Whisker launches AI-powered litter boxes that monitor cat health for $7.99/month

Whisker has launched three new AI-powered smart litter boxes, including the Litter-Robot 5 Pro with dual cameras that monitor cats’ bathroom habits and health patterns. The company is also introducing Whisker+, its first subscription service for $7.99 per month, which provides advanced pet health tracking and behavioral insights through extended data analysis.

What you should know: The new lineup includes three models designed for different household needs and budgets.

• The base Litter-Robot 5 costs $799 and features automatic cleaning with improved waste distribution to reduce odors.
• The premium Litter-Robot 5 Pro costs $899 and adds two AI-powered cameras—one external camera to distinguish between multiple pets and one internal camera to monitor feces and urine.
• The $599 Litter-Robot EVO targets two-cat households with self-cleaning capabilities.

How the AI monitoring works: The dual-camera system in the Pro model creates a comprehensive health tracking ecosystem for pet owners.

• The external camera identifies individual cats in multi-pet households, while the internal camera analyzes waste for health indicators.
• All data feeds into the Whisker app, which tracks activity patterns and detects changes in routine behavior.
• RFID tracking tags ($29 each) can help distinguish between similar-looking cats for more accurate monitoring.

The subscription angle: Whisker+ represents the company’s move into recurring revenue through advanced health analytics.

• The $7.99 monthly or $79.90 annual subscription adds pattern identification, long-term behavior monitoring, and early issue detection.
• Whisker promises not to put currently free features behind the paywall, positioning the subscription as purely additive.
• The service aims to help pet parents “identify patterns, monitor changes, spot issues early, and better understand their cat’s behavior over longer periods of time.”

Why this matters: Smart pet care represents a growing intersection between AI health monitoring and the $261 billion global pet care market, with early detection potentially reducing veterinary costs while improving pet health outcomes.

Availability: All products are available for preorder now through Whisker’s website, with shipments beginning November 3, 2024.