An automatic cat litter box will change your life. I’m not exaggerating. It’s the product I recommend every cat parent invest in above all else. These nifty machines do the work for you, using internal sensors to detect a cat and automatically start cleaning after they leave. They separate waste clumps and deposits them in a drawer below, leaving only fresh litter behind. This means far less day-to-day cleaning—you mostly only need to throw out the drawer waste bag when it's full.

I’ve tested over two dozen automatic cat litter box models , and my top pick is almost always a model from pet tech brand Petkit. They rarely goes on significant sale until the holidays, but I found most of my favorite models on sale at Shop.com right now, some for $100 off—comparable to the discount we usually see during Black Friday sales.…