IFA 2019 is just around the corner, and we’ve spent the last few weeks organising meetings, drafting briefing documents and trying not to drown in calendar invites. It’s all very hectic.  

As we do every year, we plan around new product launches for our clients and find out what will be displayed at ShowStoppers. We know that there will be all sorts of cool gear — phones, TVs, the latest in VR — but what really gets me excited is pet tech. From self-cleaning litter boxes to automated treat dispensers, there are some amazing products on the market to make your life easier if you’ve had a ruff day. So here’s the lowdown on the best of the best.

Last year we saw the release of the Neato robot hoover, perfect for picking up pesky pet hair, and the year before that the Petcube showcased. The latter is a Wi-Fi pet camera that records in HD and allows you to reward your pet remotely by flinging out treats — pretty nifty.

So ahead of the event, I wanted to take this oppawtunity to talk about some of the best bits I’ve seen this year.

Many of us here at Wildfire have some adorable pooches and cats, and if you’re working an events and won’t make it home to feed Mittens, this automatic feeder from Tdynasty is perfect. There are plenty of these on the market, but the benefit of Tdynasty is how reasonably priced it is, given the amount of food it can store (1.7 gallons!).

Another cool bit of tech is the PetDroid Boltz laser toy that will keep your pets entertained for hours, give them a nice bit of exercise and probably have them climbing up the walls.

For those active folk with pets that like to live their best life, you can track their health and location with the Whistle smart tracker. On the app you can manage their daily plans, monitor fitness and get proactive alerts throughout the day delivered straight to your phone. Now your pet can work on its #SummerBod too.

For my last top pick, I’ll leave you with an amazing (and terrifying?) bit of tech. Here’s a story about the Sinogene Biotechnology Company, which created the ‘world’s first cat clone’ where cat owners can create a genetically identical copy of their pet. The company is even considering using AI to pass on memories to the cloned animal. £29,000? Think I’ll pass on that one, but thanks.