Chunshim the Cat Sitting on the LG AeroCat Tower (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 28 (Korea Bizwire) — As springtime brings blooming forsythias along with the unwelcome arrival of fine dust and yellow sand, South Korean cat owners face a familiar dilemma: how to ventilate their homes without exposing their pets to polluted air.
LG Electronics is offering a novel solution with the launch of its AeroCat Tower last month — a product designed to address both the needs of indoor air quality and the comfort of house cats.
In collaboration with LG, a reporter suffering from seasonal allergic rhinitis tested the AeroCat Tower for a week alongside a nine-year-old cat. The experience highlighted both the practical and pet-friendly innovations of the air purifier.
Unlike conventional air purifiers, where power buttons are placed atop the unit — often leading to accidental presses by cats who favor high perches — the AeroCat Tower integrates a domed seat above the purifier, inviting cats to lounge safely. The seat automatically warms when occupied and operates at ultra-low noise levels, a thoughtful feature for sound-sensitive animals.
Button Located Beneath the Dome Seat of the LG AeroCat Tower (Yonhap)
For owners, the AeroCat Tower also offers a unique health-monitoring feature: it tracks a cat’s weight while they rest. Previously, the reporter had to use a neonatal scale for weekly weight checks.
Now, weight data is automatically recorded and accessible via the LG ThinQ app, which provides insights into fluctuations over weekly, monthly, and annual periods — a significant aid for monitoring a cat’s health, particularly for aging pets.
Remote monitoring through the app adds another layer of reassurance, allowing owners to check both air quality and their cat’s activity while away from home.
Performance-wise, the AeroCat Tower lived up to its core promise. It removes 99.999% of ultrafine particles as small as 0.01 micrometers and eliminates five major harmful gases — ammonia, acetaldehyde, acetic acid, formaldehyde, and toluene. During a test in which fish was grilled indoors, the purifier swiftly activated to its highest setting and restored air quality to a “good” rating mid-meal.
AI-based adaptive control further optimized energy consumption by adjusting operation depending on the air quality, while sound levels varied according to fan speed — remaining nearly silent on low settings and comparable to a mid-level fan on high.
Chunshim the Cat Enthusiastically Promoting the Product While Perched on the LG AeroCat Tower (Yonhap)
The AeroCat Tower is priced at 1,099,000 won (approximately $820). LG also offers a subscription model, allowing users to pay 30,900 won (about $23) monthly over a six-year term with annual maintenance services, making the device more accessible.
Still, feline preferences remain the biggest variable. Even a cat that eventually appreciated the warming feature initially showed more interest in the box the unit came in than the AeroCat Tower itself.
Another limitation is that the domed seat supports cats weighing up to 8 kilograms, potentially excluding larger breeds. The mini cat tower section may also feel cramped for some pets.
Nevertheless, for owners seeking a sophisticated solution to balance clean air with their cats’ comfort, LG’s AeroCat Tower offers an intriguing new option.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
