So here are the issues for cats: It's a MAMMOTH unit but has MAJOR ACCESS issues! From the outside this unit is absolutely HUGE - something my Mum was prepared to get used to if it did a good job. If your cat is actually big enough or agile enough to actually get inside the tray then the interior is actually on the small to medium size. I am a tall cat 5kg long-legged male Siamese. I must say though that if I was in any way smaller or less able (like a lot of older cats) then this litter tray would be useless. In fact my spritely 16 year old "sister" is a 3kg Burmese cross. My Mum even fashioned a step to help her access the tray but she is still not able to get into it on her own. Issues for Cat Owners: It's VERY SMELLY! The plastic waste drawer is meant to catch the waste and is designed to be changed weekly. I am not sure how others have gotten on but the plastic waste drawer we received was warped at the front so there was not a proper seal on the unit - the not-so-sweet aroma of 1-2 day old "business" wafting out meant Mum couldn't bear to leave it longer than 2 days. It WASTES CAT LITTER! The litter tray liners have a major design flaw - folded pockets that trap substantial amounts of the unused cat litter - when you tilt the tray these fall into the waste tray meaning that you lose loads of clean litter each time you pull the lever. We also found that the clumped litter adhered to the bag and required manually removing - which kind of defeats the purpose of the whole idea of the tray really. Oh and if you have razor sharp claws like I do then the bag gets progressively more shredded with each use. It has FLIMSY FITTINGS The plastic hinges on the sieve/sift attachment were so flimsy that they kept dropping off whilst Mum was changing the litter. The plastic clips seemed equally flimsy and I guess it is rather difficult to know after only 10 days whether they would stand the test of time or not but we didn't feel optimistic with our experience. Back to our traditional extra large tray and handheld scoop! >^..^<

Okay so I'm going to give an honest review because I had this for a month with two cats and I REALLY REALLY wanted it to work and be this genius litter box I could show off about but sadly it was not. So putting it together is super straightforward. The principle of the mechanisms is there it just doesn't follow through. So I bought all the liners and I spent £40 on two different types of litter through this process trying to the best kind without the least amount of smell and the right clumping for this machine because like I said I REALLY wanted this to work to save on litter cleaning time and to feel like I've achieved something great as a poop scooping cat mum! The shifting of the litter needs to be done extremely slow which is fine but even then you lose over half of your fresh litter into the bottom bit and the clumped litter doesn't always fall into it. Where the litter shifts through also gets clogged with litter and pooh. I used triple the amount of litter I have ever used with this box and it took triple the amount of cleaning. The smell is also awful. I've never really had issues was the dreaded cat litter smell before so this was a surprise given how spectacular this was meant to be so that was even more of a blow. I spent money on a super fancy litter for this to start off with and then switched to a super fancy fine clumping wood pellet litter two weeks in to see if that would make a difference with smell but once again it was the same issue losing over half the pan of litter each time and pooh getting stuck in the shifting area. Not only that but this thing is HUGE! The images are 100% deceiving. I knew it would be slightly larger than normal but it was MASSIVE! Overall I was pretty annoyed I'd spent so much money on this piece of crap and ended up replacing it with a normal litter box again. The idea of this is great, it just doesn't work. Zero stars

I have a 2yr old domestic shorthair (Max) and an 8 month old Maine Coon (Banksy). Both are indoor cats and Banksy is a bit particular - he’ll protest by soiling the Mat/floor if Max doesn’t bury his output... so this product had an instant appeal. The quality isn’t bad, and as the boys are young the height isn’t an issue for them (before I ordered mine I did think the age and mobility of your cat needs consideration for jumping up and down from the entrance). 3 stars because - and I may have overfilled slightly first time round (I’ll update in due course) - a lot of good litter went to the bottom tray along with the clumps. I use a good quality clay clumping litter (Felipure) which I’ve stupidly been paying £20 a time for 16kg locally as haven’t found it cheaper elsewhere. What I’ve learned in the past 7 days of first use: 1. Don’t exceed the fill line in the top tray. My bad, admittedly, but I’ve learned. I ended up buying a dog food scoop to transfer the good stuff from the lower tray once the clumps are removed. So that’s a saving I’m glad to have identified. 2. Don’t bother with the bags for the top level. Yes, some say clumping litter can be like concrete and damage the tray. But despite trimmed claws (indoor cats who don’t fight), the top bag got ripped and mid placed - so I just needed to take care to avoid the cat pee at the top of the liner when hoping to tie the bag before transferring to my bin liner. 3. I’ve not only just cancelled my order for the top tray but the bottom tray also. Let’s face it, typically things should have clumped before going to that lower level. Or, you could probably save cash by using a bin liner alternative that isn’t bespoke - afterall, our feline friends won’t be using this compartment to toilet, so clawing won’t be an issue either. 4. Coincidentally I’d just bought myself a ‘Litter Locker’ the previous week and was concerned this might be redundant and a waste of cash. Actually, it’s brilliant and a much better value for money product yet again than the bags - there isn’t any odour and the quality and value are just right. This means I could during the week transfer clumps and waste from the lower tray to the Litter Locker without having to make trips outside (no issue with odour as it is actually well designed) before then transferring the good remaining litter back to the top tray (as mentioned, in fairness to this litter box I probably had overfilled it - but equally sometimes the mechanism needs more of a jolt and so good litter could be lost; just an inherent limitation of the design. Overall I would recommend this product - but I’m glad I was able to cancel the bags I ordered last night and am aware to pay attention not to overfill that top tray.

