To put GPS tracker on their cats can sound excessive to some people, but have you ever come across a missing pet flier? Yeah. There is nothing fun in being the one who has to put those fliers for people to see.
Luckily, there is an affordable solution for the problem that doesn’t limit your cat’s freedom. We’re talking about cat trackers.
Why should I use a tracker on my cat?
The application of trackers to animals is not new. For example, the police force uses them for their working dogs. When they use dogs in rescue or tracking missions, it is especially important to attach a GPS to them.
Of course, your cat won’t be going on a rescue and recovery mission for sure. However, he sure loves to walk around without any limitations. If there’s one thing cats have, it’s curiosity.
You’ve probably heard the saying “curiosity killed…” we better not finish that sentence. Placing a tracker on your cat will help you keep your cat safe without compromising your cat’s thirst for adventure and desire to hunt a rodent.
How Do Cat Tracking Devices Work?
Some are a mix of two different technologies for more precise yet affordable results.
Many trackers use GPS technology; others use radio frequency, Bluetooth, and even Wi-Fi.
GPS technology
Global Positioning System or GPS is a global network that picks up the signal of radio navigation satellites and their ground stations.
To provide a GPS location, the device must be connected to the signal of at least three satellites. This way, the signal can be triangulated and provide precise data regarding the location, time, speed, and direction of the object.
GPS trackers are often paired up with other technologies; these are called Assisted GPS or A-GPS.
For example, many GPS pet cat trackers come with a sim card to work with cellular network towers; this allows you to check your cat’s location from the comfort of your smartphone. Amazing!
- They provide plenty of data like time, location, speed, and direction of the intended target.
- They require annual fees; it also may not be as accurate if there are interferences such as buildings, houses, or very high mountains. If the tracker is out of Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, or radio range, the GPS will only show the last recorded location.
Radiofrequency tracking
Radio Frequency Identification or RFID consists of both a transponder you can attach to your cat’s collar and a radio transceiver that indicates your cat’s location.
The radio transceiver decodes and scans the signal it picks up from the transponder.
- Long-lasting batteries, no monthly or annual fees.
- The range can be limited, and if you lose or misplace the radio transceiver, you pretty much lost your cat.
Bluetooth
Bluetooth cat trackers come with a module for your cat’s collar that you can pair with your smartphone Bluetooth. Once this is done, an app you can download to your smartphone will show you if your pet is between the range.
- Easy to install, simple to use.
- The range is too short for many pets.
Top 7 Tracking Devices for Cats
Model | Name | Tracking technology | Weight | Range | Long life battery | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | GPS | 0.2 ounces | up to 400ft |  | Check Price | |
 | A-GPS | 5.6oz | Wi-Fi | | Check Price | |
 | A-GPS | 20.6 gr | Wi-Fi | | Check Price | |
 | Bluetooth | 0.28 oz | 328 ft | | Check Price | |
 | Radiofrequency | 0.28oz | 1600 feet |  | Check Price | |
 | Radiofrequency | 5.6 gr | 300ft | | Check Price | |
 | A-GPS | 20.6g | Wi Fi | | Check Price |
Tabcat
Tabcat cat tracker works with loc8tor’s patented radial frequency technology.
Tabcat is composed of light and resistant tag of only 5 gr. that you can attach to your cat’s collar. The tracker has a durable case that protects the tracker from any splashing incident.
The directional handset receives the signal from the cat tracking tag and directs you right to your pet. It works like a game of hot and cold.
Search for your cat, and the handset will light red once you’re between the range. When you’re closer to your cat, the lights will go from amber and yellow to bright green, which is the huge BINGO right when you find your cat. The handset catches the signal from the cat tag between a range of 400 feet.
Advantages A special feature the Tabcat offers is the possibility of training your cat to come home.By pressing a bottom in the handset, a small beep sound is activated on your cat’s collar. You can use this sound to train your cat; for example, you can use a treat system to train him. The moment the beep sound starts, your cat will go rushing home because he is sure you’ll treat him.
Disadvantages Cats love to wander around; if you have a wanderer at home, 400 feet range can be a short distance to cover.- Is a one-time cost.
- 1 year battery life
- Light and durable material.
- Extra feature that allows you to train your cat.
- 100% Money back-guaranteed.
- Easy to use.
- 400 feet range can be a short distance to some people.
- The handset will catch the signal from the tag as long as it’s in a clear line of sight. Is not so efficient if there are tick obstacles between the tag and the handset.
Pssopp Pet Tracker
Pssopp Pet Tracker works with A-GPS technology.
Pssopp offers a quite adorable heart-shaped pet tracker that comes in two colors: pink and blue.
The collar is adjustable with an approx. Length of maximum 18.9 inches, the mini tracker measures 1.6*1.6*0.4 in and weighs 159 gr.
