These cuddly little bundles of wire are the perfect pet for owners who want to avoid the piddle and still embrace the fluff. SlateV.com reporter Daniel Engber takes this year’s most popular robo ...

Mecho-pets such as the catbot is easier for many people -- the elderly, the allergy-stricken, the autistic and disabled children and adults -- to relate to than a real cat.

Since 2018, NYSOFA has distributed 31,500 robo-pets in partnership with Ageless Innovation to older adults who are socially isolated and lonely.

Some even spoke with and cooed over the robo-pets. The study’s authors believe that this engagement alone can be incredibly beneficial to the patients’ psychological well-being.

Having a pet is strange to most of my friends in rural Kenya. For them, cats and dogs are workers. The work of cats is to keep mice at bay and the work of dogs is to stand guard.