This automatic litter box, the Petkit Purobot Ultra (8/10, WIRED Recommends) from pet tech leader Petkit, dares to ask the question: Have we gone too far (as a pet-obsessed society)?
This automatic litter box uses a camera to monitor litter box usage, logging every time your pet has used it, and even shows your cat’s stool so you can closely monitor their health to more easily see when something seems amiss.
It’s normally $1,000—we’ve tracked it at that price for most of the last three months—but a Prime Day discount has it down to $749.
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Photograph: Petkit
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Photograph: Molly Higgins
When you set up the box, you need to upload several pictures of your cat(s) from different angles to help the camera learn which cat is which. Then, the box’s software will determine and log when your cat(s) appeared at the box, if they used it, and for how long. Through the app, you can monitor the usage by each individual cat and see what type of bathroom visit they had. Clover, my female cat, used the litter box about twice as often as her brother, Basil, who usually only visits twice a day.
Being able to track this is super helpful because male cats are more susceptible to UTIs, which can be potentially life-threatening. The connected app logs usage and lets you review camera footage, so you can review if anything is amiss or if your cat is going to the bathroom less. Plus, the camera is on a swiveling arm outside of the hole, so you can move the camera to pan to the outside or inside of the box. It basically doubles as a pet or security camera for whatever room it’s in.
This is one of the priciest automatic litter boxes on the market, but it’s a great tool to be able to closely monitor your cats’ litter box usage and more easily and quickly identify any potential health issues—not to mention is a heck of a lot cheaper and less traumatic to an emergency visit to the vet. And now at $750, this upgrade is the lowest price we’ll probably see this year (or at least until Black Friday).
I have tested half a dozen other Petkit products, like water fountains, automatic feeders, and other automatic litter boxes, and they have all been really solid. My only gripe is that the app could be a little smoother, and sometimes the English translation of things can be a little off. Petkit’s fountains are a great way to get chronically dehydrated cats to drink more water. (Both models above are on discount for Amazon Prime Day as well.) And I recently tested the brand’s dual automatic feeder with a built-in camera (below). I have been consistently impressed with it, and my runner-up pick for automatic litter boxes (also below) is the litter box I’ve been recommending for most people—it’s $200 off right now.
Pro tip: Check out the Best Prime Day Pet Deals for even more discounts on our favorite pet gear.
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