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Whisker's newest flagship adds two cameras, more headroom and a bigger sealed drawer, and Cats.com ranks it best overall. But Wirecutter found its app 'extremely glitchy', and BGR had to reset it about weekly, calling it a step back in reliability from the Litter-Robot 4.
Top complaints
- Buggy app and sensor errors
Wirecutter tested it for nearly two months and found the app controls extremely glitchy. BGR got frequent sensor errors (false 'extended scale activity' with no cat nearby) and motor issues, had to manually reset it about once a week, and saw the app show the wrong status and setup crash several times.
Source: Wirecutter, BGR review - Key features behind a subscription
Cats.com says the Whisker+ subscription ($7.99/month) is needed for real-time video, visual cat identification and up to two years of history; the free tier gives two days of video and five minutes of live view a day.
- Very expensive and still new
Cats.com lists it at $899 and flags the high price and possible new-model glitches. BGR found the camera more novelty than daily necessity.
What owners love
- Cleans as well as the Litter-Robot 4
Wirecutter says it seems high-quality and cleans as well as its predecessor. Cats.com reports reliable self-cleaning and quiet cycling.
- Bigger sealed drawer, strong odor control
Cats.com credits strong odor control to a generously sized waste drawer, and says the redesign fixes the Litter-Robot 4's urine-leak gap. BGR noticed odor only after the unit had silently stopped working.
- More headroom and better hardware
Wirecutter notes an extra inch of headroom and two built-in cameras. BGR praises quieter operation, better buttons and an LED status display; Cats.com says its scale is more accurate than the 4's.
- Reliability matters more than features
- You don't want a monthly subscription
- You want to buy on Amazon
- People who want camera-based multi-cat identification
- Buyers comfortable paying for a subscription
- Litter-Robot fans who want the latest model
Scores (tap for why)
What experts say
- Wirecutter (NYT): Not a pick yet (2026-06-01): high quality and cleans well, but the app controls were extremely glitchy. Wirecutter plans to retest after Whisker's fixes.
- BGR: 'Maybe' (2026-02-08): nice new features, but less dependable than the Litter-Robot 4, with weekly resets and an unresponsive app.
- Cats.com: Overall best (2026-09-09) for its dual cameras, cat identification and odor control; cons are price, new-model glitches and subscription-gated features.