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These are the things we use to spoil our furry friends.
UpdatedMon, November 24, 2025 at 1:01 PM UTC
We're a pet-loving staff here at Engadget, with diverse distribution of cat people, dog people, other-small-fuzzy-creature people, bird feeder enjoyers and so on (at press time, I'm unsure if we have a rat person, but I'd be surprised if we didn't). And, of course, we love getting new gadgets of all sorts for our pets as much as for ourselves. This list, with gifts as low-tech as a blanket and as high-tech as the best $30 two-way camera you'll ever use, is for the pet lover in your life — whether that's you or another favorite human. Every entry comes waggingly approved by at least one fuzzy friend.
Best gadgets for your pets
I know I can leave my kitty on her own for a little while, but I still get nervous (for both her and my furniture) whenever she's alone in the house. In those moments, the Petcube Cam is amazing for peace of mind. It doesn't just let you see and hear your buddy while you're away — with two-way audio, you can chat with your pet, and see the sound of your voice make them bound giddily (dog) or feign indifference while paying rapt attention (cat). The connected app alerts whenever something unusual happens, like a barking or meowing spree or a human moving around in the visible field. You can even zoom in and out, though you may not need to, as the picture is quite good.
We got this for our cat whenever we wanted to leave her on her own for a couple of days. She's very independent, but has an unfortunate tendency to scarf her food too quickly — then she barfs and she's hungry, which really ruins her weekend if we aren't home to feed her. This Petlibro feeder changed all of that. It works for cats and dogs, and thanks to a long-lasting battery, you can put it wherever your pet likes to eat without needing an outlet. You can set it to dispense up to 35 portions of food per day, depending on how many pets you've got and how often they need to eat. It's also built to keep the pets themselves from interfering; there's a tight lid for the top, and a cover for the controls in case your cat gets smart and tries to reprogram it.
All right, I guess this blanket is for humans, but just try and keep any free-roaming animal from curling up on it. Leave it folded on the floor and watch your dog find their new favorite bed, or drape it over yourself on the couch and watch your cat make a feline beeline for your lap. As the name suggests, these blankets are velvety-soft to the touch, and they come in a wide range of colors that match the tones of any room — and the animals that hang out in it. Plus, if you borrow it for yourself every now and then, it'll start to smell like you and make your pets even more excited to loaf.
It's easy to forget that your dog is an apex predator, especially when they've just gotten lost in the bathtub or tried to eat their own hair, but our furry friends are technically at the top of the food chain — and to live happily, they need ways to work out their hunting instincts. Interactive play is great, but sometimes you just need them to make their own fun for a moment. This dispenser is a gift your dog will love, and one that will make them fight for every treat. It's a classic weeble that wobbles but stays up, so your dog will have to get creative to make the goodies come out. If they get too good at it, you can make the hole smaller to raise the difficulty and keep them occupied.
AirTag is a great concept: the magic of calling your phone to find out where it is, but applied to every object in your life you might lose. What you may not know is that AirTags work really well for pets, too. Just stick them on the collar of any outdoor (or flight-risk) animal, and you'll be able to use your iPhone to find them. AirTags work using Bluetooth, which has an effective range of about 100 feet — ideal for cats, who tend to stay close to home when they get lost, but also helpful for dogs. It's a lot easier to get within 100 feet of a skittish pup than to find the exact bush or porch it's hiding under. — A.S.
Read more: The best Bluetooth trackers
The Pretty Litter company offers a regular subscription that will deliver a new bag of litter to your door every time the current batch is about spent. This isn't any regular litter, either. It's mixed with tiny silicon crystals that are amazing at trapping smells — in fact, so good that you can get away with using less litter, which makes each bag last longer. Even cooler, it changes color to indicate anything weird happening in your cat's urine, so you can get them to the vet before it becomes a real problem.
Early this year, two of my friends adopted the most energetic dog of all time, an adoring and adorable mutt — part German Shepherd, part racehorse and part hummingbird. Some things manage to distract him, and some to tire him out, but so far this puzzle feeder is the only thing that does both. It comes with three difficulty levels that he can work his way up, facing ever greater challenges in his quest for the treat. Each puzzle requires careful simultaneous motions that even I, an alleged human, find tricky but engaging. Hours of entertainment for both you and your pup, and it costs way less than a streaming subscription.
I built this tree for my cat's birthday (she's a rescue, so we just celebrate it on my birthday) about two months ago. As soon as I finished, she sprang up to the highest platform, and I literally don't think she's been down since. This tree has everything: dangly bits, hidden lairs, lofty perches, scratching posts and a big bucket for cats who are into that sort of thing. Your cat will love ruling the roost from on high, and you'll love being able to make eye contact with them. Setup is easy — you won't need any tools except the included hex key — and takes about an hour. Just be sure to anchor it to a wall as it's a little wobbly when not secured.
It's not all dogs and cats out there. I regularly visit two guinea pig households, and let me tell you, those fuzzy little potatoes have high standards. Both those houses use this cage from the Guinea Pig Cage Company to keep their piggies happy. As every guinea pig lover knows, they need both social time and space, plus lots of hiding places, hay and water. A cage like this, with a broad common area and multiple levels, is a perfect habitat. There's a high balcony and a hidden lair for alone time and a broad common area for food, hay and hanging out. With a comfy liner and fresh veggies (not included), they'll be living in luxury.
This is definitely more of a human gadget (I've had no luck getting my cat to do the vacuuming), but it's essential for everyone's quality of life, especially if any house residents or visitors have allergies. I've had a Navigator Liftaway for a couple of years now, and I've found a lot to love about it. It's modular, with easily detachable bits for spot cleaning, and seals in all dust and dander with a HEPA filter. It's also easy to steer and has an extra-large tank that can go a long time between emptyings — and when it does fill up, all you have to do is open the bottom trapdoor over your garbage can. Best of all, it's excellent at cleaning carpets. My cat sheds a lot, but after I run this vacuum over the rug, there's enough difference between before and after to make shots for an infomercial.
Check out the rest of our gift ideas here.
