IFA is supposed to be about human technology, but at IFA 2026 in Berlin, our furry friends were clearly getting most of the attention. The show floor was packed with gadgets designed to clean up after pets, monitor their health, keep them hydrated, entertain them and, in some cases, pretend to be them.
Some of the ideas looked genuinely useful. Others felt like the first step towards giving your cat its own smart-home ecosystem and a robot replacement in case it gets bored.
Self-cleaning litter boxes are getting seriously clever
Cleaning litter trays is one of those jobs nobody enjoys, so it is no surprise that automatic litter boxes were everywhere. The PetSuper LitterGo and CATLINK Pro-X both showcased the latest generation of self-cleaning units. CATLINK’s system goes beyond simply removing waste, with health monitoring that can track bathroom frequency, visit duration and your cat’s weight before sending updates to a smartphone.
Neakasa also displayed several self-cleaning litter boxes, including a large transparent cocoon-shaped model that lets you watch your cat do its business. If that is your idea of quality entertainment, the option is there. Petgugu took things a step further with its Self-Flushing Smart Cat Toilet, which connects directly to household plumbing.
Smart drying stations want to make bath time less stressful
Drying a pet after a bath can be harder than the bath itself. Handheld hair dryers are loud, uncomfortable and frequently treated as instruments of torture by animals. The PetSuper DryGo is designed to offer a calmer alternative, using temperature-regulated warm air, climate sensors and ultra-quiet fans.
The idea is simple: place your pet inside a controlled drying station rather than chase it around the house with a noisy hair dryer. If these systems can genuinely keep temperatures stable and reduce noise, they could make grooming less stressful for both pets and owners.
GPS collars and activity trackers keep pets connected
Petpogo’s PetPhone was one of the more unusual products on display. The smart collar includes a tiny speaker that lets owners talk to their pets remotely, which could be useful for animals that spend time outdoors.
SATELLAI showed an AI-powered GPS dog collar that uses geofencing. When a dog leaves its permitted area, the system can play a recorded voice telling it to come back. A separate version monitors health and activity, including sleep and movement, before reporting them to a smartphone.
Can AI really translate what your pet is saying?
Google Translate still cannot tell you exactly what your cat wants, although that has not stopped companies from exploring the idea. PettiChat AI Collar and smart-home integrations from brands such as Haier used AI vocalisation technology to analyse barks and meows.
The systems claim to identify emotional states by processing audio and comparing it with large collections of animal sounds and veterinary behaviour models. Whether your cat is genuinely expressing a specific emotion or simply demanding food remains open to debate. The technology is intriguing, particularly if it can identify distress, discomfort or unusual behaviour rather than just turning every meow into “feed me”.
Automated feeding and hydration take over the kitchen
Nekasa showed Riko, a system that mixes wet food in real time, while Petgugu displayed an AI Smart Food Dispenser designed to track feeding volumes and eating behaviour. PETKIT’s YumShare combined a dual-hopper dispenser with a camera, allowing owners to portion food, watch their pets eat and share the footage.
For homes with multiple animals, Petlibro’s RFID feeders can identify individual pets and serve different diets. Petwant focused on vacuum-sealed storage dispensers, while PetSuper’s FeedView units streamed HD video to smartphones.
Water was also getting the smart treatment. PetSuper and Neakasa displayed connected fountains, while Petgugu’s Waterfall Water Dispenser used optical sensors to track drinking frequency and fluid intake. If the advertised monitoring works reliably, it could help owners notice changes in hydration before they become a serious problem.
AI pet cameras and robotic companions
Pet cameras are evolving beyond static livestreams. PetSuper’s ViGo AI Camera, petpogo’s PetCam AI and Cozio Robotics’ mobile companion robots use movement, wide-angle tracking and interactive toys to follow pets around the home.
The pitch is companionship as much as surveillance: these devices can monitor behaviour, interact with animals and deliver alerts while owners are away. The new cat-and-robot image at the show captures that direction perfectly — less security camera, more tiny household playmate.
Robotic pets are getting surprisingly expressive
ECOVACS’ Lilmilo is designed to recognise emotions and adapt its behaviour, while OlloNi’s SS1 uses a large screen for an expressive face, animated eyes, movement and a furry, elevating neck.
These are not replacements for real animals, obviously. They are closer to emotionally aware home robots with pet-like personalities. Whether that sounds adorable or slightly terrifying probably depends on how much you enjoy being watched by a machine with eyes.
The final word
IFA 2026 showed that pet technology is becoming more connected, more automated and increasingly powered by AI. The most useful ideas are probably the least flashy: health monitoring, safer drying, controlled feeding, hydration tracking and reliable GPS.
Pet translators and robotic companions are more experimental, but they show where the industry wants to go next. The real test will be whether these devices solve genuine problems for pets and owners, rather than simply adding another subscription and smartphone notification to daily life.
One thing is certain: your pet may not have a passport, a bank account or a social-media manager yet, but it is getting alarmingly close to having a complete smart-home setup.