Quick Answer
If you want a robot vacuum for cat litter and hair under $600, the best first buy for most cat owners is a discounted eufy X10 Pro Omni if obstacle avoidance matters, or a Roborock Q5 Max+ if vacuuming and auto-emptying matter more than avoiding small toys. For mixed hardwood and one carpeted bedroom, I would not pay extra for fancy mopping first. Cat litter pickup, brush design, dock reliability, and object avoidance should drive the choice.
What Matters Most for Cat Litter
Cat litter is not the same as dust. It is heavier, gritty, and easy for a robot to scatter if the brush roll and suction path are weak. On hardwood, look for strong suction, a main brush that resists hair wrap, good edge behavior around the litter box, and app controls that let you run a high-power zone clean near the box. On carpet, raw suction helps, but brush contact and repeated passes matter just as much.
For a 700 sq ft apartment, battery life is less important than navigation and maintenance. Almost any current LiDAR robot can cover that space. The bigger question is whether it can run daily without getting stuck on cat toys, cords, scratching pads, or the occasional mess you definitely do not want dragged around the floor.
Best Overall If You Need Obstacle Avoidance: eufy X10 Pro Omni
The eufy X10 Pro Omni is the strongest fit when your main worry is small-object avoidance. eufy lists 8,000 Pa suction, AI obstacle avoidance, automatic detangling, self-emptying, mop washing, mop drying, and self-refilling. It is often sold around the upper end of this budget when discounted, so it makes the most sense if you can catch it near $600 rather than at full price.
For cat homes, the advantage is not the mop system. It is the combination of suction, a low-maintenance dock, and obstacle detection. If your cats leave springs, toy mice, or scratching bits around the apartment, this is more useful than buying a cheaper vacuum-only robot that needs the floor perfectly cleared before every run.
The downside is that the dock is large, and long-term parts availability is worth checking before buying. If you only care about vacuuming and want the simplest possible setup, the X10 may feel like you are paying for mop automation you will rarely use.
Best Vacuum-First Value: Roborock Q5 Max+
The Roborock Q5 Max+ is the cleaner choice if mopping is low priority and you mostly want daily litter and hair pickup. Roborock lists 5,500 Pa suction, DuoRoller brush design, PreciSense LiDAR navigation, a 770 ml onboard dustbin, and an auto-empty dock. It is usually much easier to justify than premium mop-first models because the money goes into the vacuuming basics.
For hardwood plus one carpeted bedroom, this is the practical pick when the floor is normally clear before cleaning. The auto-empty dock is especially helpful with cats because the small onboard bin fills faster with hair and litter dust than new buyers expect.
The catch is obstacle avoidance. LiDAR navigation is good for mapping rooms and avoiding furniture, but it is not the same as reliable small-object recognition. If your apartment often has cat toys on the floor, the Q5 Max+ may need more pre-cleaning than you want.
Worth Watching on Sale: Roborock Qrevo S
The Roborock Qrevo S is worth considering if it drops close to $600 and you want a more complete dock. Retail listings commonly show 7,000 Pa suction, self-emptying, mop washing, mop drying, water refill support, and 10 mm mop lifting. It is a better all-in-one cleaner than the Q5 Max+, but it also shifts money toward mopping and dock features.
For cat litter specifically, I would only move up to the Qrevo S if the price is close or you also care about hard-floor mopping. If not, the Q5 Max+ is more focused and the X10 Pro Omni is more compelling for obstacle avoidance.
What I Would Buy
For a cat household under $600, buy based on the floor reality:
Choose eufy X10 Pro Omni if cat toys, cords, and obstacle avoidance are daily issues.
Choose Roborock Q5 Max+ if you want the best vacuum-first value with auto-emptying and can tidy the floor before runs.
Choose Roborock Qrevo S if it is discounted near the others and you want mop automation too.
For most 700 sq ft apartments with two cats, I would start with the eufy X10 Pro Omni if the sale price is right. It gives up some simplicity, but it better matches the real problem: not just picking up litter and hair, but doing it when life is busy and the floor is not perfectly staged.
Buying Checklist
Before ordering, check three things. First, confirm replacement bags, filters, brushes, and mop pads are easy to buy. Second, measure the dock space, because full-service docks are much larger than basic chargers. Third, run the robot daily near the litter box but keep a no-go zone around water bowls. Cat litter plus spilled water can turn into paste and shorten the life of any robot vacuum.