We tried an automatic litter box before, and we didn't like it. We have 4 cats, so it was in cleaning cycle a lot. One time it was stuck in its cleaning cycle over and over, we think something got on the sensor. Also, the litter is too shallow for our crew that likes to dig. We use 2 litter boxes for our 4 cats. I clean them both each day. If we go away for a day or so, we put out a third litter box.