Whisker's $899 litter robot can't tell two cats apart

Key takeaway

• Whisker's Litter-Robot 5 Pro, a $899 automated litter box with AI-powered cat facial recognition and health monitoring, failed to reliably identify which cat was using it or track their health metrics during a six-month test.

• The device's core AI features—including the ability to distinguish between two differently-looking cats and monitor waste type—did not work as advertised, though the basic scooping function itself performed well.

• The company later disclosed hardware issues with the test unit and has since rolled out improvements, but owners have been paying for a $8/month subscription whose promised features did not function at launch.

3 Key Points

FAQ

What went wrong with the Litter-Robot 5 Pro's AI features?

The facial recognition system (called Cat ID) failed to tell two different-looking cats apart and eventually merged them into identical profiles in the app. The WasteID system, which was supposed to distinguish between urine and feces, repeatedly failed to accurately identify waste type. The onboard scale also malfunctioned, assigning one cat's weight to the other—the reviewer's 13.4-pound cat Smokey lost 2 pounds overnight when the robot mistook him for his younger brother Boone.

What does the $8/month Whisker Plus subscription cover?

The subscription includes AI health features and video storage. However, during the test, it did not deliver actionable insights, and several core features (like the Patterns summary showing daily visits, weight, and time spent) were rolled out several months after the product launched—meaning owners paid for features that did not work at release.

How much does the Litter-Robot 5 Pro cost, and what are the alternative models?

The Litter-Robot 5 Pro costs $899. Whisker also offers the Litter-Robot 5 ($699, without camera), the Litter-Robot 4 ($699), and the Litter-Robot Evo ($599, smallest and most compact but with fewer features). The reviewer suggests the regular Litter-Robot 5 ($699) is better value than the Pro if you do not need the camera.