Luuup Litter Box Review : Updated for 2023

Is the Luuup litter box really “the last litter box you will ever need”?

Because it’s a central part of your cat’s life, it’s important to choose a great litter box – one that’s attractive, easy to clean, and comfortable for your cat to use. While most people stick with the standard litter pan, others need something a little bit more innovative. If you’re someone seeking a stylish and ultra-functional litter box, the revolutionary Luuup may have piqued your interest.

This three-layer sifting litter box promises to complement your home decor and make your litter scoop obsolete. But does it really work?

Both before and after co-founding Luuup, Dini Petty has seldom moved far from the spotlight.

This Canadian traffic reporter was the first female in the business to pilot her own helicopter and later hosted her own afternoon talk show. In the 1990’s, during the days of the Dini Petty show, Petty was the first investor in a new three-level sifting litter box. This innovative design saw some As-Seen-on-TV popularity, but sales eventually slowed and the sifting box drifted into obscurity.

Almost twenty years later, Petty and her son decided to bring the box to a new market, working together to redesign and relaunch the product. After a historically popular crowdfunding campaign that broke records as the first-ever pet product to exceed $1 million in funding on Kickstarter, the three-level sifting litter box re-emerged as the Luuup.

How does the Luuup litter box work?

Unlike other sifting litter boxes that involve back-and-forth transfer between a sifting tray and two standard litter pans, the Luuup litter box uses three slotted boxes that form a perpetual sifting loop.

Here’s a video showing how the Luuup litter box works.

Because the pans are stacked in alternating directions, the slotted boxes form a solid base that safely contains the litter until you’re ready to sift. When you lift out the top tray, unused litter drains through the slots and into the litter pan below. Once clean litter has been separated from the soiled clumps, you’ll dump the clumps, rotate the pan, and place it at the bottom of the stack. The interlocking tabs and raised edges of each tray make it easy to ensure that you’ve stacked the trays correctly.

How big is the Luuup litter box?

Remember that you’re usually advised to choose a litter box that measures 1.5 times the length of your cat and is as wide as your cat is long.

The Luuup litter box measures 15.4 x 20.2 x 5.2 inches. When you add the spill guard, the depth increases to 7.5”. This box is best suited to small or medium-sized cats, while your Maine Coon or lanky Savannah will likely feel cramped in such a small space.

What is the best cat litter to use with the Luuup Litter Box?

Luuup recommends that you use premium clumping or crystal cat litter.

Because it’s ultra-absorbent and doesn’t have the sticking issues associated with clumping litter, silica gel crystals are a particularly popular and effective choice for Luuup users.

The company recommends Arm & Hammer Slide, World’s Best Cat Litter, Tidy Cats 24/7 Performance, and Pretty Litter, noting that most clumping pine and wheat litter doesn’t work well with the Luuup.

The Luuup isn’t compatible with any non-clumping or pellet litter, so don’t expect to pair it with Yesterday’s News, Feline Pine pellets, or standard non-clumping clay.

What do customers think of the Luuup litter box?

On their site, the Luuup litter box has 3,502 customer reviews and a 4.5 out of 5 star rating.

Note that other similar sifting litter boxes like the Arm & Hammer Large Sifting Litter Pan and Van Ness Sifting Litter Pan have 3.8 and 3.3 out of 5 star ratings, respectively on Amazon.

You’ll notice a different pattern on the product page on the Luup website, where positive reviews predominate. 5-star ratings represent 79% of all 3,502 reviews on the Luuup website.

One Luuup customer on Amazon describes this as the “Best litter box EVER. SERIOUSLY.”

“This is so easy to clean. I sift, dump the clumped litter into trash and then quickly rinse and dry (I keep paper towels in the bathroom) then rotate the tray to bottom. I add more litter as needed every three changes or so. No smell at all, ever. I use Arm & Hammer Multi Cat clumping litter”

Amazon user Thera99 is “going back to a normal litter box” after a disappointing experience with the Luuup.

“After a year and a half of giving this litter box, my very best effort, I have officially declared that I have had enough.

Pros: It looks nice.

You truly have a clean box after every use and believe me, that feels really good.

You don’t have a dirty scoop laying around.

Cons: The box is LOW so litter scratchers make a terrible mess.

In order to keep the urine from sinking through the litter and getting stuck into the grating (which need to be cleaned using cat friendly wipes

like dental floss), you need to fill the box until you can’t see any white below the green rim. This leads to the following problems:

-The cats make even more mess because there are literally about 2 inches above the litter line.

-The litter box is so heavy that you have to have a very strong back and arms to heft it around.

