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Kitty Poo Club review: Is this pricey monthly litter box subscription worth the spend?
From one cat owner to another, there's something to be said for starting fresh every month — and that something is a house that doesn't stink.
Cats are the ultimate low-maintenance pets. They sleep most of the day, clean themselves regularly, and do their business in a box. That aforementioned box, though? That's where things get a little gross. No one relishes scooping poop every day (though I still think it's preferable to cleaning up after a dog — I said what I said). Still, that's not my hang-up: Deep cleaning the litter box is.
Maybe you feel my pain: Every few weeks, you get some gloves on, dump the smelly litter, and set to work wiping and chiseling dried-on clumps of nastiness from the sides and bottom of the box. There may be some gagging and swearing involved. (Just me?) At least, that's what I used to do — but not anymore. Enter Kitty Poo Club, the litter box subscription service that means you'll never have to scrub your cat's plastic potty again.
THE VERDICT: Yes, you really can subscribe to everything these days — and if you're a cat owner who wants to keep a lid on litter box odors, this is a convenience that's worth the splurge.
- Convenient
- Great odor control
- Boxes are recyclable
- No deep cleaning necessary
- Several kinds of litter to choose from
- Easy to set up
- Free shipping
- Expensive
- Silica litter can be dusty
Go ahead and laugh. I definitely did when a friend first sang the praises of Kitty Poo Club. Once I got over the name — and the fact that you can actually subscribe to litter boxes — I decided to give it a whirl. That was a couple years ago, and I haven’t regretted it a day since.
Kitty Poo Club ships litter and disposable litter boxes to your doorstep every month. That means no more lugging heavy bags of litter home, and no more last-minute trips to the store because you forgot you were running low. Each box and bag of litter is designed to last about four weeks per cat, which is pretty accurate in my experience.
If you already use a litter that you adore, you can opt for a box-only subscription, but KPC offers five kinds of litter. The main attraction? There's no scrubbing — ever — and the fresh start every month really does help keep smells to a minimum.
The litter box
First, let's talk about these disposable litter boxes. Skeptical? I was too. But they're made of surprisingly sturdy 100% recyclable cardboard, and no, your cats won't destroy them. I have two cats with all their claws, and they've never damaged their boxes. Honestly, I don't think they've ever tried. (Kitty Poo Club says litter boxes are an essential part of your cats' domain, and because of that, they won't tear them to shreds, even if they go to town on cardboard scratchers or Amazon boxes.) And no, your kitties can't pee right through the cardboard because there's a waterproof coating that keeps messes contained.
The boxes ship flat but pop up into their proper form in seconds. All you have to do is put a couple of little plastic rails along the top edges so that they keep their shape — easy. There's a perforated cut-out you can use for a lower entry, but I skip it so my cats can't fling litter onto the floor as easily.
Standard boxes measure 19 by 15 by 10 inches, about the same as a basic plastic box you might pick up at the pet store. Got a more voluptuous feline? There's an extra-large option that measures 22 by 18 by 10 inches. You can also get a compatible dome if you have a particularly enthusiastic litter kicker, a sprayer (I'm so sorry) or your cat just appreciates a little extra privacy.
The litter
Kitty Poo Club offers five kinds of litter: regular silica; fine-grain silica; organic soy; clay; and corn and wheat. I use fine-grain silica, a non-clumping option made up of tiny crystals that absorb urine and make cleaning the box that much easier. You simply scoop the poop and stir the rest. Once all that white silica starts to look more yellow, it's generally time to replace the box and litter. Easy-peasy.
Fair warning: The fine-grain silica is definitely a bit dusty. On the plus side, it's lower tracking than any traditional clumping litter I've tried, and a standard litter mat takes care of most — not all — rogue crystals. For me, it's a fair trade-off. If dust is a deal-breaker for you, KPC says organic soy litter is your best bet, but do be aware that it's a clumping litter. The regular silica may also be less dusty.
The smell
Let's address the elephant-sized cat (cat-sized elephant?) in the room: the smells, or in this case, the lack thereof. This is where Kitty Poo Club really shines. Some of this might be tied to your litter choice — KPC, of course, says all its litters offer "maximum odor control" — but the silica does a fantastic job of keeping those "oh … you have a cat" smells at bay. And since the boxes are disposable, there's no long-term funk that's building up week after week. I might catch a whiff of No. 2 right after the deed is done, but it's short-lived, and I almost never smell cat pee until it's time to change the box.
In fact, I know our setup has influenced at least a couple of visiting cat skeptics. They're seriously considering a feline friend now that they know their house doesn't have to smell like a kitty's business end, overly perfumed litter, or some extra-potent fusion of the two.
The price
There's no sugarcoating it: Convenience is costly. For a box and a bag of litter, you’ll pay $28-$29. I pay $58 for two boxes and two bags of litter every month, which works out to $696 a year. It's not chump change, especially when I consider that I could get a self-scooping Litter Robot for $699. But in that case, I'd still have to pay for the litter (around $40 a month for something comparable) and I'd worry about my fancy bot malfunctioning. Also, I'd be back to the dreaded monthly deep cleaning, and the thought of monitoring my cats' bathroom habits via app? Just ... no. Some things are better off low-tech.
Still, compared with our former bare-bones setup — maybe $20 a month for litter, plus two basic $25 plastic litter boxes that I swapped out every year or so — Kitty Poo Club is more than double the price.
KPC does have a loyalty program that lets you earn points that can be exchanged for occasional discounts, and there’s a 25% discount when you first sign up for automatic shipments. You can also get the boxes without litter for $16 each, or a bag of litter without the box starting at $24. Shipping is free on subscriptions.
The bottom line
One reviewer on Kitty Poo Club's site put it this way: "This is the best way to deal with the worst thing to deal with when you have cats." I wholeheartedly agree. That is, until the masterminds behind Kitty Poo Club roll out Kitty Puke Club, which somehow keeps my cats from leaving regurgitated food and hairballs on my rugs. (Hey, a girl can dream, right?)
Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Also yes.
