Whisker Litter-Robot 5 Pro Review: Two Cameras, One Subscription Question

One camera faces out from below the globe and identifies the cat. The other looks into the globe and records the visit. Whisker says the pair use facial recognition, which learns each cat's face over time and settles after about a month of regular use.

The free tier is narrower than the hardware suggests. Without a membership you get live video for up to five minutes a day, recordings from the last two days, a seven-day view of visits and each cat's weight, according to Whisker's product FAQ and Whisker+ page. Whisker+ adds unlimited live video, thirty days of recordings, up to two years of history, anomaly detection and the facial recognition itself. Whisker bills it monthly or yearly after a 30-day free trial.

That last item can decide the purchase. SmartScale tells cats apart by weight, and Whisker's own help text says it may have trouble when cats weigh about the same, because it assigns readings from a seven-day weight history. Two littermates are the household the cameras were built for, and there the separation between them is a paid feature. Cats.com's reviewer had no membership and relied on the scale, which worked for two cats of different weights.

Whisker says its AI records pets, not people, but it also warns that you will be recorded if you are in the frame with your cat. The camera can be switched off in the app.

The cleaning mechanism has not changed in principle. The globe rotates, sifts clumps through a screen and drops them into a lined drawer in the base. Cats.com found performance and odor control on a par with the Litter-Robot 4, which it has used for three years. It also noticed litter sticking to the globe wall above the flexible liner, which on this model stops a few inches above the maximum litter line.

WasteID is new. Whisker says the robot distinguishes urine from faeces, waits longer before cycling after urine so clumps can form, and cycles quickly after solid waste to contain the smell. It arrived by software after launch and learns over roughly a month. Cats.com could not test it, and no reviewer has measured whether it reduces odor.

Whisker estimates the drawer needs emptying about every ten days with one cat. It recommends clumping clay litter and warns that white or translucent crystal litter can upset the litter-level and drawer-full readings. The carbon filter and optional OdorTrap packs are meant to be replaced every two to four weeks.

The two published reviews split here, and the split is the main risk in buying one.

BGR's reviewer, who had used a Litter-Robot 4 for years without trouble, reported motor faults and false "extended scale activity" alerts with no cat nearby, and had to reset the robot at least once a week. The app sometimes showed the robot as off while it was running, warned of low litter when there was plenty, and was slow to load the camera. Setup crashed several times before it connected. Faults that happened overnight went unnoticed until the smell gave them away. The reviewer still preferred it to scooping, but called the Litter-Robot 4 more dependable.

Cats.com's unit was easier. Setup was quicker than on the Litter-Robot 4, the firmware updated itself straight away, and the only trouble was getting the front camera to connect. Its review also collects early owner reports from Reddit and Trustpilot, from December 2025, that follow a pattern: units bricked during the first firmware update, cameras dropping offline, false drawer readings, and praise for Whisker's customer service when replacements were needed.

Whisker's warranty covers one year at no cost, including accidental damage and software support, and many bundles extend it to three years. For a first-year product with this record, that cover is worth having. Our guide to how smart litter boxes behave offline explains what keeps working when the app or Wi-Fi does not.

It stands 29.9 inches tall on a 22 by 27 inch footprint and weighs 29.6 pounds empty, much the same space as the Litter-Robot 4. Whisker rates it for up to five cats between 3 and 30 pounds, with an entry 15.75 inches across and 17.5 inches of headroom inside, enough for a Maine Coon.

Kittens under the minimum weight should use it in a supervised semi-automatic mode, with the robot switched off and cycled by hand. The seven-inch step is the part to check for an older cat. Cats.com's senior cat found it hard to climb and struggled to get back out past the fence.

The robot connects over 2.4 or 5 GHz Wi-Fi, and Whisker sells and supports it in the United States only, with no app support elsewhere.