It’s only natural for you as a pet parent to want only the best for your cat.
This includes food items, cat toys, and, of course, litter to fulfill your kitty’s basic needs. Unfortunately, with so many products on the market, it’s easy to get cheated into paying for low-quality stuff.
Let’s talk some more about cat litter.
Maintaining the litter box is a tedious process for all of us. Nevertheless, it’s crucial and unavoidable. Nobody wants their house or apartment to reek of kitty waste. But after a long day at work, you’ll want to snuggle with your fluffy furball instead of cleaning up poop.
Fortunately, self-cleaning litter boxes are an actual thing.
They save you the trouble of daily maintenance, and they get rid of the poop and urine smell. What’s more, they are also far more hygienic than the good old litter box.
Pet Zone’s Smart Scoop was at one time a good buy, but unfortunately, things have changed, and they’ve made the motor less powerful. It’s not all that reliable, and it is not worth the mid-range price tag it carries.
>> Click here to see our reviews of the top 5 best automatic litter boxes.
What is Smart Scoop?
Smart Scoop is an automatic litter box that does the scooping and disposing of cat waste on its own. It consists of a litter tray, a metal scoping rake, and a disposal unit.
Smart Scoop’s built-in sensors trigger the self-cleaning mechanism 15 minutes after they have detected your cat. This means that the machine allows enough time for the litter to form chunks inside the tray.
After the 15 minutes are over, the rake starts brushing through the litter and scooping up all chunks. Then the rake pushes the clumps back into a tightly sealed disposal unit.
Sounds simple. It’s not only simple but also efficient. The metal rake is designed to scoop only clumps, leaving the excess clean litter behind.
This way, you can refill the tray and not let good litter go to waste. Furthermore, the disposal container uses plastic waste bags, so you don’t have to get your hands dirty.
The container is equipped with a special carbon filter, which mostly prevents unpleasant odors from escaping. The container is big enough to hold your cat’s waste for approximately a week, depending on the size of your cat’s business, meaning you don’t have to change the bags every single day.
The machine’s motor is fairly quiet, and it used to be pretty powerful. However, it seems that the motors have been changed in recent years and are no longer as good as they once were.
Not only might it not scoop up all the litter (may even get stuck if it’s running weakly), but it might just straight up die on you before you’ve had it even a year (or a few months).
The average-sized litter tray makes the transition from an old litter box fairly simple.
Overall, not our favorite, though it used to be much better!
>> Click here to read our reviews of the top 5 automatic cat litter boxes <<
Features
- Detachable litter tray
- AC power adapter
- Detachable rake, disposal container, motor, and gear parts
- Additional plastic scoop for manual usage
- 1 carbon filter
- 6 plastic waste bags
Smart Scoop’s parts are easily detachable and user-friendly when it comes to assembling the product. Manual cleaning is fairly easy, and the litter tray is deep enough to prevent most litter spills.
Others in the market are more fully automated, like the CatGenie, since you still need to throw away waste and refill the litter.
One of the better features of this product is that you don’t have to use expensive crystals.
The guys over at Pet Zone offer a one-year warranty, but sadly more and more people seem to be making claims on it. You can also get replaceable gear parts, additional waste bags, or new carbon filters from them.
Of course, if you wish to save some bucks, you can use standard garbage bags for the disposal unit. The carbon filter will catch the odor regardless of the types of bags you’re using.
Disadvantages
Like any other cat product on the market these days, the Smart Scoop has its advantages and disadvantages.
Similar to other automated gadgets, like cat feeders or treat dispensers, this unit requires manual cleaning now and then. Apart from these obvious setbacks, the Smart Scoop also has several other important disadvantages.
Works with clumping cat litter only
Pet Zone claims that Smart Scoop can work with every possible type of litter, including crystals. Unfortunately, you can only use clumping litter for this product.
Plastic gears
Some of the motor’s gears are made out of plastic. This means that they can easily break or wear out, and you’ll need to order replacements for them.
Requires test run
Back when Smart Scoop was first introduced on the market, some of the units were faulty. And now, the motor isn’t what it used to be.
As such, you’ll need to do a test run right after assembling it. If something’s not working properly, you’ll need to contact the seller immediately so that you can get another machine.
Requires a specific amount of litter
Even though the litter tray is deep enough to prevent any waste spills, the product requires a specific amount of litter. If you put in too much or too little, you may experience issues with the rake when it’s scooping the waste.
