How we review

Weeks, not an unboxing

Most problems with pet tech show up after the first week: a sensor that drifts, a hopper that jams on one kibble shape, a collar battery that fades in cold weather, an app update that breaks notifications. We keep each device in daily use long enough to see those, and we keep using the app the whole time.

Numbers we measure ourselves

• Battery life, timed from full charge in normal use, next to the maker's claim.
• Location accuracy and update intervals for trackers, on walks we have also recorded on a phone.
• Portion accuracy for feeders, weighed on a kitchen scale over repeated meals.
• Noise, cleaning time and consumables for litter boxes and fountains.
• The full cost of ownership: hardware, required subscriptions and replacement parts for a year.

The animals decide too

A feeder the cat refuses to eat from has failed, however good its app is. We note how our cats and dogs took to each device, how long that took, and whether anything frightened them. Nobody is forced to keep using something that stresses them.

How the score works

Each review ends in one overall score out of 10, given to one decimal place. It weighs reliability over the test period, the app, running costs against the price, and how the animals responded. As a rough guide:

• 9 and above: rare. It does its job with almost no caveats.
• 8 to 8.9: a strong pick for the people the review names.
• 6.5 to 7.9: good with real trade-offs; read the cons before buying.
• Below 6.5: we would steer most people elsewhere, and the verdict says who should skip it.

The rankings sort every review by this score. Specs listed in a review come from the maker; the score and the verdict are ours.

Corrections and updates

When a firmware update, a price change or a reader report changes our view, we update the review and add a correction note on the page saying what changed. Nothing here is veterinary advice; ask a vet about anything medical.