Cat Tracker

[fledglingFTB]

Hiya,

I'm looking into these and wondered if anyone uses a good one? What I'd like is:

• lightweight/unobtrusive
  
• waterproof
  
• links to an app so I can see the both the current location and track daily movement in real time
  

I can't seem to find anything that does all three

[cozietoesie]

The big problem is, I think, power. Whoever really licks the battery issue/makes them work with microchips, is going to clean up the market.

I don't think that there's anything available to meet your specific needs at the moment, I fear. Happy to be proved wrong of course.

[fledglingFTB]

Booo
Thought that might be the case

[thecatneuterer]

Cozie is right unfortunately. Someone is going to crack this at some point and when they do they will make an absolute fortune.

[RubbishMantra]

I've been mulling these over for a while. Not particularly lightweight, but ticks 2 of your boxes.

I currently use a Loca8tor, now known as Tabcat. But it works on the hot cold principle - you have to go out looking with the small receiver. They suit me because I roughly know my cats haunts, and they're lightweight.

[fledglingFTB]

This Nuzzle Collar looks perfect, but I think it's US only

[LivingInMidnight]

I'm interested too. I don't want my cat to have to walk around with a brick on his collar but I would love to know where he is when he's on a 12 hour walkabout.

[TizzyDongue]

I ask this frequently. Why aren't the microchips trackable? I mean you can track the chip in phones!!

[LivingInMidnight]

Tizzy because they would have to be huge, powered and have radios/sensors. Who would want to put that inside their cat? Changing the batteries would also be difficult.

[TizzyDongue]

Not suggesting putting a actual mobile with a battery into a cat!!!

You can get trackable microchips!! It would be good if the ones used by the vets were these ones.

[TizzyDongue]

Hmmm or maybe you can't. I feel I've been told lies in the past.

OK so I retract my comment. And my new one is someone needs to invent s trackable microchip

[Weedsnseeds1]

Do the collars have the safety feature, so they snap if they get caught? Otherwise you willrisk accidentally throttling your cat. What about the trackers used for hawking? They must be lightweight as they are glued to a flight feather. Any way to attach one of those to a safety collar?

[EachandEveryone]

My tab cat arrived this week and I've never been so disappointed. It looks like a fantastic piece of kit and is lightweight. The flat batteries do not stay in the tabs so they lose connection. It comes with two tabs and both gave the same results I couldn't connect them to the tracker at all. I'm just st starting to let my wee one out and I'm in an area with lots of workshops it would've been ideal. I'm gutted TBH. She wore it with pride as well

[Katymac]

The nuzzle attaches to your own collar you can use a break away one; lots of them are just too big for cats and the battery issue is a right pain

Nuzzle apparently won't be in the UK until later this year

there do seem to be a lot more options in America over here

Still searching for the right one for us

[DJKKSlider]

There is a device called 'Tile Mate'
They're designed for GPS tracking of anything at all.
They're small, about a 50p size, they have a hole in the corner to hang on key chains, they're relatively cheap and last about a year with no need to change batteries etc. When tephy need replacing, you get the next one cheaper.

[DJKKSlider]

Should note, the Tile isn't a GPS tracker though. It relies on Bluetooth to 'ping' the tile. If the tile gets too far from the phone, it only stores last known place.
I hope that make sense.

[Aspiringcatlady]

I really want a cat tracker, my boy went missing for two weeks, we were out of our minds with worry and he had been camping out in a garden 30 seconds away the whole time. Now if I could of just tracked him, we wouldn't of had this problem!

[Katymac]

I've been looking at them (argos 4 for about£45)

Do you use them?

[Katymac]

That would stop it being suitable for us - but thanks - I know someone who loses their keys & phone ALL the time

[DJKKSlider]

The tile is okay for say a cat that vanishes but is just in the near vicinity. Garden, or shed, or next door, the range is around 100ish feet.
There's a newer version now, a gen2 model, I dont know if the range is any different.

I know a dog Walker who has a few tiles that she attaches to the collars of the dogs she's walking, but obviously dogs missing in woods isn't the same as cat wandered to number 98 for his 6th dinner of the evening.

Have a research, amazon questions and answers are a mine of info.

[6cats3gingerkittens]

Have a look at Parsley the cat on Facebook. His human mother uses a tracker on him as he is famous for his wanderings around his home town of Oban in Scotland. His page is quite amusing and I'm sure the CM, cat's mother, would help.

[fledglingFTB]

Thanks for that, Parsley uses Tractive. It looks so big though! But I also have a MC. So I'm going to look into it. 🐱

[Katymac]

It does look really big - Flynn is a Siamese & I thnk it would be enormous on him

[fledglingFTB]

Actually Tractive2 is smaller, I'm tempted. Esp after seeing that Parsley travels 10k per day!!! But it does have the ongoing service charge I was trying to avoid.

Anyone using a tracker, what collar do you recommend? If i'm going to strap a lead weight to my cat I figure it best be as safe as poss.

Saying that, mine is struggling to understand the concept of a cat flap, so I may not need to worry so much 🙄

[lljkk]

GPAWs tells you where they've been but not where they are now.

[fledglingFTB]

Oooh GPAWs looks like an affordable interim solution, even if just to understand what type of ground he may cover. MY only worry is that the reviews aren't great on Pets At Home and the companies social/web aren't up to date either. Might contact them