Most cat and dog owners would love to understand their pets better, and even be understood.
Unfortunately, there isn’t really any way for them to tell you about their day – until now.
The Secret Life of Pets
You might be surprised to learn that, while they nap quite a bit, some pets lead pretty interesting lives. Outdoor cats in rural areas often range up to 5 miles from home. Dogs are generally not allowed quite this much freedom, but their humans are frequently unaware of the social interactions they have with other dogs and people they know, never mind why they sometimes insist on veering off in some apparently random direction.
If you want to know more about things like these, the best way to start may well be to get a camera that clips to their collars.
Of course, depending on your cat’s personality, she might see you trying to fit a collar on her either as a game that she wins by escaping to the top of the fridge, or maybe a battle to the death. If you’ve never actually tried this, it might be worth experimenting first before ordering one of these, and remember that you’ll have to take it off every time you want to watch the video.
Camera Details
It weighs only about 1.2oz, though, so it shouldn’t be too much of a hindrance to a cat once she gets used to it, while dogs will hardly know it’s there. The battery takes about 5 hours to reach a full charge, after which you can expect something over two hours of recording time. This can be extended a little by using the “motion detection” setting, which causes it to record only when the camera is moving.
The video resolution is736x480, but to get a better idea about image quality and what you can do with this camera, have a look at this video of a cat exploring the neighboring garden (with the device on):
Despite its relatively high price, though, this isn’t a premium product. Although the camera focuses automatically and has some night vision capability, it struggles to keep up with different lighting conditions and fast movement.
While the manufacturer has made some effort to make the casing water-resistant, they’re also the first to admit that it’s not waterproof, so this isn’t the best choice for dogs that love to swim. Even if it doesn’t get wet, you should not expect the Eyenimal to outlast months of regular use.
What it is, though, is a valuable tool to better understand your pet’s behavior and have some fun with. Have you ever thought what a bouncing tennis ball looks like from your dog’s perspective, or what your cat sees as she stalks a bird? It’s basically a certainty that somebody will soon design an app to convert this video into something more nearly like that which your pet sees, so watch this space.
