How Crystal Litter Works With The Litter Robot

Why I decided to use crystals with the Litter-Robot

Since I got the Litter-Robot in 2015 I have always used clumping clay litter since it’s the type of cat litter the manufacturer recommends. I have been experimenting with numerous brands of clumping cat litters trying to achieve the best performance of this unit. However, I have received questions from my readers about how the crystal litter would work with this rotating system. The manufacturer states that as long as the crystal litter is fine enough to go through the screen it should work, so I decided to try it.

Why crystal litter?

Some cat owners have been using this type of litter with their traditional litter boxes since forever, and when they think about getting the Litter-Robot they don’t want to switch to clumping clay litter. Why? Well, crystal litter is very unique, it really keeps odors controlled, it’s lightweight and easy to scoop.

What are the crystals made of?

Crystal litter is made with super absorbent non-toxic silica gel microcrystals. Silica is a natural mineral found in stone, sand, and soil. Silica is the short name for Silicon Dioxide.

Brand Of Crystals I used: Soft On Paws Micro-Crystals

There were various options but I knew I had to pick a crystal litter that is fine so it can go through the Litter Robot’s screen. So I chose the brand Soft On Paws Ultra Micro Crystals with a pink package. To my surprise, the crystal litter’s texture was not similar to sand (I was expecting something like that) but more like sea salt.

How the Litter-Robot works with Soft On Paws Micro Crystals vs clumping clay litter

What I noticed using crystal litter and the difference regarding the typical clumping clay cat litter:

Dust level

When I poured the crystal litter inside the Litter-Robot I noticed it created dust in the air, but not dust like the clumping litter that’s just annoying, I am talking dusty to the point I was coughing and I could breathe that dust expanded in the whole laundry room. It was bad. I don’t know if this is the case with this brand or if all crystal litters are the same. I did my research and I found out that other crystal litter brands are not so different, they create quite a bit of dust in the air.

Litter weight

The crystal litter is much more lightweight in comparison to clumping litter. As a reference, a cup of clumping litter weighs an average of 280g. A cup of crystal litter weighs 122g. As the silica is so lightweight it’s much easier to scoop it and in the case of the Litter-Robot rotation, the litter slides much easier. If you pour crystal litter up to the full line there’s no problem with the activation, it works. This means the fact that the crystal litter is lighter than clay litter doesn’t affect the activation of the sensor underneath.

Clumping properties

I noticed the clumping property of the crystal litter is as good as the clay-type litter. The urine forms round well-sealed clumps that slide with no problem during the cleaning cycle. It clumps pretty fast too. However, sometimes when the litter clump reaches the opening to be dumped into the waste drawer, sometimes it breaks up a little, but not too much. This fact is not a big deal because these tiny particles that may not go into the waste compartment don’t cause odors, the good thing about silica crystals is the capacity to absorb odor to the point of eliminating it.

Odor control

Even though I have never had a smelling Litter Robot, I have to say that crystal litter is famous for its capacity to absorb odors and there is a difference when opening the waste drawer.

Cleanliness of the Litter Robot’s rubber bottom

Oh boy! This is the best point of using crystal litter instead of clumping clay litter. When the Robot starts the rotation you can see at the bottom there’s nothing stuck to it, NOTHING! The bottom rubber is totally clean. This means you will have to clean the Globe less often if using crystal litter instead of clumping litter. This was pretty shocking to me. Even though I use a good clumping litter that usually doesn’t create too much dirt at the bottom, the fact that the crystals leave almost zero print of the litter clump is amazing.

Video of crystal cat litter and how the Litter-Robot works

Pros of Using Soft On Paws Crystal Litter on the Litter Robot

These are the pros I found when using crystal litter, specifically the brand “Soft On Paws Micro Ultra Crystals”:

Pros

• Odor control is good
• As crystal litter is more lightweight, sliding during rotation is much easier, and the motor works less.
• Clumping properties are as good as regular clumping clay litter.
• The litter clumps don’t stick to the rubber bottom of the Litter-Robot, after each cleaning cycle, the bottom looks clean (this is fantastic).
• The Litter Robot’s screen separates clean litter from clumps with no issues when using crystals.
• You don’t need to put more crystal litter inside the Litter-Robot to make the sensor work, up to the full line works well.

