!!Please be aware that some of this video will be upsetting!!

It’s essential that you understand that this video is about ONE specific design of Chinese imports that are deadly. The VAST majority of self-cleaning litter boxes are incredibly safe.

AVOID generic machines and stick to established brands, ideally with a history of making them. Whisker’s Litter Robot machines have been around for 25 years. I bought my first one in 2018, and for the last 2 and a half years, my cats have been using two Litter-Robot 4s. I trust them without question. I wouldn’t risk their lives if they weren’t safe.

The best machines that I’ve tested are linked below. All are entirely safe. I also show many other safe ones in the video. Please check out my full reviews of many different ones; they are the most comprehensive reviews on YouTube.

Thank you.

Philip Bloom AKA One Man Five Cats
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PDF of listings for the deadly machines on Amazon and Walmart in the USA: https://gopb.co/dangerousmachines

Some good news, Wayfair have pulled all their listings of them now.
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Facebook group: http://gopb.co/fbgroup
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LITTER ROBOT 4 (SAFE!)

$50 off Whisker’s Litter Robot 4: http://gopb.co/lr4 (shows automatically at checkout)
_______________________________________________
NEAKASA M1 discount code (SAFE!):

$30 off direct from them with code “ONEMANFIVECATS”: https://gopb.co/neakasam1

$30 off on Amazon USA using code “FIVECATSM1” make sure you also tick the box for the $100 off coupon when on the page: https://gopb.co/neakasam1amazon

£30 off on Amazon UK using code: FIVECATSUK

https://amzn.to/3XyVmNv

€30 off on Amazon Germany using code: FIVECATSDE

http://bit.ly/4cXd95A
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Amazon USA affiliate links for recommended machines – SAFE! (Scroll down for UK ones)

$30 off the Furrytail with code 1man5cats at
https://amzn.to/3XjX588 (recommended)

Original MeoWant (USA): https://amzn.to/42DdVR1 (recommended)

UBPet C20 USA Link called the Meowant SC02: https://amzn.to/3xnX1eu (semi recommended, other two are better)
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Cat Litter recommendations:

Clump and Seal: https://amzn.to/3rxt9cw
Clump Seal Slide: https://amzn.to/3PV3S60
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Security cameras

https://amzn.to/42x3I8G
https://amzn.to/3yXG3kf
https://amzn.to/3LIoFrm
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Toys

https://amzn.to/3HGUxdm
https://amzn.to/3Jqu9Gg
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Smart products featured in previous reviews:

Sure Petcare Felaqua: https://amzn.to/342AscU
Surefeed standard: https://amzn.to/3oW9Wus
Surefeed Connect: https://amzn.to/3mnD0ZO
Surepet hub: https://amzn.to/3r3fCV2
Petcube Bites 2: https://amzn.to/3dViD31
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Amazon UK affiliate links for recommended machines.

Airrobo (UK) with built-in camera : https://amzn.to/3LFR2GJ
Original Meowant (UK): https://amzn.to/3zag0Kb
UBPet C20 UK link: https://amzn.to/4cvElIR
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Cat toy: https://amzn.to/46QBTuf
Cat toy: https://amzn.to/3wGnP5U
Standard Feeder: https://amzn.to/3gN2Wgw
Surefeed Connect: https://amzn.to/3acEB2f
Surepet hub: https://amzn.to/2KxksJm
Everclean unscented clumping clay litter: https://amzn.to/44Hu1cG
Petkit Pura Max: https://amzn.to/3DcXGi7
Eufy indoor camera: https://amzn.to/3OeBhHD
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3rd party Litter-Robot guards: http://gopb.co/lrthings
Meowant/ Airrobo guards: https://gopb.co/dynamitedesign
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Social media accounts:

Http://Instagram.com/1man5cats
Http://Instagram.com/thebloomcats
Http://Instagram.com/philipbloom
Http://Instagram.com/Severus_the_beach_cat
http://facebook.com/onemanfivecats
http://facebook.com/philipbloom

