When you think of owning a cat you might conjure up images of them playfully chasing string or purring away happily on your lap; what you probably don’t think about is being arm deep in a litter box shovelling out the poop with a special little poo scoop. Even if your cats go outside you aren’t necessarily free from this stinking burden, ours like to pop in throughout the day to use their litter trays (cheers boys). Another joy of cat litter is it gets everywhere, whether you use a hooded tray or not, and if you have hard floors you will find the litter can quickly travel across the entire house, and if you use the clay-based cat litter, standing on it in bare feet is both painful and gross. Starting with the first issue, Catit have created a Smartsift litter box, this works by providing a large, noiseless handle that you pull towards you, this collects the larger bits of debris (clumping litter or poo) which are then dropped to the bottom drawer, this can then be slid open allowing you to remove the liner or tip into the bin.

There is a clear viewing window on the top of the box as well as a clear door for easy monitoring, the sealed design minimises dust, tracking and provides privacy, there is an integrated carbon filter to absorb odours and two biodegradable liners are provided, one for the cat pan and one for the pull-out waste drawer. This all sounds great and I usually love Catit products, but we just couldn’t get on with this litter box, the box itself is large (26"L x 19"W x 25"H) but the actual tray on the inside is very small and narrow, so my lanky boys just didn’t fit. Due to the design on the tray there are ridges at the back, and this is where my cat typically decided to wee, meanwhile my other cat point blank refused to climb in due to the high step up of the box. If you have a small cat or start using this from a young age it could be great, but my two were just having none of it. Along with the Smartsift we received the Large Litter Mat (23.5” x 35.5”) also available in Small, this textured mat is soft, low profile and non-slip, to help capture litter and prevent tracking, can be hoovered or hand washed. The larger granules are captured in the pockets whilst the mesh captures the smaller bits and dust, the cats have no problem walking on it, this didn’t stop every bit of litter escaping but reduced the tracking greatly, I wish we had one of these years ago. As for the Smartsift, it is a great idea but needs improving; the tray is too small, the ridges at the back became soiled, the over-all build quality around the handle and handle lock could also be improved, we will be looking forward to seeing if a new version of this becomes available, as for the mat, it’s ace. RRP Smartsift Litter System £59.99, RRP Litter Mat £10

Current Cheapest Price

Smartsift

2.5 out of 5

Pros

Clever idea

Silent handle

Viewing windows

Carbon filter

Cons

Small tray

Poor build quality around the handle entrance

Ridges around the back become soiled

High step up to door

Litter doesn’t always level out again after handle is pushed back

 

Current Cheapest Price

Large Litter Mat

4.5 out of 5

Pros

Prevents tracking

Soft on cat’s feet

Low profile

Easy to clean

Flexible for tighter spaces

Also available in small