Cons

• The dust it creates could be unbearable for some people and for cats.
• Some cats may not use the Litter-Robot if they can’t get over the change of the type of litter.

My Conclusion

Soft On Paws Micro Crystal litter absolutely can be used with the Litter-Robot and it works well. The odor control is really good and it seems like the motor stresses less during cleaning rotation due to how lightweight the crystal litter is. The crystal litter clumps fast and with well-sealed litter clumps, they don’t break down when sliding into the waste compartment. Some tiny residues may go back into the litter bed but that happens also with clumping clay litter.

The main and only “con” is the dust it creates, I couldn’t handle it. My cat practically used the Litter-Robot about three or four times, but when I saw her digging the crystal litter the last time and I saw how much dust was in the air, that was it for me. For this reason, the rest of my experiment was recreating cat urine with the syringe, and also placing my cat’s feces in the crystal litter, and doing manual cleaning cycles (my cat used the alternative litter box during this period).

Bottom Line

Micro-type crystal litter, which is pulverized crystals made into a sandy type cat litter, works well with the Litter-Robot and I would recommend it only if you can find a brand that guarantees it doesn’t create too much dust. From what I researched, most silica crystal litters create dust but you never know. It’s worth trying to find a better option than I did. Do it for your cat’s health (and yours!).

Testing Fresh Step Crystals With The Litter Robot 4

After I wrote my article about how Soft On Paws Micro crystal litter works with the Litter Robot and had a conclusion that it works but it’s too dusty I received some comments. A couple of people asked me to review Fresh Step crystal litter with the Litter Robot so I purchased a bag to test it. I bought “Fresh Step Crystals Just Scoop & Stir”. Here’s my review:

My Review of Fresh Step Just Scoop & Stir With The Litter Robot 4

Dust Level

When I poured Fresh Step crystals onto the Litter Robot 4 it didn’t create much dust, but it did create some. The dust crystals create is kind of dry, it goes directly into the nose if you are close enough. But the little dust it created was nothing in comparison to Soft On Paws that I tested previously. It didn’t cause any issues with me, no cough, nothing.

Litter Weight

Fresh Step Crystal Litter Just Scoop & Stir is lightweight, you need to pour almost half of a bag to fill the Litter Robot up to the max line. When cat litter is lightweight means it creates more scattering, but nothing that a good mat can’t solve.

Clumping Properties

My test with Fresh Step was a failure because I bought this specific type that is not clumping so it didn’t work. I poured fake cat urine twice, the second time I poured a lot of liquid, trying to create a clump, to no avail. The Robot rotated but couldn’t dump anything since no clump was formed. The crystals slid all along the globe and returned to the initial point. This means that with real cat urine, the dirty crystals would be back onto the bottom of the globe.

Odor Control

I didn’t get to test the odor control since this type of crystal litter didn’t work with the Litter Robot so I didn’t use it with my cat. But I know crystals offer very good odor control, especially with cat urine.

Conclusion

Fresh Step Just Scoop & Stir doesn’t work with the Litter Robot 4. Plain and simple. All in all, if you want to use this type of crystal litter with the Litter Robot it will be a failure because I could demonstrate that this type of crystal litter doesn’t work, due to its inability to form crystal clumps. My video and testing could be a good help in case you already use this crystal litter with your traditional litter box and you are wondering if this type works with the Litter Robot. After my research, I realized that the only type of clumping crystal litter is the micro-crystal type cat litter. So if you want to use crystals with the Litter Robot you need to get micro crystals. I will keep researching to find a good crystal litter to use with the Litter Robot.