The Best Gadgets to Keep an Eye on Your Pets in 2023

It’s already stressful enough to leave your furbabies at home while you go to work or run errands. But, what if you need to be away from home for longer and you can’t bring them with you?

These days, furparents are fortunate enough to have access to technology to ensure the safety of their pets. Yet, with so many options on the market today, which gadgets to keep an eye on your pets work best?

We have rounded up some of the best gadgets that will help furparents know what’s going on with their pets while they’re away from home. If you’re a furparent, read on to find out which gadgets can help you best in keeping your furbabies safe and monitored.

The original Furbo, which was funded on Indiegogo and released in 2016, became a huge hit right away and gave rise to several copies. Smart notifications were included in a minor update in 2017, but other than that, the product hasn’t altered much.

The Furbo 360 has a 1080p camera with a 160-degree wide-angle lens, 4x digital zoom, and infrared night vision, just like its predecessor. The new model’s camera can pan 270 degrees back and forth, whereas the standard Furbo’s camera is fixed in place. The Furbo 360 provides a 360-degree field of view because of its large field of view and additional panning.

Additionally, the Furbo 360 has better night vision than its predecessor. In low light conditions, the camera may now record in color in addition to black and white.

The treat tosser has been improved by Furbo, and you can now select between little or large snacks. It is also now quieter. The Furbo app now allows you to choose whether to use large (0.50 to 0.75 inches) or small (0.50 to 0.50 inches) goodies. Dry, firm, round treats with a diameter of around 0.40 inches are still the ideal choice (available for Android and iOS).

Viewing the live video stream on your phone, panning the camera, turning on night vision, using two-way audio, tossing treats, receiving barking alarms, and taking pictures and videos are all free of charge. However, you require a Furbo Dog Nanny premium monitoring membership to access event-based recordings.

Pros

• 360-degree views
• Automatic dog tracking
• Color night vision
• Barking alerts

Cons

• Doesn’t tilt vertically
• No local storage option
• Some features need subscription

Specification

• Price $189.00
• Connectivity Technology Wireless
• Video Capture Resolution 720p, 1080p
• Mounting Type Wall Mount

Want to monitor your pet throughout the day while you return to work? With the $149 Petcube Bites 2 Lite, you can treat your pet, praise them for being good, and keep an eye on them day and night—all from your phone. When motion and sound are detected with a premium membership, it immediately starts recording, alerts you, and stores the video clips to a timeline, much like a home security camera.

Like the Furbo, it has a 160-degree wide-angle 1080p camera with a 4x digital zoom and automatic night vision. You may hear the barking and cries of your pet with a single microphone. A removable, dishwasher-safe container that can hold up to 1.5 pounds of treats is located above the camera. The rectangular, plastic object is 10.6 by 5.7 by 30 inches overall (HWD). With a Care membership, you may download video clips from the timeline of your pet’s activities and get smart alerts that let you know when your pet barks, meows, interacts with other animals, or sees a person.

To monitor your pet, simply open the Petcube app on your phone and tap the play button at the top to watch the camera’s live video feed. You’ll get live footage as soon as the app establishes a connection with the camera. At night, Bites 2 Lite’s night vision will let you see all the way across the room, 20 feet away, in black and white.

The Petcube Bites 2 Lite is a viable alternative to the Furbo if you’ve been eyeing it but can’t locate it on sale. It provides a comparable experience for less money, allowing you to see, hear, and communicate with your pet through your phone while also giving them treats no matter where you are. It will alert you to motion and sound occurrences and immediately record them if you have a paid membership. All things considered, the Bites 2 Lite is entertaining and simple to use, and it can give you confidence that your pet is secure when you’re away from home.

Pros

• Good night vision
• Dispenses treats reliably
• Two-way audio
• Can be mounted on wall

Cons

• Occasional delay connecting to app
• Tips over easily when not wall-mounted
• Video history and smart alert features require subscription

Specification

• Price $87.95
• Connectivity Technology Wireless
• Video Capture Resolution 1080p HD
• Mounting Type Wall Mount

The Petcube Bites 2’s camera features a 160-degree lens, 1080p resolution, pinch-to-zoom capabilities, a built-in night vision system, and a 4x digital zoom. When the lighting is excellent, the video feed is colorful but not exceptionally sharp. The room you’re watching is covered by a monochromatic image thanks to the built-in night vision.

The camera has a built-in speaker and microphone that enable two-way audio communication. This allows you to converse with and hear your pet. Although the audio is a little muddled, you can still hear your cat meowing and hear yourself clearly enough to get its attention.

The Petcube Bites 2 now has Amazon Alexa as an added bonus thanks to the microphone and speaker. With the wake word “Alexa,” the camera transforms into a smart speaker that works similarly to an Amazon Echo Flex. You can use the device’s tiny speaker to inquire for general information like the weather and sports scores, set timers, and manage your smart home appliances, but it is not ideal for playing music loudly. It’s a helpful add-on function, but it doesn’t improve the functionality of the Petcube Bites 2 as a pet monitoring camera. If you don’t already have voice control, it gives you some useful voice control.

