Others Tested
Courtesy of Petcube
Petcube Cam for $32: This simple, compact camera doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, but it’s a great price for being a reliable, basic pet camera. Like others in Petcube’s lineup, it has a 1080p HD camera, night vision, and two-way audio. It sits on hinges and can angle upward and downward, with the option to flip the video feed in-app if you want to lay it horizontally. You’ll need the brand’s subscription Care plan to get any features beyond live feed. You can set a “motion zone” to only get notifications in a specific area, and you connect your phone’s location to the app, so that you’re alerted more often when away. You can also share the camera feed with others so they can watch remotely and only specify certain times you want shared. This camera is basic, but it has a high-quality camera feed and advanced extras that make it a steal at this price.
Catit Pixi Smart Mouse Camera for $82: This cutie looks like a miniature mouse with oversized, magnetic feet that attach to a metal stand, and the mouse legs hinge so you can adjust the camera’s height and angle. It’s cute but expensive for what it is—the lens doesn’t move and requires microSD to get video footage beyond a live feed (with the SD card, you can scroll through the video to see the goings-on from past days, record live footage, and save photos and videos to your smartphone’s camera roll). Although it was hard to pinpoint exactly which time you’re looking at when reviewing footage, video feed can be laggy, and there were connectivity issues a few times. It’s a tad expensive at this price point for its (lack of) capabilities.
Closer Pets TreatView with Pet Camera for $100: This solid pet cam features an HD camera, two-way communication, motion detection, a built-in memory card, and 1-cup storage for kibble or treats, which can be scheduled or given at random. The video feed was always crystal clear, although sound was a bit laggy and hard to hear well. The treat portions were huge, dispensing a heaping handful of kibble at even the lowest setting. The alert sound when dispensing is super jarring, and my pets were scared of it—there was no way to silence it. Because of the placement of the hole for dispensing kibble, the camera is angled low, which made it hard to see the area I wanted. This is a solid pet camera whose additional features become a burden rather than an asset.
Petlibro Granary Smart Camera Feeder for $117: While this is primarily an automatic cat feeder, it has incredible camera surveillance capabilities. The feeder is connected to Wi-Fi and controlled via an app, dispensing food based on a feeding schedule you create. This features a 1080p HD camera in color and night vision, so you can watch and hear, communicate with pets via speaker, and store and review pet videos in the cloud with a 30-day video history. The app also alerts with real-time notifications when the motion and sound sensors are set off, and you can even customize sensitivity and detection range settings of the camera’s downward-facing 145-degree wide-angle lens based on preference. This is a solid two-for-one pet camera and feeder.
Petkit Purobot Ultra Automatic Cat Litter Box for $800: This fancy automatic litter box uses a camera and AI technology to monitor usage and surveils around your automatic box—including actually letting you see your cat’s stool to help more closely monitor their health. The camera’s 210-degree-wide angle is attached to an arm in front of the opening, which swivels 180 degrees and follows your cat when it senses motion and records both the outside goings-on and the inside of the litter box. You can also manually move the camera through the app to pan to the outside or inside of the box. It records in both color and black-and-white, plus it has night vision. Through the app, you can view the camera footage live or watch short clips of each time your cat—or anyone—walks near the litter box and when a cat uses it, plus it also uses AI to identify which cat used the box through the videos taken.
So, is there really a difference between security cameras and pet cameras? Sort of.
Security cameras enable you to watch your house (and pet) while you’re away, but pet cameras often have a few more pet-specific features, like dispensing treats or abilities to interact with your pet via two-way speaker. These cameras with special features can help ease common issues like separation anxiety or boredom. The Enabot Rola PetPal Robot Pet Companion, for example, has attachments so you can remotely give your pet a treat or engage in “playtime” (more on that in the review below).
That’s not to say that you can’t use a security camera as a pet cam, but like any other smart home device that connects to Wi-Fi, there’s a chance it can be hacked and compromise your privacy. Make sure your Wi-Fi password is strong, set up two-factor authentication with your camera’s app, and it’s not a bad idea to keep it turned off when you’re home, as an extra precaution.
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