The collars I have for my indoor cats are the breakaway kind. They work pretty well but once a month, one of them comes loose somewhere. Because I have the IR tracers (http://www.loc8tor.com/Store/) on them, I can track them down so it works out ok.
But I'm thinking about putting a tag and collar on an outdoor cat, Scooter, who may be joining the indoor cats for the winter at least. He's very friendly and I worry that he may be taken away by the authorities if he isn't visibly tagged.
The IR detector is not a viable solution here since they are not waterproof. Does anyone have a lead on a collar that will break off only if the cat is actually in danger of being strangled by it? Most of them break off much easier.
>>The collars I have for my indoor cats are the breakaway kind. They >>work pretty well but once a month, one of them comes loose somewhere. >>Because I have the IR tracers (http://www.loc8tor.com/Store/) on them, >>I can track them down so it works out ok.
>>But I'm thinking about putting a tag and collar on an outdoor cat, >>Scooter, who may be joining the indoor cats for the winter at least. >>He's very friendly and I worry that he may be taken away by the >>authorities if he isn't visibly tagged.
>>The IR detector is not a viable solution here since they are not >>waterproof.
I like the way these slip onto the collar rather than using a wire to have them hang. I got two sets (2 each) and will put them on my three cats and Scooter.
I notice they say "splashproof" and not "waterproof". The weight of the tag tends to have it hang under their neck anyway so hopefully the rain won't ruin the tag. It will be interesting to see just how well I can track Scooter. I was never willing to let one of my cats roam around and try it. It works well enough in my house or the (fenced-in) backyard but since I don't know where Scooter goes it will be interesting.
There is a camera (I've seen it at Target) that hangs around the cat's neck and takes pictures, but it seems pretty intrusive.
Daniel Bernard wrote: > On Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:25:47 -0500, dgk <d...@somewhere.com> wrote:
>> On Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:52:40 +0000, Daniel Bernard >> <fifthhorse...@the.apocalypse> wrote:
>>> On Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:01:31 -0500, dgk <d...@somewhere.com> wrote:
>>>> The collars I have for my indoor cats are the breakaway kind. They >>>> work pretty well but once a month, one of them comes loose somewhere. >>>> Because I have the IR tracers (http://www.loc8tor.com/Store/) on them, >>>> I can track them down so it works out ok.
>>>> But I'm thinking about putting a tag and collar on an outdoor cat, >>>> Scooter, who may be joining the indoor cats for the winter at least. >>>> He's very friendly and I worry that he may be taken away by the >>>> authorities if he isn't visibly tagged.
>>>> The IR detector is not a viable solution here since they are not >>>> waterproof. >>> Why not buy the waterproof casing for the tag?
>> I like the way these slip onto the collar rather than using a wire to >> have them hang. I got two sets (2 each) and will put them on my three >> cats and Scooter.
>> I notice they say "splashproof" and not "waterproof". The weight of >> the tag tends to have it hang under their neck anyway so hopefully the >> rain won't ruin the tag. It will be interesting to see just how well I >> can track Scooter. I was never willing to let one of my cats roam >> around and try it. It works well enough in my house or the (fenced-in) >> backyard but since I don't know where Scooter goes it will be >> interesting.
>> There is a camera (I've seen it at Target) that hangs around the cat's >> neck and takes pictures, but it seems pretty intrusive.
> I'm going to have to invest in one of those! My youngest cat went AWOL > last weekend and it took around 9 hours to find her. She somehow got > trapped between a shed and a garden wall and it was only by the > slimmest of chances that I found her as neither myself, the owner of > the shed or the owner of the garden wall realised there was a gap of > around 6 inches between the shed and the wall. > -- > amicalement,
> Daniel
That was truly a miracle. Did she/he meow to alert you? If not, that could have been fatal. Cats love to investigate small spaces.
On Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:37:04 -0700, MLB <mlbri...@nonesuch.com> wrote: >Daniel Bernard wrote: >> On Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:25:47 -0500, dgk <d...@somewhere.com> wrote:
>>> On Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:52:40 +0000, Daniel Bernard >>> <fifthhorse...@the.apocalypse> wrote:
>>>> On Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:01:31 -0500, dgk <d...@somewhere.com> wrote:
>>>>> The collars I have for my indoor cats are the breakaway kind. They >>>>> work pretty well but once a month, one of them comes loose somewhere. >>>>> Because I have the IR tracers (http://www.loc8tor.com/Store/) on them, >>>>> I can track them down so it works out ok.
>>>>> But I'm thinking about putting a tag and collar on an outdoor cat, >>>>> Scooter, who may be joining the indoor cats for the winter at least. >>>>> He's very friendly and I worry that he may be taken away by the >>>>> authorities if he isn't visibly tagged.
>>>>> The IR detector is not a viable solution here since they are not >>>>> waterproof. >>>> Why not buy the waterproof casing for the tag?
>>> I like the way these slip onto the collar rather than using a wire to >>> have them hang. I got two sets (2 each) and will put them on my three >>> cats and Scooter.
>>> I notice they say "splashproof" and not "waterproof". The weight of >>> the tag tends to have it hang under their neck anyway so hopefully the >>> rain won't ruin the tag. It will be interesting to see just how well I >>> can track Scooter. I was never willing to let one of my cats roam >>> around and try it. It works well enough in my house or the (fenced-in) >>> backyard but since I don't know where Scooter goes it will be >>> interesting.
>>> There is a camera (I've seen it at Target) that hangs around the cat's >>> neck and takes pictures, but it seems pretty intrusive.