The heart-shaped mini tracker functions with Wi-Fi; after you have had installed the mobile phone card and installed the mobile app on your smartphone, you can check the whereabouts of your cat.
To download the app, you can simply scan the QR code in the manual.
If you lose your cat and is in a GPS restricted area, or out of Wi-Fi range, the app will still show you the last recorded location.
- Is a one-time cost.
- It saves the location of latest 3 months.
- Easy to use.
- It can be too big for cats.
BARTUN Mini Pet Tracker
BARTUN offers an A-GPS technology tracker with both practical and pretty design. The tracker can be used in both cats and dogs as long as they weigh less than 28 lb.
The tracking device comes in three colors black, blue, and pink but does not come with a collar.
Your pet’s collar should be 0.8 inches wide maximum to attach the tracker to your pet’s collar with no problem.
The tracker is lightweight, only 20.6 gr. Therefore, it is safe for your cat to carry it.
Advantages Even if your cat does not like water at all, this tracker is waterproof; it can resist 3.4 feet under the water for 30 minutes with no damage to the device.Personally, I love the fact that it has a low battery alarm. That way, you will know exactly when to charge it, the device can be on stand by for five days and be fully charged in two hours.
The BARTUN team also offers you after-sales services; if you encounter difficulties while installing your cat’s tracker or suddenly goes off-line, you can always contact them to their email address and be sure they will get back to you.
Disadvantages As it’s usual in GPS devices, you must pay a monthly fee. To make things easier for you the package comes with a SIM card with two service choices: USA network services and international network services.The monthly fee for USA network service is of 4 $ and 9$ for international network services. It is not expensive, but the majority would prefer a one-time cost for a pet tracker.
- Fully charged in no time.
- Low battery alarm.
- Easy to use.
- After-sales services.
- If your cat is out of Wi-Fi area or in a restricted GPS area, the tracker will only show the latest saved location.
- You have to pay monthly fees.
Cat Tailer
Cat Tailer offers a small tag for you to attach to your cat’s collar to track its whereabouts; it works with Bluetooth technology.
The tag is only 1.08 inches in diameter and weighs 7.9 gr. Since this is not a GPS tracker, it does not show the precise location of your cat in the map, but rather an approximate distance between you and your cat.
By downloading the app to your smartphone, you can check how far from you, your cat is and the battery life status.
Advantages The battery lasts for six months, and no monthly fees or additional expenses are needed to make the Cat Tailer work.In case you have several cats, you can keep track of each one of them through the app. In theory, this would be awesome if were not for one major disadvantage.
Disadvantages Unfortunately, the tracker comes with a huge disadvantage. As the tracker works with Bluetooth, the range between your phone and the tag tracker is limited.The range can be affected by the environment like cars, trees, houses and so on. The device is supposed to work at 300 feet away from the tracker with a clear line of sight, but it does not.
However, it does works at less than 100 feet with a clear line of sight.
- Long lasting battery.
- Easy to use.
- The app allows you to keep track of more than one Cat Tailer at the same time.
- Is a one-time cost.
- Very inaccurate when providing the distance between you and your pet.
Girafus Cat Tracker
Girafus Cat Tracker works with radiofrequency technology. It comes with a waterproof tag that only weights 7.9 gr. and a directional handset.
The tag is always ON; the buttons on the tag are for switching the battery.
The handset tells you how close you are to your cat with both lights and beeps; the beeps sound faster the closer the handset is to the cat tag.
Unlike the cat tag, the directional handset is not always functioning; to look for your cat, you must switch the handset ON.
Advantages Radiofrequency trackers often have a very limited range, up to 500 feet at most. The Girafus Cat Tracker offers a range of 1600 feet in clear line of sight, that’s plenty of adventure for a cat.The device also offers you to buy four tags together with the directional handset. In case you own more than one cat, you can track all of your cats with only one directional handset.
The handset has four numbered buttons, by pressing one you can locate the first tag, by pressing two, you can locate the second tag and so on till you found all your babies.
Disadvantages Regarding the battery life of the tracker, it endures 30 days of use; gladly, the tracker comes with a rechargeable battery and its charger.If you feel like being safe than sorry, you can charge the battery of the tag every two weeks. Despite this, compared to other trackers, 30 days is a short time.
- Easy to use.
- Is a one-time cost.
- 1600 feet range.
- 4 tags can be traceable with the same directional handset.
- The battery only endures 30 days.
Pawscout Pet Tag
Pawscout Pet Tracker functions with Bluetooth technology and offers many services of interest for the dog and cat owner alike.
Pawscout proposal for pet owners is a practical pet tag you can personalize with your cat name if you wish to.
The tag itself is small and light-weighting only 5.6 gr.
It has a 6-month battery life, and 300 feet range between your smartphone and your pet tag.