0:00 Intro
0:36 Why I use self-cleaning litter boxes
1:15 Are self-cleaning litter boxes safe?
2:14 !!Carli Jay’s TikTok videos about what happened to her cat!!
3:23 Beginning of my investigation
4:40 I receive one of the machines to test
5:09 First test 🙁
5:44 Why the design is so dangerous
6:51 What safety measures does it have?
7:20 My hand getting crushed
9:00 New firmware but still dangerous
11:14 Carli Jay tells me why she removed her videos
12:00 !!The story of poor Charlie!!
13:23 !!A cat that was saved in time!!
13:58 Reaching out to Amztoy
14:22 If you already have one of these deadly machines…
15:19 Stick to established brands and avoid the cheap knockoffs
15:58 The problem with Amazon and YouTube reviews
16:38 Has the Popur X5 been made safe now?
18:11 Don’t be put off buying a self-cleaning litter box
18:21 My main recommendation – Whisker’s Litter Robot 4
18:47 The budget machines I recommend
19:37 Thank you for watching

49 Comments

  1. It's essential that you understand that this video is about ONE specific design of Chinese imports that are deadly. The VAST majority of self-cleaning litter boxes are incredibly safe.

    AVOID generic machines and stick to established brands, ideally with a history of making them. Whisker's Litter Robot machines have been around for 25 years. I bought my first one in 2018, and for the last 2 and a half years, my cats have been using two Litter-Robot 4s. I trust them without question. I wouldn't risk their lives if they weren't safe.

    The best machines that I've tested are linked in the description. All are entirely safe. I also show many other safe ones in the video. Also, please check out my full reviews of many different ones; they are the most comprehensive reviews on YouTube.

    Before you comment about laziness, please watch the first two minutes, during which I talk about why I and so many others use self-cleaning litter boxes. It's not laziness, well it isn't for me!

    Thank you.

    Philip Bloom

    Here is a link to a PDF of listings for the deadly machines on Amazon and Walmart in the USA: https://gopb.co/dangerousmachines

    Thankfully, Wayfair has now removed all the ones on its website. One down, two to go!

  2. felt sick to my stomach watching this, it makes me so anxious to think about my poor baby getting stuck or hurt or god forbid killed by some contraption
    honestly looking at all the ones you showed, all the enclosed ones scare me a little, maybe I'm projecting my claustrophobia onto my cat, but the only one that looked completely and totally safe to me was that open bowl looking one

  3. This is simultaneously terrifying and horrifying. I've always wanted a self-cleaning litterbox and hope to get one someday. I'm just glad I saw this before buying anything. I can't imagine the horror these cat owners felt walking into a scene like that. Those poor kitties.

  4. Almost bought this last month after I suffered a concussion and was unable to clean the box regularly. I decided against it, as medical bills left me without much money.
    My younger cat likes to peek back into the box after he’s done. If I had made that purchase, he may not be around anymore.
    I came from this video from penguin0. Thought you deserved a view for breaking the story.

  5. We really need stricter selling laws around the globe. That people are allowed to sell these products without any needs of any regulations is really bad. Especially now when many kids have access to the internet. Imagine them buying home some tiktok amazon product, which is like a children cooking machine that throws hot water directly upwards, likely hitting whatever is up there. Sellers can do this and all they won’t het punished because of small text in the manual or something similar.

    This product needs to be cancelled, all sellers should go straight to jail.

  6. This is just insane. This crap needs to be banned asap.

    BTW don´t listen to people calling you lazy for using a litterbox robot. Every minute you don´t "waste" cleaning that box, is a minute you could interact more with your pet. That´s a win win in my book. I wish there would be something like that for the doggo, even though he´d probably ignore it anyway.

  7. Thank you so much for this video! I was saving up my money to buy this. I could have made one of the worst mistakes of my life! I'd rather spend extra time cleaning the cat litter then potentially loose my sweet babies 💜

  8. Commenting to help boost the algorithm. I hope this information gets out to all people who have purchased one of these. I don't own a self-cleaning box but I know people who do (i can't remember which type) and I hope companies are held accountable for this negligent behavior.

  9. And this is why you spend the money to buy the official litter robot not some Chiense knockoff. I have had the littter robot 3, now 4 and never had to worry about the safety due to their safety features. Glad this YouTuber also spent the money on the official brand.

