Popur S7 Review
Automatic litter boxes - should you get one for your cat? I say the short answer is yes, provided your cat has relatively tame and predictable toileting behaviour. Especially if you have more than one (mostly indoor) cat, I believe having an automatic box is definitely a lifestyle upgrade you should invest in.
It's a bit like comparing an electric washing machine to scrubbing clothes manually in a tub. Electric appliances are the future, although automatic litterboxes are surprisingly still an emerging work in progress. To help you decide, I recommend checking out the detailed automatic litter box reviews by OneManFiveCats - except since he has an aversion to Popur, I've written my own review of the S7 to fill the gap. I will update this review as time passes to document how the S7 has held up with prolonged use.
For context, I'm catering for two older long haired cats - a Ragdoll and a very fluffy tuxedo (domestic long hair). They both appear rather large because their puffy fur coat transforms them into voluminous clouds. They don't like touching dirty litter and often don't cover their business. Both have a tendency to pee at the outer corners of the litter box. Occasionally the tuxedo goes right outside the box if she feels that the litter isn't clean when she enters it. The Ragdoll intermittently suffers from digestive issues which results in soft or runny poop, typically when he eats a new wet or dry food.
If your cat displays unusual toileting behaviour, you might need to employ some specific solutions in order to make using an automatic litter box worthwhile. For example, if your cat pees high or enjoys digging, then you may have to attach higher guards or walls onto your unit.
There are a range of advantages and disadvantages to consider when upgrading to an automatic litter box:
Pros
- Cat is presented with clean litter every time, waste not left behind to step in.
- Waste deposits are cleaned after each visit, not left to accumulate or waft odour.
- Litter stays cleaner for longer, and less is used up or wasted while using an automatic box.
- Space may be at a premium, so one litter box can adequately service multiple cats.
- Frequency of waste deposits counted, cat weight monitored on some models, which may alert to health issues.
Cons
- Safety issues or pinch points for bold cats which are not afraid to interfere with electronic moving parts in action.
- Cleaning of hard to reach parts, nooks and crannies, especially if urine leaks or poop smearing occurs. Possible damage to electrical components.
- Multiple possible failure points, such as sensors or motors, especially on high-tech models.
- Constant maintenance or babysitting of machines which rely on steady internet connection, apps or constant human intervention. May be more work than using a manual box depending on the particular toileting behaviours of your cats.
- Cat may be afraid of machines and become frightened of using the box or begin toileting elsewhere in unwanted locations.
The first automatic box I tried was a similar design to the PetMarvel box. It was on discount and cost me AUD $255 in October 2023 from a website called Supermarcat. It was too big to fit in the laundry I had at the time, and by the time I got the unit up and running, the wifi and app were no longer functional. It was a rotating barrel type box, which is a superior design to the alternative forced rake box. While it did a good job separating the waste from the clean litter (provided the clumps didn't stick to the liner), the inside quickly started to smell once waste started getting in all the gaps between the barrel, bin and outer shell. The outside of the barrel became soaked in a nasty coating of waste which was very difficult to regularly clean. The cats also clearly did not like the enclosed space available inside the unit, and would sometimes leave deposits half outside the unit, which resulted in urine leaking into gaps through the drawer below. It did a good job scooping waste from the clean litter, but the bin drawer underneath the barrel was not sealed and always emitted a bad smell. The litter tray was also quite shallow, and required constant manual top ups. Pee clumps would stick to the corners of the tray, and would not always dislodge even after using a weighted shake off mechanism. The waste drawer would also fill up in one spot, which would require you to move the existing waste around to make more room for more.
The key with litter automation is that the optimised way to separate waste from clean litter is to gently pour all of it through a sifter. Manual scooping or forcing a rake through the litter tends to result in clumps breaking up and contaminating the rest of the litter bed. Another consideration is an enclosed or open style design, and I believe most cats prefer an open box with more head room. My cats are fluffy and do not enjoy getting litter dust in their long fur.
There are a few no brand automatic litter boxes which are said to have injured or even killed cats in rare cases. Most of these dangerous units seem to use up-down rotating barrels or trays, where pinch points exist without spaces for a stuck cat escape.
Most notably, Neakasa modified a turning gear to prevent overturning on the M1, as the issue was a known hazard.
