Clumping clay cat litter is what I recommend for most people, as it primarily uses a naturally absorbent bentonite clay. It expands when wet/soiled, making it "clump," which is easier to scoop and generally more hygienic. However, it's not as environmentally friendly because it's not biodegradable and can contain carcinogenic silica dust.

Smart devices that ensure a consistently clean environment for your feline friend. Advancements in pet care technology have led to the development of automatic litter boxes. These smart devices handle the dirty work for you, ensuring a consistently clean environment for your feline friend while saving you time and effort. Below is a list of 10 automatic litter boxes that'll get the job done – so you don't have to! The Whisker Litter-Robot 4 is an automatic litter box known for its sleek design, quiet operation and strong odor control.

Why not spoil your furry friend--and save some bones while you're at it too--with some of our favorite Amazon Pet Day deals. In the great tradition of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Amazon Prime Day, Amazon has expanded these savings extravaganzas to the pet tech sphere. As the pet tech writer here at WIRED, I have strong opinions about which (often pricey) pet gear is worth your hard-earned dough. I've rounded up some of the best deals I've seen so far on some of my favorite pet-related items I've tested. From automatic litter boxes to toys, feeders to fountains, and even DNA testing kits and pet cameras, I've put the best pet-related deals on WIRED-tested gear that I've seen so far below.

It seems as if cat and pet tech has been growing and advancing hugely every year. Companies are in a race to get out the most tech-advanced pet gear for our feline friends by tracking behavior and patterns through an app and utilizing tech to do the dirty work like scooping the box. Petkit recently released its newest robo-box, the Petkit Purobot Ultra, which promises to be the first smart litter box that uses AI to recognize your cat's face, while also tracking and recording usage (and the cat's stool itself … more on that later). My two cats and I have been testing a fair amount of these pet tech products over the past month, from automatic cat feeders to automatic litter boxes--including Petkit's PuraMax 2, which was my second-favorite automatic litter box. I have varying opinions on these boxes, but usually they're just different configurations of the same sort of premise.

I used to be staunchly against automatic litter boxes. Frankly, I thought moving parts could easily trap tiny kitty paws. And without daily scooping, you lose vital information--if a cat isn't urinating, that's a telltale sign that something bad is happening internally. A difference of a few days could be tragic. I have to keep a close eye on one of my own cats, Huxley, for this reason.