When I wrote about the SiiPet LitterLens previously, an AI-powered smart litter box camera to monitor your precious fur babies, I was curious how users would install the camera. Without knowing much else about the setup, it was always going to depend on where you keep your feline’s litter box. It will have to be near a wall or valid surface, obviously, so you can mount the camera in a way that it looks down and captures what it needs to.

All the official pictures have the SiiPet mounted conspicuously to the wall, a regular wall. However, in our home, we have two cats and there are two separate litter boxes. One of those boxes is in the garage, with no wall nearby, and the other is in a small box in my office. It’s tucked away but there’s enough room in there to mount the camera so, naturally, that’s where I put the LitterLens.

You can see the base or mount that you use to install the smart camera in the official inclusion pics, but it’s not really clear how that will be mounted. Do you use screws? If you do, do they need anchors? Does the hardware come in the box? Interestingly, it’s so much simpler than anything I had imagined.

How to mount the SiiPet LitterLens in your home

On the rear of the base is 3M sticky tape. That’s it. You peel off the backing and stick the base to the wall where you want to mount the camera. Then you slide the back of the camera onto the base attachment and you’re good to go.

Of course, mounting the camera is only half the battle. As SiiPet explains, the single most important step for a successful setup is “placement.” That’s priority one and the most critical factor. 

You must ensure “the LitterLens camera is within close distance to the litter box and that it has a full, unobstructed view of the entire litter surface. This clear view is essential for the AI to accurately track your cat’s health signals.”

The good news is that once the camera is mounted you can use the swivel on the mount to adjust the angle of the camera as you would a security camera.

How to setup the SiiPet LitterLens in the mobile app

I don’t normally cover this kind of in-depth setup process but I figured since we’re already here I might as well share my experience and help out anyone looking to get their LitterLens connected.

Step one, which is straightforward, is to charge the device. The USB-C charging port is on the bottom of the camera behind a rubber cover. You’ll also want to download the SiiPet app. There are QR codes all over the quick start guide to make things easier.

Getting LitterLens ready

After it’s charged, you power on the camera by pressing and holding the only button on the back. It will turn on and flash blue and that’s when you connect to the mobile app.

When you’re ready, you open the app, sign-up for an account, and then add your device, making sure the LitterLens is on and the blue light is flashing. It will walk you through the entire process. It should find your camera nearby and display the serial number, then it will ask you to connect to a local 2.4G network. After it’s connected, it walks you through the mounting and install process.

SiiPet recommends allowing the base and sticker to remain in place for up to 30 minutes for the adhesive to set before installing the camera. That’s what I did.

You also have to add your pets you want to track before the app first opens to the dashboard. I added both my cats and snapped a quick face profile of each to use as their profile pictures. Then, you wait for one of your cats to go in and use the litter box so you can designate them in the app — and so the app knows who’s using it if you have multiple cats.

That’s about it! Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. Also, hopefully that answers any questions you have. Don’t worry, I had them, too.