Purina Petivity Good Cat Litterbox Monitor System Overview

Setup is simple—plug it in or use the included batteries, sync with the app, and arrange your cat’s profile. Liz Coleman / Cats.com

In relation to their well being, cats are masters of disguise. Even essentially the most attentive cat mum or dad can miss delicate adjustments of their pet’s weight or litter field utilization which may level to a well being challenge. Luckily, advances in health-monitoring know-how have trickled right down to the pet world, making means for units just like the Petivity Good Cat Litter Field Monitor System. This progressive device goals to assist pet mother and father handle their cat’s well being by offering insights into their weight and loo habits.

However how dependable is the Petivity’s know-how, and is the info collected really helpful? Is it well worth the value? To seek out out, we examined the monitor for a number of weeks with two cats. Right here’s what we realized concerning the system, the place it shines, the place it might use enchancment, and who may profit most from it.

Why Belief Cats.com

From self-cleaning litter packing containers to automated feeders, our workforce has examined a variety of contemporary pet gear over time. I’ve personally reviewed a lot of self-cleaning litter packing containers, cat water fountains, cat trackers, and a microchip feeder, so I’m aware of the world of pet tech and the way it has served my very own feline family.

For this assessment, I explored the know-how behind the Petivity system, studying the way it works and the way Purina developed its AI capabilities. Then, I examined the system in my dwelling with two senior cats. Throughout setup, I noticed how straightforward it was to sync the system with my cellphone and “practice” the AI. I thought-about the Petivity’s accuracy and utility, and the intuitiveness of the app. I additionally thought-about the system’s worth, weighing the fee in opposition to its usefulness.

Lastly, I learn dozens of buyer critiques and Reddit threads to get a way of how others fared with the monitor. I took notice of whether or not they skilled any glitches and the way helpful they discovered the compiled knowledge.

Petivity ​Litter Field Monitor System and Purina Overview

Purina’s Petivity tracks weight and loo habits. Liz Coleman / Cats.com

Powered by Purina, the Petivity model develops good units that assist pet mother and father take proactive care of their pets. Together with the Good Cat Litter Field Monitor, Petivity additionally carries a Microbiome Evaluation Package.

The Petivity Litter Field Monitor System is a comparatively new system that was launched in 2022. The corporate has been engaged on this method for greater than a decade with assist from Purina veterinarians, behaviorists, and knowledge scientists. The Petivity’s purpose is to assist cats stay longer and more healthy lives by offering pet mother and father with helpful knowledge about their weight and conduct.

Purina consultants developed the Petivity system’s AI know-how by analyzing 1000’s of litter field makes use of from 1000’s of cats. They then used this knowledge to set thresholds for regular litter field use.

The system data your cat’s weight and litter field utilization, compiling this data to detect any adjustments which may require your consideration. If there’s a possible well being challenge, equivalent to a UTI, kidney illness, diabetes, weight problems, or hyperthyroidism, the Petivity will ship an alert so you possibly can take immediate motion.

Petivity ​​Good Cat Litter Field Monitor System Options

The Petivity system is designed to carry your cat’s current litter field. Liz Coleman / Cats.com

The Petivity Litter Field Monitor system is a low-profile scale that sits beneath your cat’s current litter field. The system syncs with a free app that data your cat’s weight and collects particulars on their toilet habits, together with litter field go to frequency, waste sort, and time of use. If it detects any adjustments that might point out a difficulty, it sends you an alert in your cellphone.

At the moment, the Petivity retails for $199.99 on Chewy however regularly goes on sale for $149.99.

Throughout setup, you’ll create a profile for every cat, with particulars about their gender, age, physique rating situation, and food regimen. For the primary week or so, the system might be in “coaching mode”—which means you’ll be serving to it learn to acknowledge your cat(s). Each time it detects an occasion, you’ll be requested to point which cat used the field primarily based on the recorded weight, in addition to whether or not the occasion was a primary, quantity two, or a non-cat occasion (like scooping).

As soon as the monitor collects sufficient occasions for every cat, it is going to be in a position to acknowledge them with out enter from you.

The app collects the variety of litter field visits and interprets these particulars into actionable insights. For example, in case your cat’s toilet visits double over the course of some days, the app will let you realize. The identical goes for weight fluctuations. You may then maintain a better eye in your cat or carry this data to your veterinarian.

In case you have a number of litter packing containers, you’ll want a Petivity monitor for each. There are measurement limitations, too. The Petivity Monitor is nineteen inches by 14 inches, so the corporate recommends utilizing a litter field no bigger than 21 inches by 16 inches to keep away from tipping and inaccurate readings.

The Petivity Monitor is suitable with conventional open litter packing containers and hooded litter packing containers, however it received’t work with triangular-shaped packing containers or self-cleaning packing containers.

