Purina's Petivity Debuts AI Smart Feeder for Cats
Petivity, owned by Purina, has launched a $150 smart feeder for cats that uses cameras and AI facial recognition to track eating habits across up to five cats. It dispenses kibble only and requires no subscription for AI tracking.
The feeder can learn the unique feeding behaviors of up to five cats, according to Engadget. It tracks portion sizes, eating frequency and feeding patterns. Petivity says this can turn everyday feeding time into a source of actionable health insight. The company says the system can detect subtle shifts in behavior that may be useful during a veterinary visit. All of the information is available through an affiliated app.
The product is also a standard smart pet feeder with a camera. Users can dispense kibble remotely through the app and create custom schedules. It supports video calls so owners can check on their cats, and it sends alerts when kibble is running low. Many of the components are dishwasher-safe, which Engadget noted is not always the case with more elaborate pet feeders.
For multi-cat homes, the main benefit is knowing which cat is eating what. The feeder cannot swap out foods, but it can let users know if a cat is snacking on food it should not be eating. That matters when one cat requires a special diet for medical reasons and needs to avoid another cat's food.
Petivity said the AI tools were trained on 21,000 real-world feeding sessions, 1,400 hours of video and more than 15,000 pictures of cats. The company also said that during product testing, 99.5 percent of cats were happy to eat from the feeder.
The feeder has one significant limitation: it only handles kibble, not wet food. Automatic feeders for wet food exist, but they require refrigeration technology. The Petivity Smart Feeder for Cats is available for purchase now and costs $150. No subscription is required to access the AI tracking tools, Engadget reported.
Editor's Summary
Petivity, owned by Purina, has launched a $150 cat-only smart feeder that uses cameras and AI facial recognition to track up to five cats' eating habits, portions and patterns. The device offers app-based scheduling, video check-ins and low-food alerts, but it dispenses only kibble. The launch reflects growing use of computer vision in pet products, with no subscription required for the AI features.