REVIEW – I never thought I would be a “cat guy,” but I’ve had Mini for 17 years and loved it, apart from hair everywhere and scooping poop. I’ve used several automated litterboxes and thought the Neakasa M1 was a solid design. Was I right? Please join me for a closer look.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price: $499.99
Where to buy: Neakasa, Amazon
What is it?
The Neakasa M1 is an app-controlled appliance that employs a rotating drum and clumping cat litter to remove cat waste into a drawstring bag, eliminating the need to scoop manually.
What’s included?
- Main unit
- Motorized base
- Litter drum
- Side safety covers
- Expandable waste bin
- Support legs
- 30 trash bags
- Power adapter
- Litter trapping mat
- User manual
- Quick-reference guide
Tech specs
- Model: PS0120
- Rated power: 24 Watts
- Rated Voltage: 12V
- Cat litter maximum capacity: 6.5L
- Waste bin capacity: 11L
- Litter chamber entrance height: 35cm (13.8 in.)
- Operating noise level: 50dB
Design and features
In my cat’s 18-year lifetime, I’ve scooped a lot of poop. Most cat owners would agree it’s not a favorite duty, but it’s a routine that keeps my cat healthy and cuts down on the inevitable “Oh, you have a cat” odors. I’ve been a big fan of automated litterboxes and have used a half dozen designs, including Litter Robot, Cat Genie, and Casa. Knowing that when I can’t be home, the litterbox won’t become “uninviting,” I looked forward to having a gander at Neakasa’s M1.
The M1 arrived in a large, well-packaged box.
The central unit is almost complete. Four legs snap in place, and the waste bin expands, and voila! The entire process took less than three minutes. Nice!
The waste bin tray slides into the central unit.
Drawstring plastic bags line the tray. A quick tug seals waste when it’s full, so there’s no need to touch the yucky stuff. Tabs hold the drawstring in place. It’s an efficient and insightful design. Great job, Neakasa!
The power supply is a wall-wart and plugs into a socket on the side of the M1.
The litter drum is removable by popping the side safety covers off. Latches ensure it stays in place, another commendable design.
The drum only goes in one way. One end engages the motor gear that rotates the drum.
The other end of the drum is securely supported, too.
A grate in the back of the drum sifts litter when the drum rotates. Unclumped material passes through and is temporarily stored. Clumps and solids that are too large to pass slide across the grate, and gravity pulls them into the waste bin.
The front of the M1 has an array of backlit control buttons: On/Off, Clean, Level, Empty, and WiFi.
The inside of the bin has level indications. It’s essential to keep it between 50% and 100%. Neakasa recommends bentonite litter with smaller grains for less waste.
During my tests, I found some litter brands worked better than others. Some were overly sticky, causing globs to stick to the base and grate. The good news is they’re easily removable because of the M1’s open and easy-to-disassemble design. Once I found a compatible litter brand, it essentially eliminated the problem.
A cycle takes about three minutes. My cat took to the M1 immediately. Although she is small, she had no trouble hopping inside.
Speaking of the app, um, where do I start? – A QR code in the app helps find it, and registration is required. The first few times, I could not get a confirmation code from Neakasa and found the software would time out after 60 seconds. It took several hours and multiple attempts to receive the code.
Things didn’t go well here: when I opened the service and privacy terms, my firewall indicated multiple privacy intrusion attempts. After I got the app up and running, I received between 10 and 32 intrusions from China every time I touched the app. Not good. Neakasa is VERY keen to sell me stuff and sell my data. To put it in perspective, I have used hundreds of apps and have never seen this much marketing. It’s essentially spyware. As a result, I will delete the app from my phone shortly after completing this review and will not reinstall it unless they implement changes.
Neakasa, please stop. If someone pays $500 for a litterbox, engaging in these practices is insulting and very unsettling.
Aside from the overt and excessive data mining, the app generally performs well. I can control the M1 remotely and monitor usage with a handy log that records my cat’s weight.
Configuration options include automatic cleaning with a delay after the cat leaves, automatic covering (oscillates the drum to help coat waste with litter), auto leveling, automatic recycling), Kitten mode (for smaller cats), do not disturb, and non-stoppable cycle. I had trouble with the “automatic recycling mode.” It’s supposed to move the drum to the “home” position where the cat can use the M1 if the bin becomes overloaded, but I could not get it to work.
There are some handy reminders for cleaning, emptying, cleaning waste bins, and purchasing litter.
Neakasa includes a mat to help prevent the spread of wayward litter. It opens for easy cleaning and is an excellent addition to the M1.
Final thoughts
The Neakasa M1 Automatic Litter Box operates quietly and efficiently, and the open design allows for simple maintenance. I especially liked the smooth drum operation, and the pull-string bagging is fantastic for keeping my fingers and nose away from my cat’s daily doody. Unfortunately, the app is an intrusive privacy nightmare. If Neakasa cleans up the app and stops trying to exploit my info, the M1 will be my and my cat’s favorite automated litterbox.
What I like about the Neakasa M1 Automatic Litter box
- Solid mechanical design
- Straightforward maintenance
- Quiet operation
- Large waste bin
- Drawstring bags make cleanup easy
What needs to be improved?
- The app is awful. Neakasa, please, please, eliminate the overbearing and intrusive marketing!
- Please fix the ability to reorient the drum so the cat can access the litterbox if the waste bin is full but unable to be emptied.
Price: $499.99
Where to buy: Neakasa, Amazon
Source: Neakasa provided a free sample for this review but did not provide input, guidance, or editing before it was published.
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