Neakasa M9: Specs, Features, Pros & Cons
Neakasa's M9 empties its litter by tilting the chamber to one side, along a path that leaves the cabin open. A globe box like the Litter-Robot turns its whole drum instead, doorway included. Neakasa calls its motion Tilt-Safe Rotation and argues that a cabin that never closes leaves fewer places to trap a paw or a tail. The box still reads the cat's weight to know when someone is inside, so the shape is a second layer of protection rather than the only one.
The entrance is 10.2 inches off the floor, and Neakasa pitches the M9 at kittens and senior cats who would otherwise need a ramp. Very young cats still need help. A kitten under 4.4 pounds, under four months old or shorter than 9.8 inches has to use the protective insert that comes in the box. The front opening is wide and the walls are transparent, so a cat inside keeps an eye on the room.
Neakasa wants uniform 2 to 4 mm clumping clay or mineral litter, and it names crystal, tofu and mixed litters as ones not to use. A household on a plant-based litter has to change brands before the sifting works as designed. Odor is handled by the PureTower, a 1 liter cartridge of activated carbon and desiccant beside the waste bin.
The M9 made its debut at IFA in Berlin in early September 2026 and went on sale in Neakasa's US store later that month. The app logs each visit, tells several cats apart and switches the cleaning modes. If the Wi-Fi drops, Neakasa says the box keeps cleaning on its last settings and only the app stops updating.
Category strengths
Where the Neakasa M9 beats the median
- A lower entry height ?26 cm vs 30.5 cm (median)
Where the Neakasa M9 trails the median
- Fewer litter compatibility options ?
How this VS Score was computed
Score 46: each known spec is measured against the median of all litter boxes (3 products), then weighted; 50 means level with that median. In classes of six or more, a value beyond the class’s 10th–90th percentile range counts as that limit, so one extreme product cannot set the scale. 19% of the scoreable weight could be used; unknown values, features not applicable to this class and proxies (battery capacity where a rated life exists) add or remove nothing.
| Specification | This product | Cohort median | Score weight | Points moved |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Litter compatibility | 1 | 2 | 0.4 | −10.0 |
| Entry height | 26 | 30.5 | 0.3 | +2.7 |
| Days between emptying | 7 | 7 | 0.6 | +0.0 |
| Presence detection | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | +0.0 |
Not scored: Waste drawer capacity (too few comparable peers (1, need 3)); Cleaning cycle time (unknown: not scored); Odor control (standard for the class (100% have it)); Litter leveling (unknown: not scored); Safety sensors (standard for the class (100% have it)); Anti-pinch auto-stop (unknown: not scored); Minimum cat weight (unknown: not scored); Interior space (unknown: not scored); Max cat weight (unknown: not scored); App control (standard for the class (100% have it)); Health monitoring (unknown: not scored); Multi-cat recognition (standard for the class (100% have it)); Waste-full alert (unknown: not scored); Usage log (standard for the class (100% have it)); Bag-lined drawer (standard for the class (100% have it)); Washable globe (standard for the class (100% have it)); Noise level (too few comparable peers (1, need 3)).
Editor’s note
Neakasa advertises a footprint of 2.7 square feet, a figure its own dimensions do not support. The M9 is 22 inches wide and 26 inches deep, close to 4 square feet, and the FAQ asks for 15.7 inches of free space on the right side and 1.2 inches behind. Add those and the box needs a patch of floor about 38 by 27 inches, a little over 7 square feet, before you leave room in front of the entrance. A bathroom corner that fits a plain tray may not fit this.
The floor itself has to be firm. Neakasa warns that high-pile or soft carpet lets the feet sink, which throws off the weight measurement and with it the detection of the cat. A hard floor or a flat, low rug works, and a litter mat belongs in front of the entrance, never under the feet.
Neakasa expects a PureTower cartridge to last three to six months, depending on how often the box is used and how humid the room is. The housing is transparent, so you change the cartridge when the filter has turned fully black instead of waiting for an app reminder. Any bag that fits the drawer works as a liner, which keeps you off branded refills.
Whisker's Litter-Robot 4 is the obvious comparison. It takes crystal litter, which the M9 rules out, and its doorway sits higher. For a kitten or a stiff older cat, I'd take the M9 for its entrance alone. No lab has published a cleaning or noise test of the M9 yet, so the quiet operation and the clean sifting are Neakasa's claims for now.
Specifications
Quality bars show where each figure sits between the lowest and highest of the 3 litter boxes this VS Score is measured against.
Cleaning
Safety
Capacity & fit
Smart features
Maintenance
Sources and verification
Where the specifications come from
- Official product pageneakasa.com
Verification
- First published
- Specifications last checked
- Sheet completeness
- 17 of 26 specifications verified; the rest show as Unknown and are never estimated or scored
- Page type
- Product specification page — Compiled from the manufacturer’s published specifications and the cited sources; this is not a hands-on test.
- Basis
- Research-based: specifications and editorial text were compiled from the documents listed here and the manufacturer’s published data. We have not tested this unit ourselves; where independent measurements are mentioned they belong to the linked publication.
Litter Boxes with similar specs to the Neakasa M9
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The bottom line
The Neakasa M9 earns a VS Score of 46 on the 19% of specifications we could compare like for like — an indication, not a ranking.
- Who it’s for
- A home with a kitten or an older cat that struggles with a step, already on clumping clay or mineral litter, with a hard floor beside a free wall.
- Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone fitting it into a closet or a tight bathroom corner, since Neakasa wants clear space on the right side and behind it, and homes where the only spot is on soft carpet.
- The trade-off that matters
- The low, open cabin is the reason to buy it, and it comes with a narrow choice of litter. Clumping clay and mineral litters are fine, so tofu, crystal and mixed-litter households have to switch.
- The main alternative
- Whisker Litter-Robot 4: an enclosed globe that also takes crystal litter, for an adult cat that has no trouble with a higher entrance.
The VS Score is calculated from the weighted specifications above, each measured against the median of comparable litter boxes — a shortlisting guide, not a substitute for your own priorities. See how we score.