Mats, liners and accessories

Most of this category is optional and some of it is counterproductive. Two items genuinely earn their place, one is a hidden running cost you should check before buying a machine, and the rest you can skip.

Worth buying

A large, deep-textured litter mat

Tracking happens in the first couple of steps after the box, so the mat has to be big enough that the cat cannot clear it in one stride. That is the specification that matters, and it is the one most mats fail. Deep texture or a double layer that traps granules underneath beats a flat rubber sheet by a wide margin. This applies just as much to automatic boxes: they remove waste, not paw prints.

A ramp, if the step-up is high

The CATLINK entrance sits at 35.5cm, and CATLINK sells a ramp set separately, which is a reasonable sign they know it is a barrier. For an older, smaller or arthritic cat a ramp is the difference between a box that gets used and an expensive ornament. Budget for it up front rather than after the cat has refused.

A sealed litter bin

For a flat or a small house, a sealed bin for used litter does more for the air than any hood, deodoriser or scented litter. It is also the cheapest thing on this page.

The liner question, which is not an accessory question

In a manual tray liners are a genuine convenience and a genuine annoyance in equal measure: they speed up a full change and they tear when a cat digs. Generic multi-packs from the general retailers do the same job as branded ones.

Skip these

• Litter deodorisers and scented additives. They add a smell rather than removing one, and they can drive a sensitive cat out of the box. Odour control explains what does work.
• Air fresheners next to the box. They mask the early warning that the box needs attention.
• Hood-and-flap kits bought to solve a smell problem. They contain smell where the cat has to stand. More on enclosures.
• Novelty scoops. A scoop is a scoop. If you have an automatic box you barely need one at all.

What an automatic box makes redundant

Sifting inserts, most odour products and the daily scoop itself all become unnecessary, which is the actual value of the category. What carries over unchanged is the mat, the sealed bin, and the need to empty something about once a week. If you are pricing an automatic box against your current setup, those are the lines that stay in the budget.

Common questions

Do litter mats actually work?

The good ones do, and they are among the few accessories worth buying. A deep-textured or double-layer mat catches litter off the paws in the step or two after the box, which is where nearly all tracking happens. Thin rubber-backed mats do very little. Size matters more than material: a mat the cat can step over is a mat that does nothing.

Are litter box liners worth using?

In a manual tray, they make cleaning easier and they tear on claws, which is roughly a wash. In an automatic box, the liner question is not optional and not cosmetic: two of the three main brands require their own, and that requirement is the largest ongoing cost in the category. Check it before you buy the machine, not after.

What accessories does an automatic litter box make unnecessary?

Scoops, sifting inserts and most odour products, because the box removes waste within minutes rather than trapping it. What it does not replace is the mat, since cats track litter out of an automatic box exactly as they do out of a tray, and a ramp if the step-up is high for your cat.