PetPivot sent me their AutoScooper 12 self-cleaning cat litter box for review. All opinions are my own.
PetPivot AutoScooper 12 Review
I only have one cat. When we first got her, I didn’t think twice about just getting a really basic litter box. I couldn’t see myself needing anything more fancy. I had some people tell me that they thought the same prior to getting a self-cleaning cat litter box, though. So, when PetPivot reached out about a potential review of their AutoScooper 12 self-cleaning litter box, I decided to give it a try. And, I’m officially on team “you want a self-cleaning litter box even if you don’t know it yet!”
Obviously, nobody enjoys scooping litter or cleaning the litter box. I never found it to be all that burdensome though. And yet, once my cat Pepperoni had adjusted to using the PetPivot 12, I loved it so much! It’s so nice to not have to remember to scoop daily because it does the scooping for you. The clumps fall into a container in the bottom that can be lined with the PetPivot brand waste bags, or a plastic bag from the grocery store works, too. I had wondered if there would be a lot of odor, but there isn’t. I do sometimes catch an odor when the PetPivot is actively in the process of moving a clump from the top into the bottom. Of course, when it’s doing that, it temporarily uncovers the bottom which is why that odor can waft up. However, between “spins”, I don’t notice any odor at all even when the storage tray has a lot of waste in it.
The PetPivot brand waste bags are said to hold up to 20lbs of waste, so they’re more durable. The compartment is pretty large and can store a lot of “clumps” so I only have to change ours out after about a week. Of course, this would be more frequent if you have multiple cats. Still, it’s been cool to take this task from a daily chore to a weekly one!
Also, if you have a cat that doesn’t cover their poop or doesn’t cover it well, the PetPivot does that job for you. We used to sometimes wake up from the stench of our cat’s poop even though the litter box is in the next room, not our bedroom. If she didnt’ cover it well, the stink would carry. The PetPivot works in two phases. Once it detects that your cat has left the box, it waits 90 seconds and does a partial turn of the litter. This covers any poop, cutting the smell quickly. After the partial turn is complete, it waits five minutes before doing a full spin. It does this so that any urine clumps have time to fully solidify before being dumped.
The lining has ‘min’ and ‘max’ lines to help ensure you have an appropriate amount of litter in there.
We’ve found that the vast majority of the time, this system works great. In the 6 weeks or so that we’ve owned it, we have had a couple of problems here or there. Once, my cat managed to pee in the side hole of the litter box, and that caused urine to drip down the side. I have no idea how or why she managed to pee at that angle! A couple of other times, we’ve had clumps not clump very well, and that caused the clump to sort of smear when it was turning and some litter got dragged underneath the main compartment, so we had to remove it and clean underneath. But it is designed to be easily taken apart and can be wiped on the outside so it wasn’t too much of a problem. I’m not sure what has caused the clumps to not solidify well the couple of times that this has happened. I’ve also noted that the lower tray often gets urine on the right side. I think this may also be due to her peeing towards the side sometimes as she urinates on that right side of the litter box. I am not sure, though.
Of course, we’d love if it worked perfectly 100% of the time with absolutely zero mess, but the couple of very minor issues we’ve had is a lot less hassle than daily scooping and weekly litter box cleaning, so I’ve been thrilled with this upgrade despite having a couple of problems here or there.
The lining inside of the main compartment can be removed and cleaned. PetPivot also sells extra liners, so if you want to have one (or more than one) as a backup so you can clean one while having another immediately ready for your cats, you can do that. I do find the liner to be a bit tricky to get in and out, but once it is out it is easy to clean.
The automatic, but not “smart” litter box
The PetPivot 12 isn’t a “smart” box, is imply has a sensor that detects when a cat has gotten in and out. There is no app, no wifi to connect to. It simply plugs into an outlet. I actually much prefer this over the idea of a “smart” box. I don’t want an entire app for my litter box. I also don’t want to mess with getting my wifi to connect to my litter box. For me, the PetPivot being electronic and automatic really adds a lot of convenience, while it not being ‘smart’ keeps it from adding unnecessary headaches.
What about scardy cats?
My cat is fairly skittish of noises. She isn’t a scardy cat overall (she’s surprisingly comfortable with humans) but certain sounds just freak her out. For example, she has a strong reaction to a trash bag being opened. The hardest part of the adjustment to the PetPivot was the noise. She would stand back and stare at it while it was moving, because it makes noise. The company suggests leaving their old litter box accessible but no longer scooping or cleaning it. Pepperoni continued to use her old box for a couple of days until it was dirty, and then gave the PetPivot a try. We left her old box accessible for an additional week or so just in case, but then removed the old box and she’s transitioned well.
The box comes with a step, which can be removed. At first we put it on, but she wasn’t even trying to peer into the litter box when the step was on there. I removed it, and then she got curious enough to try looking inside. So, you may experiment with using or not using the step to see if it makes a difference for your cat.
Buy it: You can shop on PetPivot’s website, or you can find PetPivot products on Amazon, Walmart.com, Chewy and more!
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
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