- Humans love smart gear.
So it makes sense that we want the same for our pets.
We basically treat them like furry little humans anyways.
But the question is, when it comes to pet gear,
is going smart actually dumb?
(whimsical piano music)
Cleaning kitty litter boxes is super gross
and it's time-consuming and it smells really bad.
So an automatic kitty litter box would be amazing
if it works.
To find out, we're gonna talk to Kaitlyn Wells,
staff writer, Wirecutter,
and an award-winning pet journalist.
Hi, Kaitlyn.
- Hi, Dorie.
Nobody in their right mind
wants to have to pick up a cat excrement every single day.
(Dorie laughs)
An automatic litter box is like a traditional litter box,
but it has a scooping mechanism
that will actually scoop out the excrement
into a little trash bin for you.
And then all you have to do
is tie up that little trash bin and take it outside.
- How do you actually test that?
How gross does it get?
- It's not actually as gross as you would think it to be.
We use water treated with ammonia and food coloring,
and we also use some like half-baked brand new batter
for that stickiness component
to see how well they would scoop,
how long it takes them to scoop,
how loud they are at scooping,
how effective the waist bin is,
how easy it is to actually clean the litter box itself.
And then also the size of the litter boxes.
- So when you were testing
for all of these different criteria,
how did the automatic litter boxes perform?
- They were terrible at their jobs.
The litter robot came really close to achieving this goal,
but ultimately its litter pan
was just too small for our cats
to move around comfortably in it.
It's elevated off the ground a little too high
that might make it difficult for older cats
or cats with mobility issues to use.
And it's huge.
So you really need a dedicated space
to put this thing
that a lot of people just don't have room for.
- How do they compare in price?
- Okay, the Litter-Robot 3,
it costs $450 just for the litter box.
Over time when you're using these devices,
they require replacement parts.
Some of them need you to use special cat litter
or special thin litters.
Otherwise you void the warranty.
So the expenses on the compounding over time,
for example, the PetSafe ScoopFree Ultra
over a two-year period,
you could end up spending more than $1,500.
- That's so ridiculous,
but how do the cats who would actually use them
usually respond to the automatic boxes?
- Every cat is gonna be different,
if we're assuming that your cat is healthy
and you're using the appropriate type of litter,
they can still develop issues with these boxes
because, first of all, their litter pans
are just not big enough for most cats.
Experts recommend that the litter box should be 1 1/2 times
as long as your cat and also as wide as your cat is long.
Additionally, some cats are gonna to be put off
just because it's loud.
So it's always better to play it safe,
get a traditional litter pan
that you know your cat is gonna use.
I'm a big fan of Nature's Miracle High-Sided Litter Box.
It's got a great size pan for your cat.
The inside of it is completely smooth.
So you can clean up those gunky messes
that get stuck in the corners with ease.
It's lightweight and it has a low entry point.
So even smaller cats and cats with mobility issues
can get in and out of it with ease.
So it's like 20 bucks.
Nothing beats a traditional litter box.
They've been around for generations.
They do what they claim they're gonna do.
And they come in multiple sizes
to make sure you get something
that's appropriate for your cat.
- A lot of pet owners find comfort
in being able to watch their pets virtually.
Now they can also buy interactive pet cameras,
but we can't help but wonder
how much do the pets actually benefit
from these added features?
So can you talk about just the different functions
that a pet camera has
as opposed to a standard security camera?
- What sets the interactive pet cameras apart
are those quote-unquote interactive features, right?
So you've got something like a treat dispenser perhaps
where they'll launch out treats
whenever you tell it to or a laser pointer
should you play a game of laser tag with your cat.
- Are there any drawbacks
to having those different functions though?
- After talking to the experts,
we found out you don't actually need a pet camera, right?
A traditional security camera will get you what you need.
And that's because those interactive features
can actually do more harm than good.
Those treat launchers, they can overfeed your pet.
