I’m pretty sure our pets are enjoying this pandemic way more than us, I mean they get to have their hoomans all to themselves almost all the time! And as much as I love spending time with my own cats, I’m honestly running out of ways to keep them entertained and prevent them from knocking down an item or two in my home, out of sheer boredom. If you’re pretty much in the same precarious situation as me, then this collection of pet products promises to come to your rescue! From a cardboard cat house to a 3D-printed wheelchair for aging dogs – these product designs will take good care of your pet, and keep them active and content! You can take a little breather, while they wrestle around with these newfound fun products!
1. Solar
MyZoo, a cat goods company, designs modern cat furniture that caters to your cat’s every need, while not disrupting your interior design. Solar, one of their more recent designs, is a wall-mountable floating cat bed that mounts onto any vertical surface so cats rest midair in their own designated space.
Why is it noteworthy?
Shaped like the sun, Solar is a small, but sturdy floating cat bed that’s built from pinewood. In a similar fashion to their other pieces of cat furniture, MyZoo lined Solar with a slotted resting platform for safe jumping. Ideal for small spaces, Solar provides a resting spot and jumping platform for your cat and saves space in the meantime.
What we like
- Solar doesn’t take up any ground space and easily mounts to any wall where there’s room
- Easy to assemble
What we dislike
- There’s no cushioning on the bed, which would make it comfier
2. The Leo’s Loo Too
Looking almost like a slick front-loaded washing machine, the Leo’s Loo Too by Smarty Pear uses a similar rotating chamber to automatically ‘flush’ out your cat’s poo, saving you the trouble of digging away at kitty excrement with a scoop.
Why is it noteworthy?
After your cat’s gone about its business, the Leo’s Loo Too waits for the waste to clump together before beginning its cleaning cycle. To clean out the cat’s waste, the entire inner chamber rotates a full 360, using gravity and a clever mesh design to sift out and separate the waste from the litter. At the end of one 360° spin, the waste gets sent into the Loo’s waste drawer where it’s collected in a plastic waste bag, while the upper chamber is cleaned and laid down with the litter once again. The entire process happens automatically and can be controlled/calibrated via a companion smartphone app
What we like
- Sports a modern enclosed design
- The enclosed space means your cat can go about its business with utmost privacy
What we dislike
- Occupies a substantial amount of space
3. CHEWDEN
Most pets, dogs specifically, can’t grab their food. They don’t have opposable thumbs, and almost always bend down while standing to eat their food by directly inserting their mouth into the bowl. While sitting, however, this becomes even more challenging, considering their arms come in the way. CHEWDEN’s redesign factors the dog’s physiology and behavior into its overall process, resulting in a form that seems naturally comfortable for dogs to eat in.
Why is it noteworthy?
The CHEWDEN sports a flat mat or base, onto which a detachable bowl or treat-gripper is securely snap-mounted (making it virtually impossible for a dog to remove through brute force). The base accounts for the fact that pets need a place to keep their paws, and that they almost inevitably spill food while eating – the paws also weigh down the mat to make it more stable… while the tilted+elevated bowl/gripper is within perfect reach for the pets, allowing them to eat without needing to bend their neck in awkward angles.
What we like
- Helps prevent choking by securing the end of the dog’s chew
- Helps the dog eat comfortably, with proper healthy etiquette
What we dislike
- Not sure whether all dogs would actually be open to using such a product
4. Alive
Alive is a customizable, 3D-printed wheelchair for dogs suffering from joint-related body ailments. As our dogs grow older, age-related body issues, such as arthritis, hip dysplasia, and paralysis make it difficult to enjoy life. When even moving feels hard, aging dogs are less likely to spend time with family members and take care of bodily needs, leading to psychological stress.
Why is it noteworthy?
While technical accessories and equipment do exist to offer some relief, antiquated building methods make it hard for dogs to adapt to wheelchairs and other assistive appliances. Revolutionizing the canine assistive appliance game, industrial designer Martin Tsai conceptualized a wheelchair for dogs called Alive that can be 3D printed to fit your dog’s body data and needs.
What we like
- It’s a one of a kind design that provides aid to dogs suffering from joint-related body ailments
- Uses 3D scans of the dog’s body data to generate an optimized wheelchair for each dog
What we dislike
No complaints!
5. The PetSafe Drinkwell Butterfly Pet Fountain
The PetSafe Drinkwell Butterfly Pet Fountain helps your pet stay hydrated! The innovative pet product features four falling water streams that attract your pets towards it. Once they move towards the product, they’re fascinated by the moving water, which in turn encourages them to end up drinking it. In fact, it even features a quiet water flow, which can be achieved by removing the butterfly topper.
Why is it noteworthy?
