Find your machine’s number
Every manufacturer publishes a minimum detected weight, and several also publish an age limit. Both are on the listing or in the manual.
Compare it with your lightest animal
Not your average one. A household with a 6 kg (13.2 lb) tom and a 2.6 kg (5.7 lb) elderly female is governed by the second figure.
Below the threshold, use a manual tray
For as long as it takes. This is the one place on this site where the answer is to not use the machine.
Supervise the first weeks regardless
Sensors are layers of protection, not guarantees, and the manufacturer’s instructions on supervision are written for a reason.
This does not replace your machine’s manual. Sensor thresholds, cycle delays and temperature limits differ between models, and the manufacturer’s instructions for yours take precedence over anything written here.
The questions owners ask
What is a typical threshold?
The machines we review state ranges from about 1.5 kg (3.3 lb) upwards, and PETKIT excludes cats under six months outright regardless of weight. Read your own model’s figure — it is published, and it varies.
What should I do while the kitten is growing?
Keep a manual tray and leave the automatic box switched off or locked out of automatic mode until the cat is comfortably above the threshold. The machine is not the priority; the kitten is.
Last reviewed 2026-08-17