Those laser pointers exasperate other symptoms
in your animals as well.
Cats love to hunt.
When they go to catch the light beam,
there's nothing for them to physically interact with.
So they don't get that full enjoyment
as they would out of like a traditional hunt play session.
Similarly for dogs,
they can actually develop compulsive disorders,
trying to track that laser light throughout the day.
And that can lead to long-term problems.
So the interactive pet cameras are quite large
because they need the space
in order to house all those treats
and the mechanisms to launch it
as well as the camera equipment.
- What should pet owners look for
just in a traditional security camera
if they have in mind that they wanna use it for their pets?
- The video quality is strong.
So you can spot like that elusive cat in the corner.
I'm a big fan of cameras
that have a night vision mode as well.
And then I do like a good audio feature.
If I can't see them, I might be able to hear my dog,
oh, she's getting in the trash.
I know what that scratching is gonna sound like.
But ultimately something I really do rely on
are the clouds storage features.
So I can go back and play that recording
and see what they were up to while I was in my meeting.
The camera we do actually recommend
is one of our cheap security handpicks.
So it's the Wyze Cam v2.
It's only 25 bucks.
And when compared to a $200 pet camera,
the price, it can't be beat.
It's tiny, it can get on the bookshelf.
And what I love about that
is the fact that you can buy multiple Wyze Cams
and outfit your entire home with them,
with which can be rather fun
if you wanna play out
your own little mission impossible game scenario
and try to figure out where they're hiding.
And then the video and audio quality
as well as the free cloud storage are unmatched
by the pet cameras that we've tested as well.
- Can someone give pets a software update
so they don't have to be fed anymore?
Probably not, but until then,
these automatic feeders that at least you can program
so if you have to be gone for a couple hours,
your pet still gets fed.
Now though, there's smart automatic pet feeders
which do that and more using apps on your phone.
I know that there's two different types.
There's smart pet feeders
and then there's sort of just the standard pet feeders.
What are the differences between those two types?
- A smart pet feeder basically connects
to your Wi-Fi network
and there's an app that you interact with
to kind of tell it how much kibble you want dispensed
and at what time you want it dispensed.
Say, you wanna give your pets some extra food.
You can actually use that app
to remotely release additional kibbles throughout the day.
With the traditional ones,
you can't make adjustments unless you're physically there.
- So in theory, these smart pet feeders
are gonna be way better than the automatic ones,
but that is not what you found.
So I wanna hear why is that the case?
- With any smart device,
it needs to connect to servers
and with the models that we tested,
if there were updates going through
or if they were having server issues,
it pretty much bricked these smart feeders.
Additionally, because of the pandemic,
a couple of these smart feeder companies closed up shop,
and you can no longer use these devices at all.
So you're better off going with a traditional feeder.
- When looking for just a normal automatic pet feeder,
how do you know what's gonna get the job done?
- So the PetSafe 5-Meal Automatic Pet Feeder
is our current pick.
It's a plate-style feeder
which means it comes in like a round container
and it will circulate throughout each wedge
on the programming schedule that you've designated for it.
This is actually the most accurate method
because you measure it yourself
while with hopper-style feeders,
they still have some of the accuracy issues
that we also found in our smart feeders.
They weren't very compatible with the different shapes
and sizes of kibble.
For any automatic feeder,
I wouldn't recommend anybody use one for more than a day,
especially if you're gonna be gone.
The research has shown us
that they don't thrive in that type of environment.
So if you are gonna be gone,
make sure you have a pet sitter
who can come by once a day and at least check on them.
- Personally, I just don't think
you can even do that for humans.
I don't think humans should be going on
for three days unattended. (laughs)
So yeah, I agree.
Pet sitters are crucial.
Sometimes when it comes to problem solving,
going smarter isn't necessarily going better.
Really what your pet is gonna respond best to is just you,
not some robot.
Hi, this is Dorie Chevlen from Wirecutter.
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