When we get pets it’s often the best time in our lives. But sometimes there are parts of pet ownership life that can be a little more difficult; from cleaning litter, to efficient feeding, to cleaning up the copious amounts of hair they seem to leave everywhere.
Fortunately, nowadays there’s lots of tech to help with that sort of thing. So here is a list of some helpful pet tech, both cheaper and pricier options!
Pet safe robot vacuums.
Pet hair, pet hair, pet hair. Is there anything that manages to migrate more? You’ll find it, on your clothes (especially white hairs on black, even if your pet doesn’t have white hair!), and sometimes you’ll even find them in your sandwiches! Though there isn’t much to prevent the shed, a robot vacuum can help clear it up.
Pricier Option.
iRobot Roomba S9
This vacuum connects to an app, allowing it to create a virtual map of your floor space that you can see. You can monitor the vacuum through the app, and even turn it on or off remotely. It has an Anti-Allergy Filter too, great for removing any dust issues for pets with delicate lungs.
Cheaper Option.
eufy RoboVac 11S
This vacuum is less expensive than a lot of other robot vacuums. It comes with a remote control that allows you to use the vacuum without using the internet. Its navigation is a little basic, and the suction could be better, but for the price, it is a pretty decent vacuum.
Self-cleaning cat litter box
Cleaning the litter tray can be horrible. Trying to keep litter in the tray, clearing up the trail of litter that cats seem to always leave halfway across the room once they leave the box, and right when you finish you know your pet will go again just to spite you. A self-cleaning litter box makes it all a lot easier.
Pricier Option
Jlxl Automatic Self-Cleaning Litter Box
This litter box is fully covered, giving your cat privacy and comfort, though it is still good for large cats. The litter box uses weight sensors to work out when the cat is in the box, and waits 3 seconds after the cat has left to start cleaning itself. The waste bag in the bottom needs replacing every two weeks or so.
Cheaper Option.
PetSafe ScoopFree Ultra Self-Cleaning Litter Box
There is a hood on this litter box offering a little privacy for toilet-shy cats. It tracks how many times the box is being used, the rake can be altered to work 5, 10, or 20 minutes after the cat leaves. The used tray is easy to dispose of, simply remove the tray, cover and dispose of. Simple cleaning is required to stop the box from smelling too much, every time you change the tray, but otherwise it keeps odours under control.
Pet Cam
Pets can and will be mischievous whenever you’re not around and a pet camera is great for keeping an eye on them and making sure they’re not getting up to too much trouble (or you at least know who caused the most trouble).
Pricier Option
Skymee Dog Camera
This camera sits on a rotating base so they can pan around the room 180° which is handy for spying the whole room. There is a treat dispenser which can be activated by a manual press on top, or through the app, there’s even the ability to adjust the angle of the treat ejection. Motion detection can alert you, and there’s a memory card slot to save footage locally.
Cheaper Option
Pawbo Interactive Pet Camera
As well as the camera feature and the treat dispenser, this camera has a laser pointer game to play with your cat. The treats are ejected downwards so it’s better to position this one on the floor or the edge of the table so your pet can reach them.
Automatic Dog and Cat Feeder
While it isn’t the most difficult task of them all to feed your pets every day, if you have a fussy pet that likes to graze, or one that will throw a tantrum if they don’t get to fed at exactly the right time every day, an automatic feeder might be helpful.
Pricier Option
SureFeed Microchip Pet Feeder
This feeder has a closed lid that opens up only when your pet puts their heads in. Perfect for a multi-pet house where one of them likes to pinch everyone else’s uneaten dinner, since it opens only when it senses each specific pets’ microchip. There is a training function that helps you train your pet to use the bowl, and it works with both dry and wet food.
Cheaper Option
Cat Mate C3000 Automatic Pet Feeder
With the cheaper option, unfortunately we get less gadgets in this feeder. However, with a simple programmable LCD control and digital timer, this feeder still works brilliantly. This feeder is suitable for cats and small dogs and holds up 3kg of dry food.
GPS Pet Tracking
If your pets have the habit of getting out and about, being able to find exactly where they are is vital, and a tracking device can help with that as much as possible.
Pricier Option
SNAWEN GPS Tracker
With this tracker, you can set up a virtual fence, which will alert you whenever your pet goes past that fence. You can also store up to three months of your pets’ movement on the app, and will even tell you the battery percentage on the tracker. It has a speaker feature that you can use to give commands to your dog through the tracker itself without even being there in person, but it is still waterproof!
Cheaper Option
UKCOCO Bluetooth Tracker
A simple tracker that comes in a variety of colours, it uses an app for you to check your pet’s location. There is a call button on app that will make the device emit a high-pitched sound that you can hear and locate your dog’s exact location.
Some other popular pet technology that you might want to consider:
- Automatic pet door, to allow your pet and only your pet to come in, and track when they come in and out.
- An automatic cat laser, set them up to play with you cat while you are out.
- Dog ball launcher, to truly let your dog run after a ball
