The Verge’s favorite pet tech

Photo by Helen Havlak / The Verge

If you have a pet, it's likely that you have something cool that you use to feed the pet, amuse the pet, watch the pet, track the pet, or travel with the pet. Many at The Verge have animal companions whom they feed, care for, worry about, and enjoy.

We asked our co-workers to tell us about the techie gadgets they use to keep their pets clean, fed, and amused, along with portraits of the much-loved dogs and cats. We have some great photos to show you. Enjoy.

Aslan

Mitchell Clark is a news writer.

Photo by Mitchell Clark / The Verge

After our vet told us that our cat Aslan needed some kitty Liposuction, we got the WOPET automatic feeders. We had been letting him eat whenever he wanted, but he clearly didn't have enough self-control for that, and I didn't have the will to feed him on a set schedule. The WOPET was able to solve the issue by giving him his food four times a day with set amounts, so I wouldn't have to wake him up to give him a snack. It is also great when we go on vacation.

It doesn't have an app, or wi-fi, or anything that will one day be rendered a brick. I can use the buttons on the top to set how often my cat is fed and how much food I give her. I can't speak to the quality of those features, but if you're the type that wants your pet feeders to connect to the internet, WOPET does make a version with an app and a built-in camera.

Cats and dogs have feeders.

The Chom Chom pet hair removal device is a simple device made of plastic, fabric, and rubber. It is better to get cat hair off my couch, cat tree, and other upholstery than it is to get it off myself. I'd like to explain more, but I think this is the best way to explain the ChomChom.

Gif by Mitchell Clark / The Verge

I know I'm stretching the definition, but I had to share the ChomChom because I saw someone use it for the first time. It changed my life and I hope it can do the same for you. As far as I can tell, the limited cat edition ChomChom is 0 percent more functional than the regular one. It was still worth it.

The cat and dog hair is removed.

Jeeves

The deputy editor is Elizabeth Lopatto.

Photo by Liz Lopatto / The Verge

While I work, Jeeves loves to be in the office with me. I assume she is supervising. I got her a fuzzy cat bed to make her cozier. At first, she was afraid of it and shy around new people, but now, a year later, it is her favorite place to sit. She spends the afternoon in it.

There is a bed for cats and dogs.

He came home one day and said that he had gotten me a present. He said we could use it. We do. It's an electric blanket, and Jeeves loves it. If your back or neck hurts, it's great. Cats like to lie on heating grate. She will ditch the heating grate for this because she will get to cuddle her humans.

The blanket has a built-in remote.

Trico and Kaiser

Adi Robertson is a senior reporter.

Photo by Adi Robertson / The Verge

Skoon is a bag of soft rocks made of diatomaceous earth. I don't know what makes these rocks so good at masking smells and keeping trash monsters out of my apartment. It's also supposedly eco-friendly, but I can't attest to that. My husband calls it a miracle of science and I'm not going to disagree.

The cat litter is made of pebbles.

• $28 at Amazon
• $28 at Petco

Trudee

Senior social media manager.

Photo by Kaitlin Hatton / The Verge

Trudee is often the focus of my attention. She has a lot of toys in my apartment, but she won't play with them unless I watch her. Sitting within feet of her, just staring at her chewing on her toys for hours on end, it was like literally, no distraction.

I love staring at my dog, but she doesn't get the enrichment she deserves when her activity levels are tied to my ability to give her undivided attention. I bought The Pet Fit For Life plush wand. There is a toy attached to a rope that is suspended from a pole. Trudee is so focused on chasing the toy that she doesn't notice if I am not making eye contact. It's a win-win.

There is a duck dog toy.

• $11 at Amazon
• $11 at Chewy

Ned and Olive

Sarah Smithers is an editorial assistant.

Photo by Sarah Smithers / The Verge

Ned and Olive are medium-sized dogs that my husband and I have.

I could go on and on about their positive qualities, but I will focus on the one negative that they share: they are walking hairballs. I don't know how two animals can shed so much. Every day, they lose hair to make a new dog.

I try to keep my floors fur-free by taking my vacuum cleaner out at least twice a week. Five minutes after I put it away, another dog hair tumbleweed will roll across the hardwood.

That is where my Shark Cordless Pet Perfect Handheld Vacuum comes in. It weighs less than my regular vacuum and makes tidying up in between cleaning sessions a breeze. I walk around my living room for two minutes every evening, sucking up hairballs and stuffing from murdered toys. It's not great at getting the hair out of the rugs, but it keeps the hardwood floors neat. Ned doesn't hide from it, and Olive doesn't try to attack it, because it's not half as loud as a normal vacuum.

The vacuum picks up pet hair.

Bill and Ted

Alice Newcome-Beill is a commerce writer.

