Review: Leo's Loo Too

A few months back, my cat Huxley started acting strange. I noticed he was visiting the litter box frequently without actually going. An emergency vet visit discovered he has lower urinary tract disease. Some medication (and a hefty bill) later, he was able to urinate—problem solved. 

Cats are prone to urethra blockages and urinary tract infections (UTIs), particularly males. If they can't go, the buildup of toxins can be fatal, and it happens quickly. So it's important for cat parents to observe bathroom habits. I work from home and am psychotically obsessed with every move my cats make, but we can’t be with them all the time. That's when I found the next best thing: Smarty Pear's Leo’s Loo Too.

Vet experts I've talked to have expressed hesitation in recommending automatic litter boxes for the reason I listed above—if you’re not scooping the litter box often, you might not notice the lack of clumps until it’s too late. But Smarty Pear's newest automatic litter box tracks your cat’s bathroom visits and weight in its connected app and sends you a push notification every time they go. The name's a bit of a mouthful, but the data it produces is really helpful.

Photograph: Smarty Pear

Scooping a litter box might be the worst part of cat ownership. If you don't scoop often, not only will your house start to smell, but your cat may stop using the box. Can you blame them? 

Automatic litter boxes like Leo's Loo Too have an internal barrel that slowly spins around once the cat has exited, separating clumps from the rest of the litter and depositing them into an odor-proof drawer equipped with a liner. (Make sure you use clumping litter.) The company sells drawstring drawer liners, but any bag should work. The Loo Too also uses ultraviolet light for cleaning.

The Smarty Pear app (available on iOS and Android) alerts you when the drawer is full, which can be roughly once a week, so you can mostly forget about it until it's time to change out all the litter. The app has a daily rundown of the times your cat used it and the cat's weight, so for multi-cat households, you'll be able to distinguish which one is which (unless they're the exact same size).

In the app, you can set it to automatically clean six seconds to 20 minutes after your cat uses it. I recommend turning this auto-mode off in the beginning until your cats are used to their new robotic bathroom. I made the mistake of leaving it on, and my two cats were scared the first time they saw it move right after they exited. I turned it off and let them get used to it again. You can start a cleaning session manually from the app, or use your voice if you connect the box to Alexa or Google Assistant. We can talk to our litter boxes now!

At 30 decibels, the Loo Too is nearly silent when it does its thing. That said, my cats do seem to hear and run toward it when it cleans, but if it weren't for them, I'd have no idea. If you're sensitive to noise, there's a night mode so it doesn't rotate during bedtime.

The biggest struggle I had? Pouring new litter into it can be tricky, due to the relatively small entry hole. But once I switched from a box to a jug, it got a lot easier.

Photograph: Medea Giordano

I'd never used a self-cleaning litter box before—other WIRED reviewers have and loved them. I knew they were typically huge spaceship-like devices, but thankfully, the Leo's Loo Too is not overwhelming. It's bigger than a simple litter pan. I live in an apartment and don't mind this litter box being out on display. It has a modern look to it that gives off Jetson's vibes, but I don't have to worry about it taking off and hovering around the room. I also love the green accents, which matched well with my faux plants (other accent choices include pink, blue, or gray).

It comes in a really big box, but that means it's easy to put together because most of the work is already done. The white base and top snap together around the internal drum that holds the litter. The drum is pretty light, so when it's time to clean it you can pick it right up. Use soap and water for the drum, but stick to a vacuum for the rest so you don't damage the mechanical parts.

One other thing to consider: The barrel is cramped. Huxley weighs 12 pounds, and I can tell his movements are a bit limited when he's in it. But my other cat, Eely-Rue, is six pounds and can turn around comfortably and do her business as she pleases. I recommend keeping another litter box you know they like nearby in the beginning, just in case your cat isn't OK with the size (I also keep an open box in another room for when they just aren't feeling it). I wish the Leo's Loo Too had a step, but it's not too high off the ground, and most cats should be able to get into it. 

Photograph: Smarty Pear

A machine with a UV and mechanical cleaning mechanism might sound dangerous—especially when you're not around. Thankfully, there are a few safety measures. There are four weight sensors inside the barrel to detect when a cat is still inside. It needs just one pound of weight to detect your cat, so that works for all but the littlest of kittens (they probably wouldn't be able to jump into it anyway). 

If that's not enough, there's a radar system that detects when anyone, feline or human, is near it. If the machine is in the middle of its cleaning cycle, it will immediately stop. Eely likes to stick her head inside as soon as it starts cleaning to see what's going on, but her plans are always thwarted. And finally, there's also an anti-pinch sensor. Paws and fingers alike are safe.

The first Leo's Loo, which I didn't try, included a lot of the same functions, but it displayed weight info on a digital screen directly on the box instead of in an app. The app seems like a much better way to stay on top of a cat's habits and health. The Loo Too also has a bigger drawer, includes the UV light, and is 10 decibels quieter than the original. I don't hate the design of the first model, but it looks a little more like the Death Star.

Arguably the biggest barrier will be its price. At $600, it's comparable to other auto-cleaning litter boxes on the market, but it's still a big purchase. (For $50 more, you can get a bundle with a mat, liners, and toys.) Still, I appreciate the ability to ignore the litter for as long as possible yet still monitor my babies' habits. That's the best of both worlds.