PETKIT Purobot Ultra Automatic Litter Box Review

PETKIT Purobot Ultra Automatic Litter Box and cat

Katelynn Sobus / Cats.com

The Purobot Ultra features facial recognition and a comprehensive phone app, with the goal of monitoring your cat’s litter habits and detecting health issues early. PETKIT makes lofty promises about the product, but does it hold up to testing?

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Ratings

Ease of Cleaning – 4.5/5
Odor Control – 4.5/5
Appearance – 5/5
Construction – 3/5
Price – 2/5

Overall Score: 3.8/5

To find out, I purchased and tested the Purobot Ultra for over six weeks. Keep reading for my honest review.

Why Trust Cats.com

Katelynn Sobus / Cats.com

I’m a lifelong cat owner with seven senior rescue cats of my own. I know how tiresome it is to scoop litter boxes every day, and I’ve tried a number of automatic litter boxes to help reduce the work on my part.

When reviewing automatic litter boxes like the Purobot Ultra, I consider my cats’ reactions, how well the machine is constructed, and whether it really does as it says. In this case, that’s making cleaning the litter box hassle-free and tracking your cat’s litter habits using facial recognition technology.

Purobot Ultra Automatic Litter Box and PETKIT Overview

Katelynn Sobus / Cats.com

PETKIT was founded in 2013 with the goal of using technology to improve the lives of pet parents and the welfare of their pets. Their goal is to release a new pet product every year, ranging from dog leashes to cat litter boxes. They sell automatic feeders, water fountains, pet cameras, and more.

The Purobot Ultra was released in 2024. It’s a smart litter box with a camera and microphone to help you monitor your cats’ habits and interact while you’re not at home. It also has connectivity to an app with several health monitoring features.

Purobot Ultra Automatic Litter Box Features

The shining feature of the Purobot Ultra is that it comes with a camera and facial recognition technology. However, PETKIT doesn’t mention that the technology is in beta testing until you download the app. This was disappointing to see, since this is the main feature of an expensive product.

Another main feature is “stool image check-ups.” In the product listing, PETKIT makes it look like a separate camera will scan your cat’s feces and their AI technology will run a health check-up to tell you whether it appears healthy. However, the reality is that there is only one camera, and photos are taken from afar for you to view later. The “health check-up” includes images of various types of stool for you to compare, with no data on your cat’s actual stool.

These features are the reasons most people will choose to spend more on this litter box, so it’s disappointing that neither are accurate. However, the Purobot Ultra does have some additional features that work well. These include automatic waste packaging, a light within the box that can be turned on and off, a setting that covers your cat’s waste before scooping, and a comprehensive app that’s easy to navigate. The camera also allows you to see, hear, and talk to your cat throughout the day.

It also comes with several safety sensors and a front that’s always open, even during scooping. This ensures that your cat won’t get stuck inside of the machine, even if the sensors fail.

With the Purobot Ultra, you can set a cleaning schedule or turn auto-cleaning off altogether. The app alerts you when your cat is within sight of the camera, so you’ll always know when to set the machine to scoop.

The litter box comes with two sifters, the larger of which is designed for tofu litter. You also get two N60 pet odor eliminators, a set of auto-refilling waste bags, and even a cute sticker set.

You do have to buy PETKIT’s refill rings when the waste bags run out, which are sold in a 4-pack for over $10 per refill ring. The litter box itself is also incredibly expensive compared to other models, and the technology is too faulty to justify the price in my opinion.

What We Like:

Trash basin keeps odors sealed away and features automatic waste packaging for easy clean-up
Includes several unique features, including facial recognition, the ability to cover waste before scooping, and a light on the interior of the box
Several safety sensors and an always-open drum keep your cat safe while using the litter box
Includes two sifters designed for clay or tofu litter
The design of the box makes deep cleaning simple and fast compared to other automatic litter boxes

What We Didn’t Like:

Facial recognition isn’t always accurate
Stool image check-ups don’t work as advertised
Due to automatic waste packaging, you have to buy the refill rings from PETKIT rather than your own trash bags
The trash bags in the refill kits are thin and tear easily
Some app features require a monthly subscription service

What Did Our Test Cats Think?