Photo by Alice Newcome-Beill / The Verge

You end up bringing home two cats if you want one. You have two and they produce enough poop for three. When my partner and I were looking for a new feline companion, we didn't anticipate bringing home two, but the dynamic duo known as Bill and Ted are an inseparable pair. Don't get me wrong, they're cute, but sometimes foul. After spending a week or so emptying their communal litter box, I knew we needed an automated solution. There are lots of automatic litter boxes on the market, but only one Litter-Robot. The most elegant solution I have seen to keep a litter box turd-free is this unconventional but clever piece of engineering.

The central compartment of the Litter-Robot rotates in place to sift out litter and deposit clumps in a bag that is in a drawer in the base of the litter robot. We empty the bin once a week for our two cats. If your cat has vision problems, the Litter-Robot has anLED light to illuminate it in dark areas, and it has a pressure sensor to make it never cycles while a cat is using it. You can program how often you want the Litter-Robot to cycle, so it doesn't cycle in the middle of the night. I didn't think I'd be discussing quality-of-life features for a litter box.

The standard model of the Connect series offers many of the same features as the standard model but uses an app to allow you to remotely cycle the device and track your cat's bathroom habits. The Litter-Robot 3 is one of the best investments I've made for my cats, and anyone that owns more than one cat should consider owning one.

Olivia and Mozart

Helen Havlak is the publisher.

Photo by Helen Havlak / The Verge

Photo by Helen Havlak / The Verge

Our cat is a big cat who loves to eat dry food so much that she sometimes vomits. The Catit slow feeders have five plastic cups in a holder. Your cat has to fish the food out of the cups with their paws in order to eat it. I like to think that this will give our cat a little extra physical and mental exercise.

She sometimes throws food and then has to chase it down, so don't place it in a high foot-traffic area. I like that you can disassemble it and use the individual food cups in your dishwasher when it needs to be cleaned.

The ceramic pet fountain is a little pricey, but it is completely silent, unlike other fountains we have tried. It's possible to put it in your bedroom or bathroom without having to listen to the noise of a motor. The splashing noises were a big problem with the old one. It's easy to clean, because the top lifts off, the pump lifts up, and you can wash it down with hot water. We don't bother buying carbon filters because we just start with water and clean regularly.

Our cat loves dry food and it's important that she also loves it.

If you love your cat but also love your furniture, buy a few cardboard cat scratchers. Our cat has stopped scratching our couch because he loves them so much. We get several months of use out of each one. You can spend a lot of money on one shaped like a skateboard.

A cat scratcher made of corrugated cardboard.

Oscar and Pouncey

Antonio G. Di Benedetto is a writer.

Photo by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge

Pouncey and Oscar have always shared a litter box. Oscar, the younger one, is quite messy, jumping out of the box with reckless abandon and spreading litter all over. We initially had a covered box, but last year we went for a self-cleaning one, which was on sale for a little more than $400. It is good in some ways and dumb in others.

If we ever go on a trip, we don't have to ask friends or family to handle poop duties because I no longer scoop litter every day. If I don't empty out the waste bin on time, it will pile up too high. Have you ever tried opening a drawer with a ladle in it? The drawer gets stuck when it hits the top of the frame. It's clumped up cat pee on the underside as you pull it out. It's not ideal. It handles the daily duties, but it keeps me on schedule, or I end up in the other doodies.

An automatic cat litter box with multiple sensors keeps things neat and odor-free.

Gus and Smokey

Tuohy is a reviewer.

Photo by Jennifer Pattison Tuohy / The Verge

As a puppy, my wirehaired pointinggriffon was the escape artist. He could leap our five-foot high fence in a single bound if a dog, squirrel, or leaf caught his eye. The Whistle Go Explore location tracker helped us track him down after he ran away, first alerting us to his escapade and then helping us locate him with its gps location tool.

It has been helpful in making sure he is getting enough exercise as he gets older. The Whistle Go is a device that tells us how many steps he has taken and how many calories he has burned. It has a health feature that can keep track of how much drinking, licking, scratching, and sleeping he does. This information helped us realize that the poor boy has terrible seasonal allergies and that he is now on a daily regimen of Zyrtec.

I couldn't live without my automatic feeders. I have 14 mouths to feed in my house, with one dog, one cat, seven chickens, a bunny rabbit, two kids, and a husband. It could be a full-time job to make sure everyone gets what they need. Two fewer mouths for me to worry about is the result of being able to delegate feeding the dog and cat to two separate PetSafe pet feeders.

I use the PetSafe app to program how many meals they get each day, and how much each portion is, and it's very helpful now that my puppy is on a vet-instructed diet. There are some feeders that can recognize your pet based on their chip, but the table works too. If someone needs a snack, I can just press the button on the feeders, and they will get a little extra, or I can ask the speaker to give them a specific amount. The smart home is so helpful because of hands-free convenience.