Best Pet Tech Gadgets of 2026: CNET Staff Picks

Why I like it:

The Litter-Robot 5 proved to be quite easy to set up and use. After unboxing it and filling it with cat litter up to the fill line (I recommend Boxie Cat Pro), it was a simple matter of entering information about each of my three cats. I have one senior cat that weighs 15 pounds, a fluffy middle-aged 14-pounder, and a young, spry two-year-old that weighs around nine pounds. I was able to get two out of the three boys to use the litter box; the fluffy one never quite got comfortable with it, but he’s always been the shyer and more skittish one, so I expect he’ll use it in a few months after the newness has worn off. 

One thing worth noting is that the step up to the globe seemed a little high for my senior cat, but I added a step stool for him, and he didn’t have any issues using it after that. 

The Litter-Robot identified each cat by its weight, reporting how long it used the facilities and how much waste it left behind. There’s a display on top that will tell you this at a glance, too. You can also set it up to automatically cycle after a set interval after the visit, in addition to the manual option. By default, it’s around five minutes, but I changed it to around 30 minutes to reduce the risk of spooking the cats. The app also shows you the history of the usage, how full the waste bin and litter level are and will tell you when the filter needs to be changed or the waste bin emptied, taking the guesswork out of things. 

Currently, the app doesn’t support the Waste ID feature, which provides health monitoring, but it appears that this feature is forthcoming. If you opt for the Litter-Robot 5 Pro model, it’ll come with a camera that uses AI for visual identification. However, personally, I’m fine with not having a camera in my office or living room. 

There were a few issues with the app, such as occasional Wi-Fi disconnects and the robot cycling the waste for no apparent reason, but these were minor bugs in the grand scheme of things and did not interfere with my cat’s usage. 

The biggest selling point for me is how much time it gave back to my nightly routine. Normally me my wife and I have to scoop around three litter boxes each night, and with three cats, all of them get heavy use. According to the Whisker app, I’ve saved around 63 scoops as of this writing, and that sounds about right to me. If you’re tired of scooping and wasting litter, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed. 

Who is this for:

The Litter-Robot 5 is Whisker’s new smart cat litter box, offering significant upgrades over previous models that make it a great option for cat owners with multiple cats. Notably, I never noticed a significant mess stuck to the top of the globe, which was a common user complaint in previous generations. 

Who shouldn’t buy it:

If you only have one cat, the Litter-Robot 5 might be overkill. Whisker offers a more affordable model, the Litter-Robot Evo, specifically designed for households with one or two cats. It’ll cost you $599 compared with the $799 Litter-Robot 5. The Litter-Robot 4, which we previously tested and liked, is also still on the market at a discount for $649. There are also many rival companies that offer smart litter boxes, but I haven’t tested them. I urge you to be cautious with unfamiliar brands that have a fully closing litter box, as these have been known to cause harm to cats.  

–Ajay Kumar