Avoid This Type of Self-Cleaning Litter Box, Which Allegedly Killed a Cat

One Man Five Cats / Youtube.com

A horrifying news report is circulating about a cat that was killed when the door of a self-cleaning litter box closed on her neck.

A distraught woman named Carli Jay shared in a TikTok video, which has since been deleted, that her Siamese cat, Mochi, died when the door of a self-cleaning litter box closed on and cut her neck.

Cat-product reviewer Philip Bloom, on his One Man Five Cats YouTube channel, tracked down the brand of the self-cleaning litter box Jay had used: the litter robot by Amztoy, sold on Amazon. It’s important to note that the Amztoy product is not related to the popular Litter-Robot brand, which has been on the market for 20+ years and has an excellent safety record.

It appears that the deadly flaw in the Amztoy model is the fact that the box’s cleaning mechanism rotates vertically instead of horizontally, and the opening is a single piece of plastic attached to the base, said Bloom, who demonstrated the danger with a plush cat toy on a similar box. If a sensor fails to detect that a cat is in or near the box, the door could close on the cat, with devastating results.

The Amztoy litter box, which featured whimsical cat ears on the top of the box, has since been removed from Amazon. However, many automatic litter boxes with a similar design as the Amztoy box are still sold through Amazon and other online retailers.

How To Choose a Safe Self-Cleaning Litter Box

Self-cleaning litter boxes from reputable companies like Litter-Robot offer convenience and extra cleanliness for cats. Mallory Crusta / Cats.com

What should careful cat owners do with this terrible news? First, always consult your veterinarian with any questions about your cat’s health and safety. Your vet is the best source of advice and information when it comes to keeping your cats safe and healthy. If you own the Amztoy box or one with a similar design, stop using it and talk to your vet about the next steps to take.

When choosing an automatic litter box, stick with trusted brands. You’ll find countless self-cleaning litter boxes for sale on Amazon, but all automatic litter boxes are not the same.

Avoid any self-cleaning litter box that has a door design like the Amztoy, and do your research to find out who is selling the product you are considering. What is the name of the company? How long have they been in business? What are their safety standards? Are they responsive?

Many automatic litter boxes have been around for years, and are backed by solid safety records and customer service. Check out the best self-cleaning litter boxes reviewed and tested by Cats.com, as well as Cats.com reviews for the BASTRUMI, CATLINK, and Cleanpethome brands of self-cleaning litter boxes.

Pros and Cons of Automatic Litter Boxes

Should you even get a self-cleaning litter box, a product that is gaining popularity? Although they are much more expensive than traditional litter boxes, high-quality self-cleaning boxes offer plenty of benefits. They cut down on a lot of your clean-up duties, and they are more hygienic. Before purchasing one, consider these 10 things you should know before buying an automatic litter box.

Self-cleaning litter boxes also have their downsides. The motors in these boxes can be noisy, and that might disturb some cats and make them skittish about using the self-cleaning litter boxes. Many cats prefer a simple, inexpensive litter box without a cover. Even though covered litter boxes contain mess and spare us humans from unpleasant sights and smells, they can make some cats feel cramped or trapped.

Litter Box Tips

Make sure your litter box is at least one and a half times longer than your cat’s body. Liz Coleman / Cats.com

Make sure that whatever box you choose is large enough to accommodate your cat’s size. I recently took a smaller litter box on a road trip to Virginia to rescue a mother cat and litter of kittens. Surely, I mistakenly thought, I can bring a smaller litter box for just one night in a hotel. It might have worked for a kitten, but it was a messy mistake for the mother cat.

Experts recommend that litter boxes be one and a half times the length of your cat from tail to nose, so that they can dig and turn freely without feeling squished.

If you have a multi-cat household, be sure to get enough litter boxes. The general consensus of feline behaviorists is to have one box per cat, plus an extra one. Even if you have one specific area of your house designated as your cat’s bathroom facilities—like the laundry room or basement— it’s a good idea to place litter boxes at different locations throughout your home.

My five cats’ bathroom is in the laundry room, but I added a box to the upstairs guest bedroom and I recently even added a litter box to my bedroom due to conflict from my longhaired tuxedo cat, Elf, being aggressive toward my calico Pippi.

She started having accidents, surely because she was afraid of leaving the safety of my bedroom to go to the litter boxes, and potentially getting an Elf attack. Although I was reluctant to put a litter box in my bedroom, the extra box made all the difference for Pippi.