Short answer
Not until the kitten is heavier than the box's minimum detection weight, and old enough for the maker's own age rule. Published thresholds here run from 2.2 lb to 3.5 lb, which at roughly a pound a month means somewhere between three and six months depending on the box. Until then, run the box in manual or kitten mode and clean it yourself.
An automatic box only cycles when it believes no cat is inside. Most make that decision with a scale: a weight change when the cat steps in, another when it steps out. A kitten below the scale's threshold may never register as a cat at all. At best the box ignores it; at worst it starts a cycle with the kitten inside.
That is why the minimum detectable weight is the first number on every box page here. 27 of the 39 boxes publish one; 20 state a minimum age as well or instead; 5 publish neither, and this site treats those as unsuitable for automatic cleaning around a kitten.
Vets give owners a rough growth rule for the first several months: a kitten gains about a pound a month, so a four-month-old weighs about four pounds. It is a rule of thumb, and kittens vary, so this site rounds up: a 3.3 lb threshold reads as about four months, a 2.2 lb one as about three.
Where a maker states its own minimum age, the later of the two wins. PetSafe's guides are the clearest example: the OpenSky wants a cat of at least 3 lb and 6 months, and the SmartSpin at least 2.5 lb and 6 months, so both read as six months even though the weights alone would suggest three.
| Box | Detects from | Maker's age floor | Automate from | Anti-pinch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neakasa M1 Lite Plus | 2.2 lb | not stated | ~3 months | yes |
| Neakasa M1 Plus | 2.2 lb | not stated | ~3 months | yes |
| PETLIBRO Luma Smart Litter Box | 2.2 lb | 6 months | ~6 months | yes |
| ELS PET Orbitie | 2.5 lb | not stated | ~3 months | yes |
| ELS PET Orbitie Air | 2.5 lb | not stated | ~3 months | not stated |
| PetSafe ScoopFree SmartSpin | 2.5 lb | 6 months | ~6 months | not stated |
| Oneisall Ease S1 | 2.6 lb | 6 months | ~6 months | not stated |
| Meowant MW-SC01 | 3 lb | 4 months | ~4 months | not stated |
| PetSafe ScoopFree OpenSky | 3 lb | 6 months | ~6 months | not stated |
| Whisker Litter-Robot 4 | 3 lb | not stated | ~3 months | yes |
| Whisker Litter-Robot 5 | 3 lb | not stated | ~3 months | not stated |
| Whisker Litter-Robot 5 Pro | 3 lb | not stated | ~3 months | not stated |
| Whisker Litter-Robot EVO | 3 lb | not stated | ~3 months | not stated |
| CATLINK Scooper Open-X | 3.3 lb | 6 months | ~6 months | yes |
| CATLINK Scooper Pro Ultra | 3.3 lb | not stated | ~4 months | yes |
| Meowant MW-SC02 | 3.3 lb | 4 months | ~4 months | yes |
| Meowant MW-SC09 Plus | 3.3 lb | 4 months | ~4 months | yes |
| Meowant MW-SC10 | 3.3 lb | not stated | ~4 months | yes |
| PETKIT Purobot Crystal Duo | 3.3 lb | 6 months | ~6 months | not stated |
| PETKIT Purobot Max 3 | 3.3 lb | 6 months | ~6 months | yes |
| PETKIT Purobot Max Pro 2 | 3.3 lb | not stated | ~4 months | yes |
| PETKIT Purobot Ultra | 3.3 lb | 6 months | ~6 months | yes |
| PetSnowy SNOW+ | 3.3 lb | not stated | ~4 months | not stated |
| CATLINK Scooper Luxury Pro-X | 3.5 lb | 3 months | ~4 months | yes |
| CATLINK Scooper SE | 3.5 lb | not stated | ~4 months | yes |
| CATLINK Scooper SE Lite | 3.5 lb | not stated | ~4 months | yes |
| CATLINK Scooper Young Pro-X | 3.5 lb | 3 months | ~4 months | yes |
Every maker that addresses it says the same thing in different words: switch automatic cleaning off. Whisker calls it a supervised semi-automatic mode, PETKIT and Neakasa call it Kitten Mode or Kitten Protection Mode, PetSafe says to leave the box unplugged and scoop by hand. Trigger cycles yourself when the kitten is out of the room.
The same logic applies to a small adult cat that sits near a threshold, and to any cat that is losing weight. A drop below the detection weight is exactly the case the sensor is not designed for.
Weight is not the only protection. Some boxes carry a sensor that stops and reverses the moving part if something is in the way (Whisker's LR4 and CATLINK's Pro-X family, for example), and drums built on an incomplete gear (PETKIT, and CATLINK's SE and Open-X) cannot rotate their entry shut. Neither replaces the weight threshold; both reduce what depends on it.
Open-top
Best for: Maine Coons and other large cats, or cats that avoid covered boxes
Rotating drum
Best for: A single cat whose owner wants a drum without Litter-Robot pricing
Rotating drum
Best for: Two or three average cats in a home that already uses clay clumping litter
Every automatic box waits until a sensor says the cat has left, then separates clumped waste from clean litter and puts it somewhere sealed. Drums turn the whole chamber over a screen; open-tops do it under an open rim; rakes comb a flat bed; crystal-tray boxes rake a disposable tray; flushing boxes wash waste down a drain. The mechanism decides which litter you can use and whether you buy a consumable every month.
Slowly, and with the box switched off at first. Put it where the old box was, keep the old one nearby for a while, add a scoop of used litter, and only turn automatic cleaning on once the cat is using it. Set the longest cycle delay so the machine never moves while the cat is close.
Every specification explained, with the real numbers from the catalog behind each one.