GPS Tracking Cat Collar
Discussion
Our fur baby decided to go walkabout for 2.5 days almost ruining Xmas & my wifes birthday (25th) until he reappeared at 3pm Xmas Eve. He didn't look like he'd been sleeping/hunting in our local woods (we know he does) so assume he was shut in somewhere. Anyone recommend one of the GPS Tracking Collars on the market? I see you can either get one including subscription (upfront) or pay for it separately as an on-going cost so pros/cons.
TIA
TIA
Isn't this what cats do? Most times they come back, sometimes they don't.
Is gps accurate enough now to find it in someones shed?
Won't the signal just disappear if it gets locked inside somewhere anyway?
If a tracking collar stops moving for a few days won't you just sadly find it in the hedge after being run over?
Better to not know maybe?
At least you can think it has been taken in by a kind old lady and is being fed corn reared chicken and salmon..
Tracking collar does seem a tad ott, but if you have the dosh etc it's your cat.
If you go tracking collar might as well stick on a gopro as well and at least see what it gets upto. Cat videos are very popular on YT might make a few quid from views.
Is gps accurate enough now to find it in someones shed?
Won't the signal just disappear if it gets locked inside somewhere anyway?
If a tracking collar stops moving for a few days won't you just sadly find it in the hedge after being run over?
Better to not know maybe?
At least you can think it has been taken in by a kind old lady and is being fed corn reared chicken and salmon..
Tracking collar does seem a tad ott, but if you have the dosh etc it's your cat.
If you go tracking collar might as well stick on a gopro as well and at least see what it gets upto. Cat videos are very popular on YT might make a few quid from views.
This is what I wrote about 3 months ago on another thread about mine:
I've tried two over the last 12 months.
This was the first one:
https://pawtrack.com
It was not very good. My cat, Cassie, came home after maybe 3 or 4 weeks without it on (that's fine, because that's what it's supposed to do - it has a breakaway collar). No problem, look it up on the app/web interface. Ah there it is, no it's moved, hang on its moved again, and again, and again. It could have been in any of a number of neighbor's gardens. We ended up putting leaflets through several doors and then spending a lot of time combing several gardens. We never found it. I contacted Pawtrack and what was going on and they said if the collar falls upside down it can send GPS signals like that. So not very good then. Also their android app constantly crashed. I actually ended up beta testing new releases with links directly from their developers servers. They did fix it in the end.
It's a great idea but after doing some googling I'm fairly certain it's actually one person doing this as a sideline/startup. The product was clearly not finished. They offered me another one with a large discount but I'd lost interest so I never bothered.
However, Cassie now has one of these:
https://tractive.com/en/
First thing to note is that the one on their site is newer model that the one I have (and I've had mine about 2-3 months so it must have been the last of the old ones). No matter, it is actually very good.
I've tested it by putting it on my wrist and walking 5 miles. It was pretty much spot bob on; it tracked me on the correct side of the road for example.
When she wears it it sometimes shows the odd location that looks a bit spurious to me, like suddenly she's crossed a main road and then returned at the next readings, so I think I can discount those locations.
It sends a signal every few minutes, but you can enable real time tracking using the app/web site and it then sends a signal every 2-3 seconds.
I think it's very interesting to see where she's been and/or where she is now. But after a while the novelty wears off. So we just pop it on here once every few days now and she if she's still patrolling the same area. She does around 2 miles a day !
Also you need to pay for the SIM which is installed in it. It's about £60/year or so.
As I say,the Tractive one works very well, but you might find you lose interest after a while.
I would now add that I've not bothered with it for about 3 months ago. It's too much trouble to keep taking it off, charging it up and popping it back on. And then she just goes all round the same places each night.
I wont bother renewing it at £60/year when the time comes.
I've tried two over the last 12 months.
This was the first one:
https://pawtrack.com
It was not very good. My cat, Cassie, came home after maybe 3 or 4 weeks without it on (that's fine, because that's what it's supposed to do - it has a breakaway collar). No problem, look it up on the app/web interface. Ah there it is, no it's moved, hang on its moved again, and again, and again. It could have been in any of a number of neighbor's gardens. We ended up putting leaflets through several doors and then spending a lot of time combing several gardens. We never found it. I contacted Pawtrack and what was going on and they said if the collar falls upside down it can send GPS signals like that. So not very good then. Also their android app constantly crashed. I actually ended up beta testing new releases with links directly from their developers servers. They did fix it in the end.
It's a great idea but after doing some googling I'm fairly certain it's actually one person doing this as a sideline/startup. The product was clearly not finished. They offered me another one with a large discount but I'd lost interest so I never bothered.
However, Cassie now has one of these:
https://tractive.com/en/
First thing to note is that the one on their site is newer model that the one I have (and I've had mine about 2-3 months so it must have been the last of the old ones). No matter, it is actually very good.
I've tested it by putting it on my wrist and walking 5 miles. It was pretty much spot bob on; it tracked me on the correct side of the road for example.
When she wears it it sometimes shows the odd location that looks a bit spurious to me, like suddenly she's crossed a main road and then returned at the next readings, so I think I can discount those locations.
It sends a signal every few minutes, but you can enable real time tracking using the app/web site and it then sends a signal every 2-3 seconds.
I think it's very interesting to see where she's been and/or where she is now. But after a while the novelty wears off. So we just pop it on here once every few days now and she if she's still patrolling the same area. She does around 2 miles a day !
Also you need to pay for the SIM which is installed in it. It's about £60/year or so.
As I say,the Tractive one works very well, but you might find you lose interest after a while.
I would now add that I've not bothered with it for about 3 months ago. It's too much trouble to keep taking it off, charging it up and popping it back on. And then she just goes all round the same places each night.
I wont bother renewing it at £60/year when the time comes.
snuffy said:
I had looked at the Tractive & Pawtrack & TBH the Tractive seemed more appealing.I’ve never heard of tractive but looks good. Have used pawtrack for many years, almost since it started when it was a big bulky green thing but the support is excellent and it’s helped us find ours when missing a few times so would highly recommend. I also bought it after he’d gone missing for three days.
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