The interactive product is a fun yet functional way to ensure your pets drink as much water as possible! The fountain can hold 50 ounces of water, which basically means it can store water all day long. The continuous circulation of water prevents the growth of bacteria and germs.
What we like
- The dual-filtration technology eliminates bad tastes, odors, and debris
What we dislike
No complaints
6. PingPong
Keeping a dog is one thing but being able to care for her the way she would want is entirely another. Pet-friendly tech innovations have made keeping track of your dog, feeding them at the right time, and even monitoring their health a little easier, but what if you could also know how your dog is feeling at a given point in time? Your communication and experience would become increasingly healthy – either way – and this is what PingPong intends to do!
Why is it noteworthy?
With the intention to give dog owners – new and old – not very sure of the right communication with the pets an option to use technology to their benefit. And then to be able to provide their pals exactly what they want. PingPong allows communication through expression between dogs and their owners. PingPong is a name derived through feelings of dogs captured through their expression as ‘ping’ and the activities carried out after understanding feelings as ‘pong’.
What we like
- Allows communication between owners and dogs
- Can pick up five different dog feelings and represent the same in as many color notifications
What we dislike
- Not all doggos may be comfortable with wearing it
7. Cat Is Art
Interior design is an art of balance, and the furniture pieces made for our pets don’t always flow with the rest of our home the way we’d like. Too often, it comes down to what we’re willing to sacrifice: our interior design, or our cat’s comfort. Every once in a while, however, a new piece comes out that manages to wrap it all together. Cat Is Art, designed by Plenilunio Design Agency, is a modern cat tower that strikes the ideal balance between minimalism and rustic warmth.
Why is it noteworthy?
Amounting to a clever combination of a large bookshelf and cat tower, Cat Is Art finds climbing components via staggered shelves for cats to hop between and for users to store home appliances. Adding to their original cat den, the cat tower is its larger, taller counterpart. The cat tower’s exposed metal frame dips into farm-style interior design elements, giving it a rustic flair.
What we like
- Meets the needs of humans and pets alike
- Gives cats safe landing pads for resting and jumping
What we dislike
- Your pet could easily knock off your belongings that are placed on the shelves
8. The Invoxia smart dog collar
Announced at CES 2022, the Invoxia smart dog collar in addition to monitoring the vital stats also doubles as a GPS and activity tracker for your pooch and uses Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, GPS, and LTE-M for connectivity. It can keep constant tabs on the dog’s activity levels such as walking, running, resting, scratching, and barking and even provide pet parents with data regarding their dog’s daily routine on the accompanying app.
Why is it noteworthy?
For constant heart and respiratory health readings, this smart dog collar features radar sensors. The radar, according to Invoxia, sends out a radio signal which is reflected by the dog’s first layer of skin on the neck. The radar sensors are then able to “know the speed and movement of the skin right under the collar.” The readings are tabulated by an algorithm to determine the pet’s heart and respiratory rate.
What we like
- Doubles as a GPS and activity tracker for your pooch
- This dog collar is overly important since the heart and respiratory rates are first and true indicators for preventive care
What we dislike
- Aggressively priced
9. Petsy
Petsy is a cat house made from the bare essentials—just cardboard. Cats don’t need much, even a cardboard box will do. Moments after opening one from a shipment, your cat’s already found their hideaway, zen zone for the day. When they’re not in the mood for cuddling, a cardboard box is their personal playpen and private hideaway.
Why is it noteworthy?
Resembling the shape of an actual house, Petsy keeps a wide and lofty internal volume for cats to stretch and curl up to their heart’s content. Unadorned and unpainted, Petsy is a no-nonsense cat house that’s stripped down to its bare essentials—just the cardboard. In fact, if Petsy were to hit the markets, the entire house could be shipped as-is, no extra packaging necessary.
What we like
- Affordable
- Made from a sustainable material
What we dislike
No complaints!
10. TOMO
TOMO gives pet gear the upgrade it’s always needed, with minimalist aesthetics and beautifully engineered designs backed by high-quality materials. Putting basic plaid collars and harnesses with those fiddly carabiner clips in the rear-view mirror, TOMO’s pet gear comes in beautiful matte black, from the leash to collar to harness, and features a unique, robust metal clasp that’s minimal, durable, and easy to secure in a matter of seconds.
Why is it noteworthy?
All the products look like they’re a part of a wonderful ecosystem (unlike current pet gear where the leash, collar, and dog tag look different because they were all bought separately. The entire ecosystem of products draws a balance between functionality, comfort, and aesthetics, giving pet gear a modern upgrade and making them complement each other when worn together, like a well-designed suit.
What we like
- The metal latch locks/unlocks intuitively
- Designed to withstand immense force
What we dislike
No complaints!
