Skip to content

IoT Kitty Litter Box

An internet-connected litter box that weighs my cat every time he uses it.

2019

See it live →View on GitHub →Read why I built it

Artist statement

My favorite things in life are cats, computers and crappy ideas, so I built an internet-connected litter box.

Every time my cat steps in, the box weighs him, and the weight goes into a database, so I can follow his health and his bathroom habits over time without doing anything. I like that it sits right on the border between completely ridiculous and kinda genius.

The post about it ends with "I hereby give you permission to make stupid stuff just for you."

Clips

From the post. Hover to play.

The finished box
The load cells reading weight
My cat, helping

How it's made

Raspberry Pi · Node.js · MongoDB · HX711

A Raspberry Pi reads four 50 kg load cells through an HX711 amplifier and a magnetic switch on the lid, and Node.js with Johnny-Five turns those into events. Each visit's weight goes to MongoDB Atlas. The post walks through the wiring and the code.

A VISIT WAITING average of 20 readings A CAT-SIZED WEIGHT past the empty box WAIT 10 S for the cat to settle SAVE THE CAT'S WEIGHT then recalibrate When I clean it LID OFF magnetic switch LOG A CLEANING lid on: wait 10 s, recalibrate
A VISIT WAITING average of 20 readings A CAT-SIZED WEIGHT past the empty box WAIT 10 S for the cat to settle SAVE THE CAT'S WEIGHT then recalibrate When I clean it LID OFF magnetic switch LOG A CLEANING lid on: wait 10 s, recalibrate

Lineage

See it live →Get the code on GitHub →Read why I built it

If you liked this project, consider sharing it on Hacker News, Bluesky, LinkedIn, or X.

← All works