Popur S7 Review

 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.

*** Popur S7 Review - 6 Month Update ***

We have now been using the Popur S7 exclusively for 6 months, and my verdict so far is this:

It's pretty great at auto-cleaning litter.

If you want something that cleans litter, doesn't smell much, and needs minimal cleaning or maintenance - I think it would be hard to get better than the S7. But if your priority is to have your cat weighed, tracked or recorded - pick something else (or wait to see if Popur ever gets around to adding those features). Or set up a cheap Wyze camera and plug it in next to your Popur S7 for DIY monitoring.

What kind of cats do we have?

Two large, long haired varieties. Both over 10 years old, one is a male Ragdoll and the other a DLH.

They like peeing in corners, one stands up and sprays high. The Ragdoll is prone to the occasional sloppy poop and a bit of digging. The DLH doesn't bury anything and runs off as soon as possible.

I changed over the original liner to the newer version I was sent, and treated both liners with waterproofing Weatherguard fabric spray before future use. And the litter doesn't stick to the sides of the liner anymore! Whether that's due to the wrinkly material or the different surface on the newer liner, I'm not certain. But the biggest issue I previously had with the S7 is no longer a problem.

Some advantages of the S7 are:

- I have not had to scoop any litter at all since the S7 has been up and running.

- The rake is the only part of the machine that touches the dirty litter. It rarely gets messy, and if it does, a wipe down is all it needs. If your cat pees high, you'll also need to wipe down the sides of the box. Aside from that, I have only needed to top up litter and change the waste bag. 

- The liner did not leak at all, and there doesn't appear to be any other places where urine could leak through. When I changed out the original liner with the newer liner after 6 months of use, the box underneath it was completely dry and free of litter debris.

- The bin is totally separate and sealed. You'll only smell the waste inside when the lid briefly opens for a cleaning cycle. Baking soda in the bottom of the bin cuts down on smell too. The bin also has a large capacity of 11L, which holds up to two weeks of waste for our two cats. However, the app only shows the bin as 'empty' or 'full' with no in between status for us. You may need to watch the waste levels and push out any uneven clump hills to ensure the bin does not overfill and dump litter on the floor.

- Multiple cat households will really appreciate having one litter box instead of several. It's also much cleaner and takes up less overall space, despite having a fairly large footprint. The open design means large and fluffy cats will be more likely to use it over an enclosed unit, although the litter area is a bit narrow.

- Popur support is responsive and all parts can be purchased online, in case of faults or other issues. You can also buy optional extras such as a high guard or bin bags, or alternatively, use DIY substitutes such as cake collar fences or generic large garbage bags.

Some disadvantages of the S7 are:

- If clumps fall on the outer edges of the rake during a cleaning, they can drop off and land back in the clean litter section. Usually these get dumped out into the bin during thr next cleaning cycle. On rare occasions, these stray clumps can even miss both the bin and the litter box, ending up on the floor next to the unit.

- If your cats like using only one of the box corners, clumps will unevenly accumulate at the end section of the bin. This means you will need to occasionally push that pile outwards with a spatula to avoid the bin being filled prematurely in one section.

- One of our cats likes to pee high, so we added on the higher guard. She then refused to climb over it into the litter bed, so we had to use the box and packaging the guard came in as a step.

- The Popur S7 unit does not pause when motion is detected, unless the 'Sentinel' setting is manually turned on. We have not tested this safety feature and have never tested it, as the S7 does not have anywhere for a cat to get stuck. If your cat likes to poke or jump onto moving machines, be cautious when selecting auto-boxes. Most cats have the instinct not to go towards moving parts or machines. Our cats will not go into the litter box if it is moving, but some cats (and especially kittens) can be fearless to their own detriment.

- Sometimes the unit doesn't register if one of the cats uses it. Could be due to that cat spending less than 10 seconds in the box, being lighter in weight, or black.

Cat detection did improve a little by setting the number to 8 or 9 on the app's sensitivity setting. The auto-bury and 10 minute delay settings have have been working well.

- The unit does occasionally get stuck at various points during a cleaning cycle (usually as the box tips 90 degrees or as the rake is flattening the litter bed), but unplugging and then holding the reset button for 3 beeps always fixes this issue for us. It's more prone to doing this if it is interrupted somehow during a cleaning cycle. Cats won't be able to use the box of this occurs, so be sure to check on your unit once a day.

- It can be somewhat noisy when going through a cleaning cycle. WD40 along the middle gear (and pulling off the purple rubber strip on earlier models) can make it a bit quieter, but the sound of falling litter will always be there whenever it tips.