  10. If I would ever get a cat, I would just get a regular litterbox. Might stink up the house because I would probably forget to clean it for a while, but at least my beloved furball wouldn't get decapitated.

  11. This can happen with any of the automated litter boxes, though not necessarily in this manner, but that it can kill your cats. It's a machine and machines are not infallible. It's only as good as it's designed by humans. There was a video in the past of a cat who got stuck in the Litter Robot (yes, the expensive brand name one). It started screaming and its other cat buddies came by and started screaming too, which brought the owner running over. Luckily he managed to free the cat before anything serious happened, but he basically had to tear the machine apart.

  12. 1. If a device can harm a cat, it probably will, and no amount of safety measures will stop that from happening. The design itself needs to be safe.
    2. I am opposed to the idea of automatic litterboxes in general, because many health issues can be seen by observing the litterbox when cleaning it, like diarrhea, parasites, blood in stool or urine, etc.

  13. I see a video about cats I post facts. Cats cause the second most extinctions in the animal kingdom, just behind humans. Cats kill over 25 billion animals a year in North America alone. Cats are invasive across all of USA and they kill NATIVE animals for sport and not even food.

  14. Thanks for the warning! I would NEVER allow one of these in my house!! IF there were only one chance in a zillion harmed or killed by these machines, I will pass. I'll scoop poop til I die!!!

  15. Thank you for making this video. Companies hosting these dangerous products should be held accountable just like the people manufacturing them. This is disgusting.

  16. As a software developer, i can share the same expert opinion that some others have shared: Software is not an acceptable safety measure. The hardware should be inherently safe; because sensors will degrade over time to the point that the software cannot reliably perform safety functions. If safety is preconditioned on correctly behaving software, you've already lost. Do not ever trust software, and especially not with actual real lives!

    If you have one of these machines, you should update it to the most safe software available just in case, followed by THROWING IT OUT AND NEVER USING IT AGAIN. You absolutely cannot trust that this machine is nonlethal after that update, even if it feels safer at first glance!

  17. There are actual RAT TRAPS that operate using the same basic construct as this "safe" litterbox. (A lot faster for sure, but functionally identical) Legitimately horrifying. There needs to be responsible testing done for robotics and the people designing them need to be trained to at least have a surface understanding of pinch points and general safety. This is so heartbreaking.

  18. I haven't watched past the first few seconds because i genuinely just can't, I dont have any cats, and if I did I don't think I'd have a self cleaning litterbox because I just wouldn't trust it, but the amount of negligence and lack of repercussions to people who do things like this hurts me, and there's so much of it ij the world, just look up #whereisrodri , pets routinely dying in flights, it's heartbreaking, especially if you know the pain of losing a pet, i dont understand why there isn't more done abkut it in a world ofcute animal videos being accessible at the press of a button, shouldn't we as a collective want to protect them? And yet so little change in the legality of murdering or stealing pets, it's disgusting

  19. This is just 1 of the unfortunate outcomes that come from every major retailer enshitifying themselves and becoming a chinese market place. Its even worse when you go into physical locations. Walk into any retail store, especially pet stores, and 90% of the shit they sell is from random ass, no name, incoherent string of letters chinese brands. Ever wonder why every amazon listing the past 5 years for any given search is by a "company" thats just a string of random letters? its because amazon, walmart, petsmart, newegg, etc, all require you to have a company name to sell products under. The easiest and only real long term fix for this, is to do a little research on the things you buy, and actively avoid anything and everything made by chinese companies. Stuff made IN china is basically unavoidable at this point until the whole of the western world wakes the fuck up and decides shit thats actually made well and bought onec is worth more than shit that made poorly and bought every year. But you can still avoid stuff thats made BY china from chinese companies.

  20. As mean as it might sound you should never pull full trust in any company. There first and highest priority is and will always be making money. Even big and respected brands can't be trusted since you could make the simple mistake on calling on a tuesday and get Tod. Tod wants to make everyone suffer so he will do everything he can to do so. You just don't know. Stay safe and do your research.

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