Only the latest four hours of activity and recorded video clips will be stored in the cloud by the Petcube Bites 2 and Petcube app on their own. These videos have a maximum length of 10 seconds, cannot be downloaded, and are deleted four hours after being recorded. You can still use the app to take screenshots of the live feed and record videos of your pet while it is being watched, interacted with, and given rewards. This increases the device’s usefulness as a basic pet-watching device without requiring a subscription but reduces its ability for long-term monitoring.

Pros

• Two-way audio
• Plays music while you’re away
• Easy to set up

Cons

• Camera isn’t that sharp
• Expensive
• Requires subscription to track activities more than four hours or capture 30-second video clips

Specification

• Price $249.00
• Connectivity Technology Wireless
• Video Capture Resolution 1080p
• Mounting Type Wall Mount

A cheap indoor/outdoor home security camera with voice control, color night vision, intelligent motion detection, a built-in siren, and local video storage, the Wyze Cam V3 is packed with features.

Over the V2, the Wyze Cam V3 boasts a number of performance improvements. It produces 1080p video at 20 frames per second with a field of view of 130 degrees and makes use of a Starlight sensor to provide color night vision. In contrast, the V2 features a 110-degree field of view, 15 frames per second video recording, and black-and-white night vision. The Wyze Spotlight Kit(Opens in a new window) (separately available) mounts to the top of the camera and is activated when the camera detects motion. In addition, the V3 features a built-in 80dB siren.

The V3 will record a 12-second clip whenever motion or sound is detected and save it in the cloud for free for 14 days, but there is a 5-minute cooldown period in which the camera won’t record. However, you may activate 24-hour continuous recording that enables you to see photographs in a time-lapse mode provided you add a 32 GB microSD card (not included).

You’ll need a Wyze Cam Plus subscription to enjoy the camera’s human detection and upcoming vehicle, package, and animal detection features.

Voice instructions for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa are accepted, but Apple HomeKit connectivity is not. The V3 does, however, function with IFTTT applets that allow it to connect with independent smart home appliances. Additionally, you can program the camera to work with other Wyze products like smart lightbulbs, motion detectors, and door locks.

Pros

• Doubles as security camera
• Motion, person, and sound detection features
• Has built-in siren

Cons

• Doesn’t support HomeKit

Specification

• Price $34.99
• Connectivity Technology Wired
• Video Capture Resolution 1080p
• Mounting Type Wall Mount

An affordable security camera with a ton of capabilities, the SimCam 1S boasts facial recognition, mechanical panning, smart alarms, local storage, and compatibility with other smart devices.

The device’s camera, which has a 120-degree field of view and records 1080p video at 30 frames per second, is located on the top half. It offers up to 50 feet of black-and-white night vision using Starlight illumination technology and 10 infrared LEDs. A microphone, a light sensor, and a status LED are located on the camera’s front. When the camera is turned on, the status LED is solid red. It flashes green during setup, and it turns solid blue when it is linked to the Wi-Fi in your home. The speaker and a small removable panel that opens to reveal a reset button as well as a micro SD card slot are located on the enclosure’s back.

The 1S can take cards up to 128 GB and comes with a 16 GB microSD card for storing event-triggered footage (including a five-second clip of what happened before the event). A dual-band Wi-Fi radio provides connectivity, allowing you to connect to your router’s 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz bands, and a siren can be activated to frighten away intruders.

When you utilize panning motions in the mobile app or when the camera is automatically monitoring movement, the camera enclosure rotates 360 degrees on a mechanical gimbal base. What’s more, it can also differentiate between people, cars, and animals, so in spite of being a home security camera, pet owners can also use it as a good device to keep an eye on their pets while they’re away from home. Whether you’re looking for a device to track your pet at home or something to help you monitor your home itself, this is a great option to consider.

Pros

• Facial recognition
• Intelligent alerts
• Good storage

Cons

• Sluggish panning response at times
• Lacks Apple HomeKit support

Specification

• Price $129.00
• Connectivity Technology Wireless
• Video Capture Resolution The device's camera, which has a 120-degree field of view and records 1080p video at 30 frames per second, is located on the top half. It offers up to 50 feet of black-and-white night vision using Starlight illumination technology and 10 infrared LEDs. A microphone, a light sensor, and a status LED are located on the camera's front. When the camera is turned on, the status LED is solid red. It flashes green during setup, and it turns solid blue when it is linked to the Wi-Fi in your home. The speaker and a small removable panel that opens to reveal a reset button and a micro SD card slot are located on the enclosure's back.
• Mounting Type Wall Mount