Dangerous Self-Cleaning Litter Boxes Are Reportedly Claiming Cats' Lives

Countless busy cat owners across the globe rely on the convenience of automated self-cleaning litter boxes, trusting that these machines will function properly and not endanger their cats. But while many of these self-cleaning litter boxes are safe and reliable, one very popular design is not - and it's already been linked to several alleged cat deaths.

Unfortunately, the solution is not as simple as merely avoiding one brand, as "One Man Five Cats" explains. The popular British cat vlogger, who frequently reviews self-cleaning litter boxes, was instrumental in drawing attention to this fatally flawed litter box - one that potentially sits in thousands of cat-owning households already - and detailing what people need to do to keep their kitties safe.

Content Warning: while One Man Five Cats' video is fantastic and informative, it contains some disturbing content, including graphic descriptions of cat deaths and photos taken of the litter boxes afterwards. 

One Man Five Cats, aka Philip Bloom, was tipped off by a video from a TikTok user named "Carli Jay," who claimed her one-year-old Siamese cat "Mochi" was killed by an Amztoy-branded self-cleaning litter box. In her original video, Carli claimed that she had found Mochi hanging lifelessly from the entrance of the litter box, its automatic door shut around her throat.

More similar stories began to emerge. Another woman, "Trish," claimed her Amztoy litter box killed her 3-month-old rescue kitten "Charlie" in the exact same way. One Amazon reviewer, "Carly," also alleged that the Amztoy's entrance door closed around their cat's neck, though they were able to free her in time. An anonymous user in one of Philip's Facebook groups claimed their Amztoy litter box had somehow trapped their 5-month-old kitten underneath its scooper, suffocating it in litter.

Related: Cats in the U.S. Are Contracting Bird Flu: What Pet Parents Need to Know

Carli Jay later deleted her negative testimonials after receiving a financial settlement from Amztoy, who in turn removed their Amazon listing. She had hoped that Amztoy taking down their litter box would spare other pet parents the same grief. But all was far from over. Philip discovered numerous other similar or identical self-cleaning litter box designs sold under dozens of names across Amazon, Wayfair, and AliExpress. Amztoy's listing was gone, but the same deadly design was still widely available.

"It's one of the countless generic machines which are generally bought in bulk and branded by a random company," Philip explained. "That's why you see so many identical ones online with different names."

Why This Design Is So Deadly

Philip bought one of these generic litter boxes to test it out himself, and it didn't take him long to spot a fatal flaw.

”The opening for the entrance is a single piece of plastic, which is attached to the base. This is fine for a machine that rotates on the X-axis [side to side], but this rotates on the Y-axis [vertically], so as it cycles, the opening closes," Philip said. "Because that piece of plastic opening is attached to the base and not split in two, if a cat gets caught in it, there’s no escape.” The plastic door rim, Philip noted, was also concerningly sharp.

His self-cleaning litter box had three safety measures: a weight sensor, an infrared sensor at the entrance, and a "pinch" sensor to detect resistance. If any one of these were triggered, it should have immediately caused the cycle to stop and reverse, only resuming when all three sensors were clear. However, during Philip's numerous tests, the cycle merely paused for a moment before resuming, even with the sensors still blocked. During one test, Philip's hand became trapped, and he was only able to free himself by forcing the door open with his other hand.

In Philip's case, his litter box's companion app had a firmware update that fixed the sensor issues, but this was little comfort. Philip claimed that none of the safety manuals or documentation included any warnings to check the app for firmware updates. There was also no assurance that all of the countless other random sellers would effectively roll out firmware updates as needed. Lastly, Philip noted that the safety sensors looked cheaply made, increasing the likelihood of them failing with or without firmware updates.

What to Look For in a Safe Self-Cleaning Litter Box

This is a widespread problem bigger than any one company. The solution for pet parents is not just to avoid one particular seller, but to know what red flags to look out for when shopping for automated self-cleaning litter boxes.

Recognize the Fatal Flaws

Recognizing what made this generic litter box so dangerous in the first place is essential for spotting the same design from different sellers. To reiterate, the key flaw of this design (though not the only flaw) was that the door was attached to a fixed base and rotated upwards along the Y-axis, closing the entrance off with anything trapped inside of it. As Philip explained, there are safe self-cleaning litter box designs that rotate along a Y-axis, but these don't have tops to them, eliminating the risk of a cat getting caught inside even if multiple redundant safety sensors fail.

Buy From Reputable Sellers

Ultimately, your best bet is to buy from verified brands specializing in self-cleaning litter boxes with long, proven, and safe track records. Philip strongly advises against buying from random generic sellers and brand-new start-ups with products that may still be in beta testing. Reviews can help, but scrutinize them carefully, as Philip warns that brands often pay for positive reviews and even video testimonials.

Philip even includes specific safe recommendations in his video, including the budget-friendly Furrytail brand and the Litter-Robot 3 and Litter-Robot 4 by Whisker (be cautious when searching by product name, though, as Amztoy also called their litter box a "Litter Robot"). Well-made self-cleaning litter boxes often cost hundreds of dollars more than their cheap generic knock-offs, but it's a small price to pay for your pet cat's safety.

And if you think you may already have one of these dangerous litter boxes in your home?

"If you own an Amztoy or any other similar-designed machines, then please update the firmware, then make sure you test it like I have in this video," Philip urges. "But even if you can update the firmware, I just don't think you should use it anymore."

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