What We Like:

• Helps pet mother and father choose up on delicate adjustments they may in any other case miss
• Distinguishes between cats primarily based on their weight—there’s no want for a chip or collar
• No subscription plan required
• Low-profile design shouldn’t inhibit litter field use for many cats
• Can function with an influence wire or 6 AA batteries, that are included

What We Dislike:

• You’ll want one for every litter field (which could possibly be a major expense for multi-cat houses)
• The AI know-how can get confused in case your cats’ weight is comparable
• Solely suitable with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi—received’t work with 5 GHz
• Received’t work with bigger litter packing containers

What Did Our Take a look at Cats Assume?

Senior cats Floyd and Amber had no drawback utilizing their litter field with the Petivity scale. Liz Coleman / Cats.com

Right away, I can say I used to be impressed with the know-how behind the Petivity. The setup part went off and not using a hitch, and it solely took a couple of minutes to sync the system to the app. My cats had been unfazed by this addition to their litter field setup, and the slight peak distinction shouldn’t hinder entry for many cats.

In the course of the studying interval—roughly 5 days—anytime the monitor registered an occasion, I obtained real-time notifications on my cellphone prompting me to confirm the occupant and what they left behind. Take notice: You’ll must maintain an in depth eye in your cat’s toilet conduct throughout this time. If you happen to work exterior the house, you possibly can nonetheless use the Petivity, however the AI may want a number of additional days to turn out to be acquainted along with your cats.

As for accuracy, the Petivity was largely spot-on, with occasions showing within the app inside a minute or so. That stated, it wasn’t good. There have been situations the place it swapped my two cats. And one in every of my cat’s weight was all around the map. The burden adjustments appeared too drastic to be correct, so I did some investigating. I realized that sure behaviors (i.e., peeing and pooping in tandem) can confuse the AI. As well as, an imbalanced scale can throw readings out of whack.

I appreciated the app’s user-friendly interface and intuitive navigation. I used to be introduced with knowledge in easy-to-digest graphs and lists. Every cat had their very own profile the place I might consider their every day occasions individually.

Every cat has a profile the place you possibly can see their every day litter field use. Liz Coleman / Cats.com

As soon as the AI learns to determine your cats, you’ll cease getting pinged after each occasion. However should you’re involved about one cat specifically and also you’d wish to maintain an in depth watch, you possibly can set the app to inform you each time they use the litter field. You may even generate month-to-month reviews to obtain and share along with your vet.

Because the guardian of two paunchy senior cats (one with hyperthyroidism), I believe the Petivity monitor is a extremely helpful device. As we all know, it’s practically inconceivable to trace one cat’s toilet habits, not to mention two. Which might make it difficult to know which cat may need an issue. Getting up-to-the-minute particulars on my cats’ little treasures—and with the ability to differentiate between them—is a significant win for proactive pet care.

It’s not good, and we skilled some accuracy hiccups. However general, the Petivity actually impressed me. I’d enterprise to say it’s a extra correct health-monitoring system than Fairly Litter, and it’s positively extra inexpensive than a Litter-Robotic 4.

The Petivity might carry peace of thoughts to households with senior cats, cats liable to urinary tract infections, anxious first-time cat mother and father, or any cat mum or dad who desires to be extra educated and proactive about their pet’s well being.

What Do Prospects Consider the Petivity Litter Field Monitor System?

Constructive Critiques

“This Petivity monitor is nothing in need of superb. My kitty was identified with FLUTD and this monitor provides me peace of thoughts to know when and the way typically he’s utilizing the litter field. It’s correct in telling when he’s utilizing it and what he’s doing in there. Couldn’t suggest extra when you have a kitty that has urinary points!”—Brittany, on Chewy.com

For essentially the most half, cat mother and father respect the peace of thoughts that the Petivity brings. The vast majority of customers thought-about the setup course of simple and the app straightforward to make use of. Quite a few reviewers remarked that they preferred with the ability to maintain tabs on their cat whereas out of city. And others appreciated the power to trace progress with their cat’s food regimen.

Damaging Critiques

“I used to be excited to get this attached at our farm home, however have now put it apart. The unit is not going to connect with our 5 GHz router. We have to buy an extender as a result of our Verizon community doesn’t have the two.4 GHz choice for his or her router. We had to do that for the Furbo unit at dwelling as that has the identical requirement. Could be useful to provide a heads up so patrons may be ready.”—Phosphorus, on Chewy.com

A lot of the complaints concentrate on points with accuracy. Some people stated the Petivity had bother distinguishing between a number of cats. Just a few cat mother and father had been additionally irked by the web necessities (the unit works with 2.4 GHz, not 5 GHz). And a few felt the fee was prohibitive for households with a couple of litter field.

Comparable Manufacturers & Merchandise

In search of different merchandise that may assist you to maintain higher monitor of your cat’s well being? Try a few of our different model critiques.