The Verge has launched a themed week of coverage exploring how technology intersects with pet ownership, covering devices that feed, monitor, clean up after and entertain cats, dogs, fish and other animals. The package reflects a growing market of "smart" pet products, while also examining where such tech falls short, overpromises or simply gets outwitted by the animals it's meant to serve.

The series includes reviews and personal accounts, such as a look at Whisker's $899 Litter-Robot 5 Pro, whose AI features reportedly fail to reliably tell the writer's two cats apart, and a piece on Google's Gemini for Home, which similarly struggles to distinguish between pets via Nest cameras. Other instalments cover tips for photographing pets, turning a fish tank into a high-tech setup, a parrot damaging a keyboard, and a cat using its own iPad.