Of the well known automatic litter boxes on the market currently, the Litter Robot 4 is widely considered to be the best unit available. I seriously considered buying it, but the base product costs AUD $1575 plus an additional $305 for the hopper. My reasons for not choosing to go with the Litter Robot 4 were as follows:
- over double the price of other brands (in Australia)
- many potential failure points (sensors, barrel) which appear difficult to clean or replace
- closed barrel design with small, shallow litter tray
After previously trying out a cheaper barrel type model, I eventually decided on an open top unit instead. There are currently very few well known choices of open type boxes on the market - I had to choose between the Neakasa M1 or the Popur. Given the previous safety issue reported with Neakasa, and Popur's split litter bin design - I ultimately went with the new Popur S7.
Our Popur S7 Experience:
I pre-ordered in early November and received my S7 just before Christmas 2025. I first tested the cleaning cycle by pressing the play button on the unit, which it did successfully. But after I added litter and connected the unit to the app, I got the 'bin unfound' status and the purple status light spinning continuously - I could not get the unit to move again. Resetting the app, deleting the app and reinstalling, updating the app/unit, turning off and on, locking/moving the bins, holding down the keys to reset, and granting the app permissions, would not fix this issue for me. Apparently this was an issue with the app update destroying the motherboard.
Popur support was prompt and responsive, they sent out a new board, which got the S7 working again after we replaced it. I was issued a 10% refund for my trouble, so the Popur S7 ended up costing me a total of AUD $740. I will probably also need to buy the higher guard (AUD $60) if my cat keeps peeing over the wall.
Positives
- It performs well as an automatic box - it filters the waste from the clean litter, and moves it into the sealed bin. This is the primary function of automated litter, and it simply does the job.
- It is designed so that the filtered waste only touches the rake, which is more hygienic and minimises cleaning - few hard to reach parts.
- Deep litter bed means the S7 does not require frequent manual litter top ups, and this also prevents waste sticking to the bottom of the tray. I have also set my clean cycle time to 15 minutes to allow for the clumps to dry before they are dumped.
- It works even without the app or an internet connection.
- The bin is separate from the rest of the unit, and seals the waste inside effectively, preventing odour.
- Once set up, eliminates the need to manually scoop daily and instead only requires you to empty and line the bin once it becomes full. Occasionally you will need to check that it is clean and still working correctly.
- App has various sensitivity and modes which allow you to personalise the behaviour of the unit. Since my cats don't like to bury their deposits, the automatic burying function has been useful in reducing odour and aiding the litter clumping around all the waste.
Negatives
- The unit sometimes does not register the cats going in the outer corner of the box, and doesn't automatically cycle after they leave. It will also sometimes cycle if we walk or move past it. The unit appears to use motion sensors to detect cats instead of sensing weight, which would be a lot more accurate in detecting visits.
- Since both the cats tend to pee in the outer corners, the liner looks like it's soaking through in those areas. Popur support has confirmed it will be sending out improved liners in January to rectify this. Some users also recommend using good grade silicone spray to seal the liner. I haven't resorted to this yet, as my cat's clumps have dislodged automatically after a few cleaning cycles.
- Occasionally, pee clumps stay stuck in the box corners and don't get dumped out during the cleaning cycle. This also sometimes causes the cat to pee outside the box, as she attempts to avoid stepping in dirty litter. The corner clumps do eventually empty out on their own after a few cleaning cycles, but the litter doesn't stay clean until they do.
- Bits of litter get stuck in the rake grill after cycling. They do appear to fall off on their own after a few cleaning cycles, but they get replaced by new litter pieces.
- Fairly squeaky and somewhat noisy when cleaning. I haven't removed the rubber strip yet, as some users have recommended to reduce the squeaking sound. The loudest part of the cleaning cycle appears to be the sound of litter pouring into the holding tray though, so it's not overly loud.
- The rake levelling system after the cleaning cycle seems a little clunky. Unlike barrel type boxes which rotate the pan to level the litter bed, the Popur uses a rake to dig into the litter ramp scoop it forward, which appears to take more time and effort than it needs to.
- App is still under development and is very bare bones at the moment. Many more advanced box functions are not active yet.