Advantages What makes Pawscout especial is its app. It offers so many options and commodities to the owner that even someone that is not interested in buying the tag or does not need to buy it can download the app and benefit from it.For starters, even though 300 feet is the limit range for the tracker, you can expand this range by asking friends and neighbors to install the Pawscout app on their smartphone. That way, you can build a sort of safe area for your cat.
If your cat goes missing (is out of your 300 feet range), you can send an alert and receive a notification if your pet is close to 300 feet to any of the other Pawscouters (In other words your neighbors or friends).
The app also provides you with every “pet-friendly” location in the map like veterinarians in the area, groomers, daycare, etc. and you can create a profile with all the info of interest regarding your cat’s health and wellbeing.
Disadvantages This tracker would not function, for example, for someone who has an indoor cat only. Since the tracker does not show the exact location of the cat, it will simply tell you your cat is between the range. You would have to put a bit of effort looking for your cat if it is hiding in the closet.- Easy to use.
- Is a one-time cost.
- 300 feet range and expandable.
- The app has many useful features.
- Long lasting battery.
- Not suited for indoors only cats.
BARTUN Pet Tracker
BARTUN Pet Tracker works with A-GPS. The tracker is simple but elegant; it has the shape of a cat and measures 1.7in x 0.8in x 1.4in.
With the purchase of the tracker, you also get two types of collars, one for dogs and another one for cats.
The neck collar is adjustable to your pet, the largest diameter is 5.3 inches, and the shortest is 3.9 inches.
Advantages The tracker comes with a buttoned strap you can use to attach the tracker to your cat’s collar, a bag, or whatever you wish to track. Disadvantages The battery can last till 20 hours with the GPS always on, but it can be extended to 3 days if you only use the tracker 1 hour per day. It is fully charged within 3 to 5 hours, which is a short time but the battery endures way too little time.Being a GPS tracker, monthly fees are unavoidable. BARTUN Pet Tracker comes with a SIM card with two services choices, precisely as the ones listed in the other BARTUN tracker mentioned on this list.
- Easy to use.
- GPS trackers have a lot of coverage.
- The battery only endures 20 hours and 3 days with minimum use.
How to Choose the Best Tracking Device for Your Cat?
There is such a wide variety of trackers in the market, with different designs and technologies. Which is the best for you and your cat? To pick a tracker, you should evaluate its features, and if these features favor your cat’s demeanor and lifestyle.
Battery Life Murphy’s Law says your cat will spring out of the safe area the moment the battery of the tracker is dead.To defy Murphy’s Law, the safe bet is a tracker with plenty of battery life. If you have a lazy cat or an indoor cat only, perhaps you can allow yourself to not pay much attention to the battery life of the tracker.
Thus, to pick a tracker lightweight enough for your cat is important.
Together with the weight of the tracker, another important factor is the collar. In case the tracker comes with a collar, it must adjust perfectly to your cat’s neck and not by a nuisance at all. It would be terrible if you can’t find your cat because the collar fell from its neck.
Location History GPS trackers often come with the Location History function. This function allows you to visualize previously reported GPS positions of your cat.Some trackers show your cat’s location of the previous three months; others save the data of the previous 24 hours only. The feature can be useful to estimate your cat’s habits and favorite places to go.
If you are not interested in knowing your cat’s favorites places, perhaps you can go without this feature.
Use of Smartphone App The possibility to check their cat’s whereabouts in the comfort of their smartphone is vital for many cat owners.However, the design, simplicity, and practicality of the app can overrule one GPS app over another.
If you’re not fond of smartphones or don’t own one, there are more options for you. For example, radiofrequency trackers don’t use smartphone apps.
Integrated SIM Card If you have to pay a monthly fee for your cat’s safety, it’d better be worth the money, right?An integrated SIM Card is less to worry about, so you don’t have to buy it yourself. Despite this, before investing in a GPS tracker investigate the cellular service provider.
If you do so, you can save yourself a headache for not getting what you need. If you live out of 2G service or simply wish a more upgraded model.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best GPS cat tracker?
Are trackers for cats water resistant?
What is the most lightweight tracher for cats?
Can I train my cat with a tracker?
Conclusion
To pick the best tracker for your cat will depend on many things.
- For example, how often will you use the tracker?
- Are you a worried cat parent and your baby loves to adventure outside of the home?
On the other hand, you could be lacking time to worry about charging your cat’s tracker every day. In every case, a tracker with plenty of battery life is what you need.
The tracker you pick must be a perfect fit for your cat and its lifestyle. If you have an indoor cat only, a GPS tracker won’t be of much help to you. Radiofrequency tracker or Bluetooth trackers can tell you which part of your home is your cat hiding.
Hopefully, we’ve helped you decide on the best! Remember your cat’s safety and your peace of mind are worth the price.