Katelynn Sobus / Cats.com

The Purobot Ultra was easy to assemble and didn’t give me any trouble connecting to my internet or the app. The only issue I had was that the litter box isn’t meant to be set up on carpet. Since I didn’t have hard floors to place it on, I turned the auto-scoop feature off for safety purposes.

Similarly to every automatic litter box I’ve tried so far, my smaller cats used it while my larger cats didn’t. Interestingly, I could see a couple of the bigger cats check it out on the camera, but they didn’t go inside.

I set the app to notify me every time my cats were within sight, and the videos were fun to watch. I could see not only cats using the box, but passing beside it to get to the window sill.

Katelynn Sobus / Cats.com

The app provides a short clip alongside a longer playback. However, in order to see the full playback, you have to buy PETKIT Care+, a monthly subscription service. PETKIT Care+ is also required to view activity from previous days in the app, though you can download them on the same day if you want them for your records.

At first the facial recognition seemed to work well, consistently identifying my cat Frick (who used the litter box most often). However, it did mix up two of my cats, Junior and Frick, who unfortunately look nothing alike. I hadn’t uploaded Junior’s photo to the app as I didn’t expect her to use the box, but when she walked past and faced the camera, it mistook her for Frick. This is a big oversight, since she’s a long-haired calico while he’s a short-haired buff tabby.

The app also tracks your cat’s bathroom habits and tells you how many times they’ve used the litter box. Since my cats all prefer regular litter boxes, this wasn’t as useful to me as it would be if the Purobot Ultra were the only litter box in the house. That said, we always recommend that cat owners keep more than one litter box in the home, even while using an automatic litter box.

When it comes to the scooping itself, the Purobot Ultra did a great job. It even has a feature that covers your cat’s waste for them, in case they don’t like to bury their own poop.

The litter box also automatically seals your cat’s waste, so all you have to do is pick up the bag from inside of the trunk and throw it away. However, the bags are quite thin and tear easily, especially if they’re very full.

The machine was simple to take apart and put back together. Deep cleaning is made easy with a variety of features, including tabs to easily remove the sifter and drum liner and litter collection trays beneath the trash and drum. However, I did have to take my vacuum to some litter that leaked out around the edges of the trunk. As can be expected, the interior of the drum was also dirty and needed a wipe down.

The only problem I encountered during cleaning was when trying to automatically refill the trash bag. I think it mistook the full bag nearby for a cat, so I had to move that before it would complete.

Overall, my experience with the Purobot Ultra was a positive one, but due to the technical issues, particularly with the facial recognition and stool image check-ups, it’s just not worth the hefty price tag.

What Do Customers Think of the Purobot Ultra?

Positive Reviews

“I have been had it for two weeks. My cats all love it and felt comfortable to use it! It took some space but it is worth it. It would automatically clean every time after a cat used it and collected the waste in the bin. We’ve been obsessed with the video records of them used the cat litter box lol..” – by Annie, on Amazon, September 1, 2025

“My cat adjusted right away. It’s very quiet, and the odor control is excellent. I don’t need to scoop anything, and the waste bin holds plenty. The self-cleaning is smooth and mess-free.” – by Hanfeng Cai, on Amazon, July 15, 2025

Reviewers say that being able to track their cats’ litter habits gives them peace of mind. They also like the easy maintenance, lack of odor, and that the machine seals the trash bags automatically.

Negative Reviews

“If I could give this zero stars I would. It worked well for the first 24 hours but hasn’t worked since. PETKIT has been zero help. Amazon’s assistance is a joke. Don’t waste your money. I have a litter box from 2 years ago that works perfectly from the same company. They’ve somehow gone completely downhill in that time.” – by Katie S, on Amazon, August 23, 2025

“I was very disappointed with the Petkit Purobot Ultra. First, the package arrived with missing items. Second, the box itself does not fully rotate as it should, which makes the cleaning function unreliable. But the biggest problem is the camera, it simply does not work at all. Even after following all the installation steps and troubleshooting, the app keeps saying the camera is not plugged in.” – by GLUE, on Amazon, August 22, 2025

With only 91 total ratings on Amazon and one on Chewy, there aren’t many negative reviews for the Purobot Ultra. However, customers have experienced issues with the size of the litter box, missing parts and hardware malfunctions, as well as poor customer service. Even in positive reviews, cat parents note that the litter box is bulky and might not fit in everyone’s home.