Most automatic litter boxes are built around an average cat, and an average cat is smaller than a Maine Coon, a Norwegian Forest or a well-fed British Shorthair. Big cats either refuse a cramped drum outright or use it badly, half in and half out, which is worse than no machine at all. An extra-large drum exists for exactly that problem, and as a side effect it holds enough litter that a two-cat household is not emptying it every other morning.

The cycle runs after use, sifting clumps away from clean litter and dropping them into a sealed waste compartment, so what is left behind is a bed that looks freshly poured. Sealing rather than covering is what keeps a room from smelling. It runs from a control panel on the unit, takes standard clumping litter, and needs a mains socket and a genuinely level floor, because a drum that rotates out of true jams.

• Extra-large drum, sized for bigger cats and multi-cat homes
• Automatic sifting into a sealed waste compartment after use
• Control panel on the unit
• Larger litter bed, so fewer top-ups and empties
• Takes standard clumping litter
• Plug options for the UK, EU, US and AU

One thing about big cats. A cat needs to turn round comfortably inside, and no amount of capacity makes up for a doorway they have to squeeze through.

Who it's for: Households with large-breed cats or more than one cat, who want the scooping gone and have a level spot near a socket.