Did you know that your kitties’ litter box habits can tell you A LOT about their overall health? Everything from how often they go to what happens once they get in there offers clues into how well their tiny little kitty bodies are functioning. Wouldn’t it be nice, then, if there was a way to track Fluffy’s potty habits without actually spending all day staring at them?
That’s where the Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor comes in super handy! Keep reading to learn all about this trending cat gadget, including how it works (and how well it works) and what exactly it tells you about kitty’s litter box visits.
Track your kitty’s health with the Petivity Smart Litterbox Monitor System! It transforms data gathered about your furry friend’s weight and litterbox activity into meaningful insights information about her wellbeing. By identifying changes that can indicate a health condition requiring veterinary diagnoses, this paw-some system detects urinary tract infection, kidney disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, obesity and much more. With the free Petivity app, you can easily track essential data about your feline friend and receive alerts when changes require a vet visit.
Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor Review
The Purina-powered Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor is exactly what the name says it is: a high-tech (“smart”) monitor that’s designed to keep track of your furry friends’ bathroom habits. It promises not only to offer insights into their health but also to bring a bit of that much-needed peace of mind to their human companions.
Before we dive into what makes this product unique, I just have a few quick notes. First, this post includes affiliate links. If you buy anything through our links, TechnoMeow earns a commission at no extra cost to you.
Photo Credit: petitivity.com
Second, a bit of honesty (because I never want to mislead anyone) and backstory. I only used the Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor for a few weeks to test it out. It arrived shortly before I switched entirely to automatic litter boxes (Leo’s Loo Too and Litter Robot 4, if you’re curious).
Around that time, we moved my feral kitten Leia from her “transition” home in the garage up into the house full-time. Leia lost two siblings to congenital issues, so I was (and still am) completely obsessed with tracking her health, and especially her weight. Both of her siblings dropped weight like crazy right before we lost them.
So, at first, I used the Petivity the way it’s meant to be used by putting it under a litter box. But after switching to robot boxes, I still used it as a scale. I plopped a cardboard box on top of it and waited for my cats to investigate it (they can’t resist a new Chewy box). I’ll talk a bit more about that below in the “pros” section. For now, let’s start with the top features and work our way down.
Top Features of the Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor
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- Health Monitoring: Tracks frequency, duration, and weight changes in your cats’ bathroom habits.
- Wi-Fi Connectivity: Allows for real-time monitoring via a smartphone app.
- Multiple Cat Recognition: Identifies each cat based on their visit patterns.
- Easy Setup: Quick installation process that doesn’t require any modifications to your existing litter box.
- Data Insights: Provides detailed reports and insights, helping you stay on top of your cats’ health.
- Custom Alerts: Sends notifications for irregularities in litter box usage directly to your phone.
- Pet Profiles: Set up profiles for each cat in your household, including their name, birthdate, activity levels, and more.
Leia checking out her new Petivity Cat Litter Box Monitor
Tech Specs:
- Size: 19”L x 14”W x 2”H.
- Power: operates using either the provided power cord or 6 AA batteries (not included)
- App requirements: Android 10 or higher, and iPhone running iOS14 or higher
- Guarantee: 90-day money-back guarantee and 1-Year Limited Warranty
Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor Pros and Cons
Let’s start with a quick peek at all of the pros and cons. Then, we’ll delve into the most important ones in a moment.
Pros:
- Tailored for multi-cat households.
- Non-invasive monitoring system.
- Provides valuable health insights.
- User-friendly app interface.
- Designed to work with most litter boxes and litter pans
- NO subscription required
- You can generate and download “Vet Insight Reports” to take with you on your cat’s checkup.
- Track your cat’s diet and get personalized food recommendations in the app.
- Clean indicator on the app reminds you when it’s time to empty the litter box.
Cons:
- Only works with 2.4 Ghz Wi-Fi (no support for 5 Ghz)
- It has a major learning curve for accurate cat identification.
- The surface is far from scratch-resistant
- Doesn’t work with self-cleaning litter boxes larger than 16” x 21” or with triangular-shaped boxes
- You can only monitor your litter box from one single device.
Petivity surface scratches and marks very easily.
A Closer Look at the Pros and Benefits
As far as pros go, the fact that it’s not just capable of tracking multiple cats but actually built for it is a massive benefit. For someone with three cats (like me) distinguishing who’s who in the litter box can be quite the challenge. Even with automatic litter boxes that weigh cats, I find that they can’t really tell which kitty is which.
The Petivity monitor solves this problem (albeit not flawlessly, which we’ll get to soon). When you first set it up, you’ll add your cats’ profiles to the app. After a “training” period, it’ll start to tell you that Zoe used the litter box 3 times today and weighs 12 pounds, or Leia used the box 10 times, which could indicate a health issue. In other words, it not only gives you general cat bathroom habits insight but calls out each kitty by name to make it easier for you to track who’s who.
It does all of this in a 100% non-invasive way. Your cat won’t even know that it’s there. The ONLY time I can see a cat having an issue using it is if they’re extremely tiny or extremely arthritic. Either situation MAY make it more challenging to climb into the litter box with Petivity beneath it. But honestly, that’s even a huge stretch because the Petivity monitor has a very low profile. It’s barely as thick as my thumb.
I also love, love, love (times a million) that you don’t have to pay for a subscription to use it. All too often, you end up dropping a few hundred bucks on a smart pet gadget only to discover that you’ll have to pay even more money just to use it. That is just so frustrating to me. So I was pleasantly surprised to see that’s not the case with Petivity.
The detailed reports and insights into each cat’s litter box usage are also invaluable. Noticing a change in frequency or duration can help you catch health issues (and hopefully before they become serious), offering a proactive approach to pet care.
Drawbacks
For the most part, the drawbacks are minor and rarely a deal-breaker. The only massive drawback for me is that it doesn’t work with my Leo’s Loo Too or my Litter Robot 4. I’m guessing it has something to do with the fact that automatic litter boxes are both irregularly-shaped and fairly heavy compared to standard litter boxes. The monitor also doesn’t work with triangular-shaped “corner” litter boxes. So if you have either of those, then yes, this particular issue is a deal-breaker.
The learning curve is the other major drawback, in my opinion. It takes time for the app and monitor to learn the difference between your cats. At one point, it triggered a notification telling me that Zoe lost 400% of her body weight, going from about 14 lbs to 4 lbs. Why? Because it thought that Leia was Zoe. This wasn’t a huge deal for me because all three of my cats weigh vastly different amounts…for now. Leia is catching up to Alex, though.
The Wi-Fi connectivity requirement is the only other drawback that could be considered “major” for some households. First, any disruptions in your internet service can affect the monitor’s performance, which is something to consider. Second, it only connects to 2.4 Ghz Wi-Fi. So if you mainly use 5G, you’re out of luck.
Conclusion
The Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor represents a significant step forward in pet health and wellness technology. For a household like mine, with Zoe, Alex, and Leia each having their own unique habits and needs, it offers a blend of convenience, insight, and peace of mind that’s hard to beat.
While the reliance on a stable Wi-Fi connection and the steep learning curve are points to consider, the benefits—especially for multi-cat homes—outweigh these drawbacks. Whether you’re a tech-savvy pet owner looking to streamline your pet care routine or someone concerned about your cats’ health, the Petivity monitor is certainly worth considering. Its ability to provide detailed, cat-specific health insights makes it an invaluable tool in the quest to ensure our furry family members are not just happy, but healthy too.
If the Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor seems like a good fit for you household you can purchase the monitor from Amazon here or from Chewy here.
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