Litter-Robot 3 Connect by Whisker, Beige - Automatic, Self-Cleaning Cat Litter Box, Helps Reduce Litter Box Odors, Works with Almost Any Clumping Litter, WhiskerCare 1-Year Warranty

See below for my original 1 star review. I'm giving it 5 stars now, but hoping that my 5 star review is not premature. The first one that I got was faulty. The bonnet would not complete the circuit, to let the robot know that the bonnet was secured--also, since it wouldn't complete the circuit, the night-light didn't work...but that's the least of my concerns. I finally opened a support ticket at [email protected], did a bunch of troubleshooting, sent pictures etc. and I just got a replacement; cleaned the faulty one to ship back to them, on their dime. If the new one generally works, then I'll give it 5 stars just because it gives my cats a constantly clean place to do their business. I still have litter boxes (multiple cats) because I haven't forced them to use the bot...but I think I'll start taking away the other boxes & see if I can force them to the bot. The original/faulty one worked to a minimum degree, after I taped a penny across the contacts, to fool the unit into thinking that the bonnet was in place. But the original unit would also throw a bunch of errors in the app, and I'd either have to remotely run a cycle, or remotely reboot it from the app to reset the unit. So, it's cool that the machine lets you know its status in the app, and I could keep it limping along remotely--I once ran a cycle from the ski area parking lot, then it worked and cleared the error & showed "Ready". The replacement worked right out of the gate. The bonnet works, completes the circuit, and the night-light works too. Now I just have to see if it will consistently function, without errors. Note: I watched other youtube videos before purchasing--don't over fill with litter, theres a molded line that you should not fill past. The thing is definitely expensive, but again, if it gives my little loves a clean toittey all the time, then it's worth it to me. I read an online review where they said something like "It's the best automatic litter box, but we still don't recommend it..." I think just because of the price. But think of how much coin you blow on other stuff...thousands a year on unnecessary things perhaps? I love my cats, and I hate cleaning boxes...so it's worth it to me. But if the replacement starts throwing errors, I'll be back to change my review...Original 1 star review below:Headline: Junk! Worked once, now "Bonnet is removed"Got it out of the box on day one, I was excited when one of my cats used it for the first time and it worked well. However that was it. Now it just blinks and sends an error that the bonnet is removed. The bonnet is not removed. The bonnet is securely fastened. To troubleshoot, I have removed the bonnet several times and checked the connections. For the price of this device it should not be this flakey and error on day one. I cannot get it past the error. I've powered it on and off, checked everything I can. ADDENDUM: I ended up taping a penny across the contacts of the base to get past the "bonnet is removed" error--and in doing so, it defeats the night light. It's functioning now, but I'm going to leave the one star review to see if I get the attention of the manufacturer, because hacking together an expensive piece of gear is lame.

This is my 6th attempt at an automated litterbox. I've had multiple versions and they have all been mediocre at best. The flat style w/the rakes end up clogged and I constantly had to scoop stuff it missed. There was one you hooked to water w/a dryer that made the whole house smell like baked cat poop. And cleaning them all was terrible because it was so much work to empty the used litter. This one though...this one works! The cat uses it, about 10 minutes later it cycles the waste into a drawer. Once a week (it could go 2 but I just do it every trash day) I hit an empty button that dumps all the used litter into the waste drawer w/the clumps. Close the drawstring on the bag and reset/add clean litter. No scooping, no struggling w/emptying litter, no stink, no hassle. And the cat is happy because her box is always clean. It's spendy but to me worth it because it works and saves me an hour and a half a week doing a task I loathe!

I've read other reviews trashing this, and I believe it's because they didn't know how to use it, or didn't have the patience to work with it.I have to admit, it took a bit to work as it's not as simple as just setting it up and plugging it in. It has some quirks, but once you get the hang of it, it's easy to operate and now I barely touch it unless I need to empty out the pan, or the occasional restart because the WiFi for the box crashes.Quirks:1) If you put too much litter, it will think another cat entered the box as it's cleaning (detecting weight). It's best to keep it a bit below the line rather exactly at the line, because clumps will add more weight to it and could stop the cycle. You can also manually cycle it if gets stuck, from the box or the app.2) The cycle will stop when another cat uses it before the cycle starts, or even during. Just let it do its thing after awhile and it will clean itself.3) The box will not continue if the pan is full, and the blinking blue light means to empty it out.If you get this box, you should install and use the app. You can turn off the light on the inside, change the cycle timings and more. I believe my cats were initially afraid of the light inside, as they usually have a box in the dark.To get all 3 of my cats to actually use this this took some real patience:The 1st day none of them use it, they just peeked at it and walked away.The 2nd day a cat used it, but when the machine cycled, all of them freaked out and none of them used it the rest of that day. Instead one of the cats left a #2 surprise next to the box.The 3rd day another cat or two used it, but overall they only used it once a day. The third cat started peeing everywhere in the house, and I had to clean it up.The 4th day cats are using the box more except one which keeps peeing and pooping outside the box. I had to do more clean up, but the other cats seemed to have made peace with the box.By the 5th day and ever since, all cats now use the box regularly and not one of them peed or pooped outside the box which is a good thing.A week later they've started using it multiple times a day and now they don't freak out when they hear it cycling. They'll take a peek, but otherwise will ignore it.After the break-in period, the box has become totally worth it.I also want to add that so far I saved $100 in cat litter for three cats since dumping it all out was the easiest method of cleaning their old box. In fact it took 4 weeks just for the littler to run low enough for me to have to buy more, and that was with an open box of litter that wasn't even full.What makes it worth it all is that the tray easily comes out, just pull the liner out (if you're using any) and throw it away.To me this was totally worth the cost and I would definitely recommend and would even buy another whenever it comes time. And the app is good too.