FurryTail review: Does this self-scooping litter bot hold up to a model twice its price?

A few months ago, my youngest son talked me into adopting a cat — my first in 20 years. I looked forward to the purring and playfulness; I did not, however, look forward to the pooping. The last time I had a cat, there was one automatic litter box on the market, the Litter-Robot, and I recall it being too expensive for my budget at the time. Nowadays one of them goes for about $700, and I still can’t justify the expense.

That said, I wasn’t about to go the standard hand-scooping route. In a determined attempt to avoid doing this high-ick-factor task myself (or assigning it out to less-than-attentive teen boys), I researched other options. There are many automatic litter boxes on offer these days, almost none with universally stellar reviews. I was just about ready to give up and shell out a unsettling portion of my mortgage payment for the Litter-Robot when my algorithm produced the FurryTail Automatic Litter Box Pro. It had decent reviews, so I was intrigued … but would it hold up to an alternative more than twice its price?

Read more: Kitty Poo Club review: Is this pricey monthly litter box subscription worth the spend?

Amazon

Pros

• Excellent odor control
• Quiet
• Low-entry design
• Comes with a litter-tracking mat, waste bags and a free app
• One-year warranty

Cons

• Larger and heavier than other options
• Deep cleaning is still necessary
• The screen sifter could work better

$300 at Amazon

FurryTail Pro: arrival and setup

When this thing showed up on the doorstep, the box was … hefty, at nearly 35 pounds. The device measures around 22 inches across the board — width, length and height — so it might not be the best option if you’re short on floor space. Assembly was fairly easy, but if you get stuck, there’s an online demo. Once assembled, it looks a bit like a tiny MRI machine. On its face there are buttons and a digital display that let you control its myriad features (more on those later), and I found the interface intuitive. (One somewhat perplexing feature? The back of the drum features a glowing nightlight that — dare I say? — emits a romantic glow.)

It comes with a year’s supply of plastic waste bags and a litter-tracking mat — it reads, “Same sh*t, different day,” so if profanity is a pearl-clutcher for you, you’ve been warned. Once we added a bag to the enclosed waste compartment, we shoved the whole setup into a corner, filled it with litter (a non-pine clumping product is recommended) and waited to see how Nietzsche, our cat, would react.

Reader, he took to it like a pro. Circled it with the standard cat curiosity for a few minutes, then hopped in and did his business.

FurryTail Pro: How it works

Let’s get into the mechanics. After your cat does the deed, the drum rotates, filtering clean litter through a screen; anything that won’t fit gets further rotated, eventually falling into the bag. The drum then rotates back into place, refilling with the sieved litter, which gets flattened out with a couple more partial rotations. Clever, huh?

Now, most people considering a litter bot are naturally concerned about safety, odor and maintenance, so let’s get into it.

Safety

Some folks fear a litter bot might endanger their kitty. My son was one of those, but his fears have been put to rest. The FTP has sensors to gauge both a cat’s proximity (within 32 inches) and its weight(!). It will pause a cleaning cycle if a cat approaches or jumps inside. If your baby is skittish, it has a manual-scoop mode that prevents it from auto-cleaning, which you could use until any feline nerves de-frazzle

Odor control

This is hands down the single most praised aspect of this box. The mechanics I described above — enclosed waste compartment and auto-rotation after use — ensure that odor is mostly contained. It goes without saying that the sooner you “flush” the drum, the less odor can linger. Let me be brutally honest: The first time Nietzsche, ahem, let the cat out of the bag, I realized our sweet-faced kitty had horrifyingly smelly poo. If your cat is is also a little stinker, I’d recommend setting the auto-rotation feature to its minimum of 1 minute post-poo. The brand recommends waiting around for 10, but we’ve had no issues with the shorter timing. There’s a max of 60 minutes — though why anyone would wait that long is beyond me.

Maintenance

FurryTail recommends changing the bag out every four to five days for a single cat, and that has seemed about right. The process is easy, and that’s a huge selling point, but keep in mind that the filtering process occasionally lets some small bits of waste back into the drum. You’ll have to scoop these out eventually, but it’s minimal.

You’ll also have to deep clean the device every so often. This is … not fun. The menu or app will direct it to empty the entire drum into the waste bag, leaving it empty for easier sanitizing. I’ve cleaned ours using rubber gloves, vinegar, baking soda and a whole mess of paper towels. The drum is removable and has no water-sensitive components, so you could even take it outside to hose it clean. Either way, it’s about as enjoyable as deep-cleaning a regular litter box, only you’ll have to do it much less frequently.

FurryTail Pro: the app

Let me just get this out of the way: If you are as easily entertained as I am, getting “Cat in toilet” notifications on your phone is absurd 21st-century humor that never fails to amuse. A more important note: You don’t have to use the app at all. I didn’t for the first couple of months, but when I finally did, it had some features I appreciated. It tells you how much your cat weighs — a handy feature if said pet is ever ill and dropping weight quickly (or is monstrously and impressively huge and you want to prove it to friends). If you’re a multi-cat household, you can add a profile for each with a name and weight.

Other features include the aforementioned ability to set the cleaning-cycle time, and you can also set a once-daily cleaning schedule or use a one-touch manual button to clean it. There are buttons to empty all the litter (for deeper cleaning) or flatten it. Using the app for all of this is much easier than accessing the menu on the actual box. It will also tell you, via a percentage, how full the waste bag is, though some users say this feature is unreliable. Finally, there’s a slider that lets you adjust the, ahem, nightlight.

The bottom line

The FurryTail Pro has a lot going for it. A not-insignificant number of buyers have labeled this device “life changing,” and I don’t disagree. I spend more time playing and cuddling with Nietzsche and less time cleaning up after him.

Is it better or equivalent to the pricey Litter-Robot? I can’t say definitively, seeing as I’ve never owned one. The Litter-Robot’s drum opening is bigger, at 24 pounds it weighs less, and you can order it in one of eight styles (some for an added $50 on top of the $700 price) if it’s important that your cat’s toilet match your decor. Otherwise, the features list is about the same, and for me, those differences aren’t nearly enough to warrant paying hundreds more.

All in all, if you’re looking for a quality automatic litter box that comes at a more affordable price, you can’t go wrong with the FurryTail Pro.

Amazon

$300 at Amazon

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