Smart Feeders, Automatic Litter Boxes, Cameras_ Pet Tech to Skip

Humans love smart gear, so it makes sense that we would 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? 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 going to talk to Caitlin Wells, Hi Caitlin! Hi Dory! Nobody in their right mind wants to have to pick up cat excrement every single day. 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? 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 brandy 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 waste 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 bin lighters, otherwise you void the warranty. So the expense is only compounded over time. For example, the PetSafe ScoopFree Ultra, over a two-year period, you could end up spending more than $1,500. That's ridiculous! But how do the cats who would actually use them usually respond to the automatic boxes? Every cat is going to be different, but if we're assuming that your cat is healthy and they'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 one and a half times as long as your cat and also as wide as your cat is long. Additionally, some cats are going 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 going to use. I'm a big fan of Nature Miracle's 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. It's like 20 bucks. Nothing beats a traditional litter box. They've been around for generations. They do what they claim they're going to 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 it'll launch out treats whenever you tell it to, or a laser pointer so you can 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 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 want to 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 going to sound like. But ultimately something I really do rely on are the cloud 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 cam kits. So it's the Wyze Cam Version 2. It's only $25. And when compared to a $200 pet camera, the price, you know, it can't be beat. It's tiny. It can fit 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, which can be, you know, rather fun if you want to play out your own little mission possible game scenario 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, there's 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 to spend and at what time you want to spend. Say you want to give your pet some extra food, you can actually use that app to remotely release additional kibble 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 going to be like way better than the automatic ones, but that is not what you found. So I want to 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 going to 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 the hopper-style feeders, they still had 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 going to be gone. The research has shown us that they don't thrive in that type of environment. So if you are going to 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. 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 going to respond best to is just you, not some robot. Hi, this is Dori Schevlin from Wirecutter. I love learning about overrated products that don't work. So if there's a specific one you would like a video about, just let us know. And if you feel so inclined, like, comment, or subscribe.