Essentially it’s often like looking after a child, with them needing food, water, exercise, love and attention. And just as we worry about our offspring, so do owners for their pets. But we are here to help you relax and calm those anxious feelings. Whether it be its health, happiness or whereabouts we have you covered as we look into the very best available technology for your pets.
Best pet tech of 2019
The Animo activity tracker essentially a Fitbit for dogs; placed on the collar, the 37mm circular device uses a series of sensors and algorithms to detect not only exercise and calories burnt, but sleep quality, and even how often your furry friend barks, scratches and shakes. This is a great way to keep an eye on your dog and make sure that they’re getting enough exercise and sleep, with all info presented in the form of graphs via the Animo app for iOS and Android. The app will notify you when it notices a big change in shaking, scratching or sleeping, as this can indicate a bigger issue, be it fleas, arthritis or something else entirely. Don’t worry about rainy weather and doggy paddling either, as the Animo boasts IP67 water resistance and should survive a dip in the river. It has in our case, anyway! The watch-size battery isn’t rechargeable, but it should last around six months before requiring a new source of power. Our one complaint? You have to sync the Animo manually when near your dog. We’d prefer some kind of auto-update system so you can be notified about changes in behaviour as they happen and not whenever you decide to sync with the device. Although cat- and dog flaps which can read microchips have been around for a while, the SureFlap Pet Door Connect is the first you can control from your phone. The kit, which costs £159.99 from SureFlap includes the door, plus a Hub which you attach to a spare network port on your router. It can be powered by a USB port on the router, or the included power supply. The app is available for Android and iOS and gives you notifications about when your pets enter or leave the house. This can give you peace of mind when you’re not at home, but via that app you can also lock the flap to prevent your pets from coming in or going out. For example, if they’re already out, it will let them in but not back out. And since it recognises their microchips, it will always prevent any other animal from coming in. Better still, you can use this ability to allow one pet to leave the house while keeping another safely inside. We don’t want to neglect Ginger and friends, so here’s one for all the cat lovers out there. Ever wondered what your feline friend gets up to when they wander outside and trot back hours later? Wonder no more with Eyenimal’s Cat Videocam. This is a small camera weighing only 9g so no need to worry about it weighing your cat down or making them feel uncomfortable. While the camera quality will leave a lot to be desired, it’ll do the trick to help you find out what your cat has been up to. With a battery life of up to 3 hours, it will not capture a whole day of exploring, but it could offer an interesting insight into your cat’s life. The easyPlay is yet to be released at the time of writing, but looks to be a revolutionary piece of kit when it comes to pet tech. While there is a plethora of tech for pets, emphasis on the safety of your Pet is always number one. The easyPlay knows this and has incorporated that thought into its design. A large spherical object with a camera, compartment for treats and motorised-ball. It’s large enough for large breeds of dogs to chew or hold safely. Plus, it doubles up as a pet monitor as well as an interactive toy which either your Dog or Cat can enjoy. Use your smartphone or tablet to control the sphere, access the camera or dispense a treat for your pet. Even when you’re not using the app, the sphere can still interact with your pet with ‘Auto mode’, keeping him/her occupied while Mum and Dad are out. While it’s still too early to say whether or not the easyPlay is a success or not, first impressions has us excited and could soon be the benchmark for other Pet tech. A simple piece of kit that will bring hours of fun to your cat is the FroliCat Bolt. This standalone device operates as a laser pointer for your cat. If you’ve never seen how cats react to lasers, you’ll know how entertaining this could be. The sturdy device projects random laser patterns across the floor, along furniture and along walls. It will keep your cat active and occupied, particularly useful while out of the house or at the office. Just remember to remove all fragile ornaments from the room! You might have mistaken one of these for a UFO crossing a field late at night, we sure did! It’s an excellent piece of kit with the primary purpose to make your dog visible during dark hours. Especially with dark-coloured breeds. During the winter months, dog owners will know there is nothing more frustrating or worrying when your pal dashes off into the darkness with there being no way to find them other than yelling out. Yell no more with these LED collars which are easily visible and attachable, lightweight and have over 100 hours of battery life. This device is a useful tool when trying to locate your pet cat. The lightweight tracker, weighing only 6g, attaches to your cat’s collar and allows peace of mind while they are out on the prowl. Whether your cat is stuck up a tree, under the neighbours car or just hidden away under the couch, the Tabcat allows the owner to quickly locate their missing kitten using a simple colour-coded light system, pointing you in the right direction. It also features a ‘recall’ button, which can call back your cat, however this very much depends on its training and how stubborn your cat is! If you’re tired of waving toys around for your cat to play with then why not enjoy the fun of flying a drone while entertaining your feline friend? The Pathera Cat Drone is available at a reasonable price and is essentially a regular drone but comes with three interchangeable toys and more. You get a mouse, fish and feather dangler toys plus catnip and a dangler attachment so you can add whatever you like. You can also capture all the antics with the built-in 2Mp camera. If you’re worried about flying the drone into your cat, yourself or the surroundings, it comes with propeller guards, auto altitude and an avoidance system.