-When you remove the rim, more litter falls on the floor.

-The worst problem and the one that has me giving up on the thing is that the cats are standing on such a high pile of litter that they pee

and poo on the floor outside of the box on a regular basis.

If you do decide to give it a try, make sure you have paper towels on hand to wipe the clumps of litter off the sides of the box (and I used the litter the company recommends), cat-friendly wipes to scrub the dried on litter/urine from the sides and to feed through the slats if the urine gets down to them, a scooper to move litter to the sides of the box in the hopes of keeping the urine from sticking to the sides and a vacuum or dust pan right there to clean up all the litter on the floor.

Click here to read more reviews of the Luuup litter box on their website.

What’s great about the Luuup litter box?

It has a beautiful design.

The Luuup founders explain on their site that “our first design challenge was creating a litter box that was both functional and stylish.” The result is an attractive, curvaceous litter box with an appealing aquamarine-and-cream color palette – a long shot from the average litter box’s primary colors and uninspired design.

If everything goes right, it can free you from daily scooping and make your job easier.

The sifting design of the Luuup can help to take some of the struggle out of cleaning your cat’s litter box. If you pair it with the right litter in the right quantity, the Luuup is a low-hassle litter box solution.

What is the Luuup doing wrong?

On the Luuup’s home page, the company claims that “with our perpetual sifting system you’ll be done in seconds with less mess and more ease.”

This promise and the $49.95 price tag make customers expect little less than a litter box miracle. But instead of keeping its promise of an almost effortless litter box cleaning experience, the Luuup leaves most customers more frustrated than they were with their standard litter pan.

It’s a sticky sifter.

Although the box has an anti-stick antimicrobial coating and curved edges designed to prevent litter from sticking to the walls, sticking is a major issue for the Luuup.

Urine can seep through the litter, fusing to the sides and bottom. Sometimes it cakes in the slots. Not only does this necessitate using a damp paper towel to wipe out the inside of the box, it means that you’ll need to scrape out litter trapped within the narrow slots. This isn’t a quick task – some reviewers say that they use a non-toxic wipe like “dental floss” threaded through each hole.

The solution to sticking – or is it a recipe for disaster?

To fight against sticking, Luuup suggests that you fill the box with 3-4 inches or 15 lbs of high-quality, fast-clumping clay litter.

Theoretically, this ensures that the waste will clump before it has a chance to reach the bottom of the box. It also prevents most cats from digging to the bottom.

But it leads to a mountain of problems. When in a shallow litter box filled with a heaping pile of litter, it’s easy for your cat to drop a few fecal nuggets or urine right over the edge of the box. And if they’re inclined to dig or kick in the litter, the low sides of the Luuup will do nothing to contain the granule spray.

The Luuup can leak – use finesse when handling and stacking.

The sifting trays are made to form a solid base when stacked correctly. In a perfect world, they’d always form a tight seal until you were ready to sift. However, it’s easy to let the seal slide.

It’s important to ensure that you don’t break the seal between each tray in the stack. If you jostle the trays during cleaning, litter could end up between the layers, leading to a messy situation.

Be sure to grab only the top tray for sifting and to firmly grip the bottom two trays while stacking. Wiggle the Luup when you place it on the floor to level out the litter and eliminate any gapping between the stacked boxes.

Is the Luuup litter box worth it?

Some people love the Luuup, saying that it reduces their litter box cleaning time to seconds, making life easier for both them and their cats. People using a silica gel crystal litter seem to have better experiences than those who use clumping clay or another type of clumping litter.

However, the majority of customer reviews paint a stickier, grimier, and more frustrating picture. Even the site’s contact form includes “leaking” and “sticking” as reasons for contacting support along with shipping and billing concerns.

If you do decide to take a gamble on the Luuup, remember that you may have to reach out to their customer service department. While you can email Luuup or direct message them on Facebook, the company currently doesn’t have a public customer support phone number. It can be challenging to get in immediate contact with a support representative.

For a lower price, you could purchase another type of sifting litter box with a truly solid base like the Omega Paw Roll n’ Clean Cat Litter Box. Although replacement costs would add up, you might consider using sifting litter box liners with your standard box.

Where can you buy the Luuup litter box?

The Luuup litter box is only available online. You can purchase it directly through the Luuup website in the contiguous United States and Canada. The Luuup was previously sold on Amazon as well, however is no longer available there.

For customers outside of the United States and Canada, the company is currently “working on international shipping options”. Sign up to their email list to receive updates on the Luuup’s expanding shipping range.

Click here to shop for the Luuup litter box.