Parto col chiarire che é ingombrante e poco elegante, però utilizzando i dovuti accorgimenti il vaglio per lettura gatti funziona e é anche comodo e veloce.. ci sono degli accorgimenti da adottare però , 1: se utilizzi i sui sacchetti é meglio perché nel vassoio superiore si distaccano le "pepite di gatto" dal fondo praticamente da sole e resta tutto più pulito e nella raccolta sotto idem, volendo quando si cambiano i sacchetti mettendo un pó di nastro nelle pieghe sul fondo del sacchetto si evita che ci resti incastrata la lettiere in mezzo alle pieghe e si tribola e si sporca meno. 2: utilizzare lettiere aglomerante io ne sto provando varie e qualcuna va bene e qualcuna no, riempire fino al segno che é al interno del vassoio anche qualcosina di più, con lettiera non aglomerante tanto vale usare una lettiera normale manuale. 3: quando si aziona la leva muoverla a piccoli scatti avanti e indietro mentre si procede con il ribaltamento del vassoio, praticamente "setacciando" in modo che la lettiera vada a sparire completamente nel suo vano apposito e le pepite cadranno nel vano sottostante, tirando la leva e basta si fa cadere nel vano sottostante anche parte della lettera. Una volta fatto ruotare in senso opposto fino a fondo corsa e dare 2o 3 colpi a fondo corsa per fare fuoriuscire bene la lettore dal suo vano di raccolta, detto a parole sembra difficile, ma facendolo 1 volta é semplicissimo e super veloce e comodo.. 4: quando si cambia sacchetto o si lava il vassoio alto, controllare di aver chiuso nella giusta posizione il vano dove sparisce la lettiera buona, se no azionando la leva cadono dei granelli di lettiera anche fuori.. Io sto usando questa lettiera vagliante ormai da mesi e mi trovo bene , ho tolto fin da subito la porticina trasparente davanti e francamente mi sono dimenticato di averla, anche perché essendo abbastanza chiuso già così non si sente quasi mai l'odore di bisogni di gatto tranne qualche raro caso in cui mi dimentico per 2 di giorni di tirare la leva o se la lettiera é poca o di scarsa qualità, in generale con lettura di buona qualità riusciamo a fare dalle 2 settimane a un mese prima di sostituirla senza problemi basta ricordarsi di aggiungerla tutte le volte o quasi tutte le volte che si tira la leva ( io aziono la leva una volta al giorno). e usiamo molta meno sabbietta a fine mese. In definitiva siamo contenti, finalmente abbiamo la casa che non odora di bisogni di gatto, in 2 secondi puliamo la lettiera senza dover scavarci in mezzo alla ricerca e non c'è più sabbietta attorno la lettiera. É vero sembra un ingombrante bidone della spazzatura in plasticaccia ma é comodissimo a un prezzo tutto sommato basso contando altri aggeggi automaci e no che chi sono in giro

Despues de darle muchas vueltas durante meses por que no sabia cual coger, si este, u otro que hay de otra marca (mas sencillo que este, ya que hay que volcar el arenero con la mano) y leer los comentarios de unos y otros... los negativos los vi muy muy negativos y me tiraba un poco para atras, y los positivos excesivamente positivos tambien jaja... me arriesgue, y sinceramente, llevo años limpiando la arena como un tonto, menudo invento, esto es lo mas comodo del mundo mundial, a ver no es perfecto, no es efectivo al 100% pero si al 90% y es mas que suficiente, me toca hacerlo con la palita al lado, por que?? por que a veces las heces son muy pequeñas y se cuelan en la rejilla, o se quedan enganchadas y con la palita pues se ayuda un poquito... pero de verdad que es un autentico invento. Si limpias a diario, con su arena aglomerante, y mueves la palanca muy despacito, incluso a veces para alante y para atras un par de veces... va fenomenal. Solo puedo recomendarlo al completamente si estas indeciso. Otra cosa, lei que los materiales eran malos y no se que cosas... a mi me han parecido materiales bastante decentes la verdad, no me parece plastico cutre ni nada del estilo, y el sistema es simple pero muy muy eficiente. Por cierto el cristalito de arriba me vino rajado ya, no he reclamado por que era una rajita de un par de centimetros y bueno... aguanta, pero he leido de mas gente que le ha pasado y deberian de controlarlo la verdad, espero que el gato que se sube por encima no lo raje un dia y la liemos, pero bueno. Por lo demas Genial. Por cierto las dos bolsas que vienen son para la parte de dentro que no lo especifican en ningun sitio y pensabamos que una era para dentro y otra para el cestillo, pues no, ambas son para dentro ya que es gruesilla y aguanta mejor los arañazos del Michi... para el cestillo en las tiendas Guaw hay unas bolsas con la medida perfecta para el cestillo, mirare el modelo y marca y lo pondre por aqui editandolo proximamente. Salu2.

Excellent product

I have 2 bengals so if something is destroyable they will destroy it. This is a robust litter box that is heavy enough that cats can't move it. the mechanism works wonderfully, but make sure you lock it at its place so it doesn't move and traumatize the cat. the clumps does get stuck on the bottom but that's the case for all if using clumping litter. Just scrape from end to end and then sift. my suggestion is using pam oil spary and baking soda which is perfect for removing the scent on the bottom. also, use fine litter so it can get sifted. I use the okta brand. I also use a mat that traps the litter and I love it. Pieviev Cat Litter Mat Trapper - 76 x 61 cm Honeycomb https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B01MTQNK6H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I hope you find this helpful because it took me almost a year to find what works best. I still have to find a water fountain that they can't knock over. The were able to knock down the heaviest ceramics so far. :(

I absolutely hated every second of this product. I am very upset that I am not able to return it. It doesn't work advertised at all, it is extremely bulky and poorly designed with terrible quality plastic. It requires you to manually go and clean every single time.