Published May 4, 2021
Mallory Crusta / Cats.com
Ratings
- Ease of Cleaning – 8/10
- Odor Control – 8/10
- Appearance – 8/10
- Construction – 8/10
- Price – 6/10
Overall Score: 7.6/10
Petree Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box Video Review
Intro To The Petree Self-cleaning Litter Box
Modern technology has progressed by leaps and bounds over the decades and some of our favorite developments in pet tech are automatic litter boxes like the Petree Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box.
Also Read: The 6 Best Automatic Self Cleaning Litter Boxes
This litter box features a gravity sensor in the bottom which detects the presence of cat litter and an automatic sifting system that separates waste from clean litter.
Specifications
The Petree Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box features an igloo-like shape with an opening in the front your cat steps into. The litter box measures 23 inches wide by 21 inches high and 25 inches deep.
The entryway is generously sized, measuring 14 inches high and stands 7 inches off the ground. This automatic litter box features a detachable top, a spinnable globe, and a sturdy base.
How Does The Petree Litter Box Work?
The Petree self-cleaning litter box does the work of cleaning the litter box for you. It features an automatic timer that works in conjunction with the gravity sensor to automatically sift the litter box after your cat uses it. Petree claims it is a 30-second timer, but it appears to actually be 60 seconds.
So, about a minute after your cat uses the litter box, it will automatically activate and the globe will begin to rotate. Clean litter sifts into a storage compartment while waste and clumps of dirty litter slide into the waste compartment.
What makes the Petree Automatic Litter Box so great is the fact that it sifts the litter for you. The key, however, is to use the right kind of cat litter.
Petree specifies that their self-cleaning litter box must be used with clumping clay cat litter. Cat owners have the freedom to use the litter of their choice as long as it’s clumping clay. The sifting mechanism in the litter box simply won’t work without a clumping litter.
One challenge some users have with the Petree litter box is the fact that the maximum fill line for cat litter sits well below the top of the litter container.
The Petree litter box can hold up to 8.8 pounds of litter but the max fill line amounts to just a few inches of litter – possibly less than you’d use in a typical litter box. This may mean refilling the litter box more often than with other automatic litter boxes, especially in a multi-cat household.
In testing the Petree Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, we found it worked fairly well for what it’s designed to do.
The self-cleaning feature separated clean and dirty litter, sending clumps through a chute in the back of the box into the waste collection drawer. We did notice a fair amount of clean litter falling through various gaps inside the box, but it didn’t seem to affect the overall function.
How Much Does The Petree Cost?
When it comes to automatic litter boxes, you typically get what you pay for. Self-cleaning litter boxes are understandably more expensive than traditional litter pans, but you receive the benefit of the automatic sifting and other features which can come in handy.
The Petree Automatic Self-Cleaning litter box sells for $379.00 and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee as well as a 1-year warranty.
If your cat is one who prefers privacy when using the litter box, you can add a gray or colorfully patterned curtain to cover the opening for an additional $26 (a total of $405). The litter box comes with a honeycomb litter mat you can place on the floor in front of the litter box as well as a 30-day supply of waste compartment bags.
Our Experience With The Petree Litter Box
Generally speaking, we were happy with the Petree Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, though it wasn’t quite as impressive as the Litter Robot which has a very similar design. We appreciated the self-cleaning feature and found the litter box worked well for what it was designed to do.
In addition to its self-cleaning feature, the Petree litter box shows you your cat’s weight on the LED screen below the entryway after your cat uses the box. Unfortunately, there’s no way to store that info, so you’ll have to do it manually. There’s also no option to toggle between metric and imperial units.
The waste compartment for the Petree litter box is generously sized which helps reduce the frequency with which you have to clean the unit. In a two-cat household, we only had to empty it once over a two-week period, though it wasn’t the only litter box in use.
Though the waste drawer is a decent size, we didn’t like that it was located at the back of the box – this made it a little tricky to access for cleaning.
In terms of cleaning the litter box itself, the process is fairly frustrating. The Petree doesn’t have a function that empties the clean litter out for cleaning, and you’ll have to use a screwdriver to remove the globe. Once you get it disassembled, however, it’s easy to hose down.
Is The Petree Automatic Self-cleaning Litter Box Worth It?
The Petree Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box functioned pretty well. It didn’t offer as many additional features as something like the Litter Robot, but it sifts litter automatically and reduces the frequency of cleaning the litter box.
That being said, there are a few things about this litter box that don’t make it particularly cat-friendly.
First, the size of the dome could be a little bit larger, though that would certainly make the unit take up more floor space. It should be comfortable for small to medium-sized cats, but large cats may find it too small. Second, the max fill line limits you to just a few inches of litter which ends up being a pretty small area for your cat to dig around in when using the litter box.
We also had trouble finding customer reviews anywhere but on the Petree website, so we weren’t able to get a good feel for Petree’s customer service.
Overall, we didn’t have too many major complaints about the Petree Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box, but we don’t think it’s worth the near-$400 price tag. It works fairly well but doesn’t have many additional features or options for customization, and the company’s customer reputation isn’t great.
Thank you for that review. I agree about the lack of information out there on this box. I bought it as it was a less expensive and more attractive version of the Litter Robot. Once I received it, I had questions that were not answered so am now looking for answers to specific questions that arose.
My Petree has a different set of words to choose than I have seen in their website or even in your review. For example, the manual says to press Sleep to add litter, but I don’t have “Sleep” as an option, but do have “Add.” I also have “10 hour” choice that I think replaces “Sleep.” The weirdest/most concerning thing is it doesn’t seem to automatically rotate after use (30 or 60 seconds). I have to push “Go” to start the cycle. I’m not sure if I’m leaving it on the right setting, like maybe I’ve accidently put it to sleep, so not sure if there is something wrong with the box that keeps it from cycling or if I accidently have it on the wrong setting. I’m going to reset and then leave it alone and try again.
On the positive side:
My cats seem to like it and used it right away -different than when I bought their Pet Safe Scoop Free litter box.
It looks really cool.
The globe keeps the cats from scratching off the side and making a mess as they did with the Scoop Free. I might get one of the curtains to keep the dust down.
The crystal litter for the required for the Scoop Free was pretty expensive when you have to change it every 2 weeks.
Petree litter box company is awful!!! Do not order from them! Been trying to get a refund for months!! They are a nightmare to work with
I wouldn’t buy this litter, customer service sucks. Been trying to reach them for a year and a half for a refund, no response! Reported them to BBB. My bank found them at fault even but can’t get them to refund Affirm back the money my bank got me back for their poor business. Failed to comply with their 30 day satisfaction or 1 year warrenty cuz they dont answer your emails!! Good luck if you buy their POS litter box, mine quit after 2mos!