People love their pets and CES was packed with technology to prove it. We saw gadgets galore for cats and dogs, from self-cleaning toilets to remote cameras. Some are genius, some may be slightly mad, but all are designed especially for your furry friends.
Pet Cube 2 ($180)
We’re big fans of the original Pet Cube — a camera for checking up on your cat or dog while you’re out and about. Pet Cube 2 is smaller and features a refined design. You can see how your pet is doing by connecting remotely on your phone and you can talk to them and hear them thanks to the two way audio. The dog version also allows you to dispense treats, while the cat version has a built-in laser toy.
The Little Cat ($1,800)
If you live in an apartment, or your cat prefers to stay indoors, you may be concerned about the amount of exercise it gets. The Little Cat from Petding is like a big hamster wheel for felines. There’s a built-in laser array to encourage them to climb onboard and you can set different positions for it from your phone to entice your cat and get them running. It comes in four colors and will be available from March.
Wagz ($550)
You’ll no doubt be familiar with cat flaps, but Wagz also offers a flap for your dog and you can add a tag to their collar to ensure that it only opens for them. You can also configure the flap for different dogs if you have more than one and ensure that it only opens at set times. Wagz also offers a feeder triggered by your dog’s tag and an e-ink collar that displays your info and helps you track your dog.
Basepaws Cat DNA Kit ($95)
If you’ve ever wondered what breed your cat is, then a Basepaws cat kit can tell you. This is genetic testing, like 23andMe, but for cats. You can check into their ancestry with this DNA test, which also gives you important information about their ideal weight, potential health issues, and more. The kit comes in the mail with return postage and the test uses your cat’s cheek and hair cells. It takes between eight and 12 weeks to get the results.
LavvieBot Purrsong ($379)
By far the worst thing about living with cats is the litter box. Having to clean out your feline’s toilet is a job everyone hates, so what if you could automate the process? That’s the idea behind the Lavviebot Purrsong. This Wi-Fi connected litter box can clean away poop and pee after your cat goes, shifting it into a drawer that you can open to dump. There are filters to reduce the smell and a clever grid shelf to stop them from tracking litter through your home. Simply open the top to keep it stocked with fresh litter and empty the drawer occasionally and you’re good to go. The phone app will alert you when litter is running low and give you a breakdown of your cat’s toilet activity, should you feel the need to check. It’s a pretty bulky gadget, but we think the price is worth paying for freedom from litter box duty.
Inubox ($1,200)
Dog owners can also snag a self-cleaning toilet, designed for people with no yard. The tray is coated in hydrophobic material and it can sense weight, so it knows when your dog has gone and automatically rises to clear the waste away. It can also dispense a treat to encourage them to come back when they need. It’s an enormous device, so you will need some space, and it’s expensive, but if you can’t take your dog outside easily then it could prove to be very handy. The waste goes into a litter-like substance that clumps up and it gets packaged into a bag that you can remove via a small hatch that opens up.
