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GPS collars

5 replies

FelicityBeedle · 15/03/2021 16:27

I’ve posted before about my rescue Ulysses, not too long now until we can let him out. I’m happy to let him out with just a collar (or without if it proves a danger), but DP has only had dogs and hates the idea of not knowing where he is. Does anyone use a GPS collar and can recommend it?

OP posts:
violetbunny · 15/03/2021 18:14

I think cat GPS collars are notoriously fiddly, I'm currently trying out my 2nd one as the first one wasn't great.

The first one we tried was Pawtrack. It has a nice easy to use app which lets you track where they've been over time. However, the battery drained super fast (we let our cats out at dawn, by evening the battery was almost dead) despite having it on energy saving mode. It seems to default to lost mode all the time, which then further drains the battery. We are tied into paying 12 months of tracking fees. We also had many technical issues - the batteries they initially supplied were duds, the outer casing came off twice, and we could never get the beacon function to work. We are also worried the safety release function required a lot of force.

I'm currently trialling Tail It, so far the battery life is far superior and it seems to update location more easily. Can't figure out how to use the light and sound functions. You also can't track where they've been, only current location. You attach it to the cats usual collar though so there's no issues with safety release. You also pay tracking fees but can pause your subscription when not using it which is a bonus.

We have also used Tile trackers, which are not GPS so only work if your phone is in close distance (or if someone else with the tile app is nearby).

On the whole, I think it's an awesome idea in theory however GPS trackers are bulky (both so far have been too big for our other smaller cat). They also only work if they have a line of sight to the sky, so if your cat gets shut in a shed or garage it won't pick up their location. This is where Tile works better... I actually wish someone would create a GPS/Tile combo in the one collar!

Fluffycloudland77 · 15/03/2021 19:15

Can you catproof the garden? Lots of companies do it now.

IsThisNameTaken · 15/03/2021 19:22

I've got Tractive trackers on both my cats. Fairly accurate, battery lasts about 3 days (they're only out until dark). My little girl is just under 4kg and it's not too big for her. She has never lost it.
Boy cat has lost his several times but we've retrieved it using the app and the light and sounds function all but once - but got a discounted replacement.
As PP said, they work much better in the open air - if I get an odd reading it's usually because they're in the house somewhere.

FelicityBeedle · 16/03/2021 00:25

I guess we could caf proof the garden but I don’t really want to! It’s a rented house, and as I said, I really don’t mind him going out, it’s DP who is worried! You’ve given me some food for thought and some brands to avoid so I’ll do some more research

OP posts:
notangelinajolie · 16/03/2021 00:40

We moved house recently and we bought one from Pets at Home. Reserved it online and my DD went to collect it. It's called Tractive. Cat was ok wearing it and we were able to see where she was and how far she had gone Shock
Fortunately she always came home so we didn't have to go and find her. You can remotely activate a light and an alarm that bleeps to help you find them in the dark or if they are hiding under a bush etc.
After the initial purchase you have to pay again for the GPS.
It was fairly accurate I think.
She did manage to get it off a couple of times.

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