Not everyone wants another device on their phone. Plenty of people simply want the scooping to stop, and would rather press a button on the unit than register an account, connect it to the router and be told by an app that their cat has been to the toilet. This is the version of the self-cleaning tray built that way: a panel on the front, a cycle that runs after use, and nothing to pair.

Waste is sifted from clean litter and dropped into a sealed drawer, and the sealing is what keeps a hallway from smelling rather than the lid. The litter bed is large, so top-ups and empties come round less often, and the whole thing runs on standard clumping litter, which is the only sort that will separate properly. It wants a level floor, a mains socket and a quiet corner. Cats will not use a tray in a thoroughfare, whatever it costs.

• Automatic sifting cycle after each use
• Sealed waste drawer to hold odour down
• Control panel on the unit, no app or account needed
• Large-capacity litter bed, so fewer empties
• Takes standard clumping litter
• Plug options for the UK, EU, AU and US

On the transition. Run it unplugged alongside the existing tray for a week or so before switching it on, and keep the old tray afterwards. The rule that keeps cats reliable is one tray per cat plus one, and a machine counts as one. We would also not put a small kitten or a frail, unsteady senior in front of any automatic box.

Who it's for: Owners of one or two indoor cats who want the daily chore gone without an app, an account or a subscription attached to it.