>> I'm going to have to invest in one of those! My youngest cat went AWOL >> last weekend and it took around 9 hours to find her. She somehow got >> trapped between a shed and a garden wall and it was only by the >> slimmest of chances that I found her as neither myself, the owner of >> the shed or the owner of the garden wall realised there was a gap of >> around 6 inches between the shed and the wall. >> -- >> amicalement,
>> Daniel
>That was truly a miracle. Did she/he meow to alert you? If not, that >could have been fatal. Cats love to investigate small spaces.
I've read that indoor cats that get out are so scared that they will not make a sound even if they recognize you. YMMV of course.
But I love the Loc8tor. The range is limited and you have to remember to change the batteries every few months, and it is around $160. If a cat gets sick I can track down where it's hiding. In the summer, when the back door is open, I can find them inside or in the yard. If I just can't find one and am curious where it went, I can find it.
I bought something called the Photomate 887 (or 877?). It's a GPS data logger. It's about the size of the end of my thumb. It can record it's GPS position once per second. It's intended use is to clip to a belt or back-pack and record your position during some activity (hiking, vacation) and you want to know where you've been (say, to plot on google earth) or to record the GPS position of any pictures you took along the way.
It's small enough to clip to a cat's collar, and it lasts about 11 hours on a single charge. It's got great GPS reception out doors and sometimes indoors.
I've had it on most of my cats to see where they go during the day. I can plot their entire track on google earth or play it back to get an idea of how long they spend at any particular location. As you might expect, cats are creatures of habbit, and they end up going to the same places or coving the same ground. So I know the particular habbits of my individual cats. Some only visit the backyards of my immediate neighbors, and roam up to 300 meters away.
This Photomate logger also has bluetooth, and it will transmit it's coordinates via bluetooth as well as log them. I'm experimenting with a long-range bluetooth receiver (Aircable Host XR) and outdoor antenna and I should be able to track them in real time for some distance beyond 100 meters.
>> My Loc8tor pet pack has arrived. If she gets lost or trapped again >> this will save me time and heartache and her from any possibly injury.
>How far is the range?
It doesn't seem to be very large. You certainly aren't going to be able to track a cat from a block away. But maybe within 200 feet or so. And that is plenty for an indoor cat that gets out; most don't go very far from home. But they do hide.
>I bought something called the Photomate 887 (or 877?). It's a GPS data >logger. It's about the size of the end of my thumb. It can record it's >GPS position once per second. It's intended use is to clip to a belt or >back-pack and record your position during some activity (hiking, >vacation) and you want to know where you've been (say, to plot on google >earth) or to record the GPS position of any pictures you took along the >way.
>It's small enough to clip to a cat's collar, and it lasts about 11 hours >on a single charge. It's got great GPS reception out doors and >sometimes indoors.
>I've had it on most of my cats to see where they go during the day. I >can plot their entire track on google earth or play it back to get an >idea of how long they spend at any particular location. As you might >expect, cats are creatures of habbit, and they end up going to the same >places or coving the same ground. So I know the particular habbits of >my individual cats. Some only visit the backyards of my immediate >neighbors, and roam up to 300 meters away.
>This Photomate logger also has bluetooth, and it will transmit it's >coordinates via bluetooth as well as log them. I'm experimenting with a >long-range bluetooth receiver (Aircable Host XR) and outdoor antenna and >I should be able to track them in real time for some distance beyond 100 >meters.
Very good stuff. Technology is getting very useful. Soon we'll be able to call our cats on the Kitty Phone and tell them to come home for dinner. Oh, right, they probably don't need to be reminded of that.
Not necessary for my indoor/backyard cats, but something that might be fun for Scooter. I don't think I can justify the expense at the moment. Having just received the outdoor heating pad for my outdoor cathouse, and the Litter Robot for the indoor brood, I think my discretionary feline funds are in very short supply.
>>On Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:59:10 -0500, 7 of 9 <7...@9.com> wrote:
>>>I bought something called the Photomate 887 (or 877?). It's a GPS data >>>logger. It's about the size of the end of my thumb. It can record it's >>>GPS position once per second. It's intended use is to clip to a belt or >>>back-pack and record your position during some activity (hiking, >>>vacation) and you want to know where you've been (say, to plot on google >>>earth) or to record the GPS position of any pictures you took along the >>>way.
>>>It's small enough to clip to a cat's collar, and it lasts about 11 hours >>>on a single charge. It's got great GPS reception out doors and >>>sometimes indoors.
>>>I've had it on most of my cats to see where they go during the day. I >>>can plot their entire track on google earth or play it back to get an >>>idea of how long they spend at any particular location. As you might >>>expect, cats are creatures of habbit, and they end up going to the same >>>places or coving the same ground. So I know the particular habbits of >>>my individual cats. Some only visit the backyards of my immediate >>>neighbors, and roam up to 300 meters away.
>>>This Photomate logger also has bluetooth, and it will transmit it's >>>coordinates via bluetooth as well as log them. I'm experimenting with a >>>long-range bluetooth receiver (Aircable Host XR) and outdoor antenna and >>>I should be able to track them in real time for some distance beyond 100 >>>meters.
>>Very good stuff. Technology is getting very useful.
There is actually a need for something like this, but using IR instead of Infra-red. I have one cat that eats everyone's food, and one grazer who eats a little and then comes back later. What I really could use is a bowl that recognizes a particular cat and opens up only for that one. Since my cats have IR tags keyed to each cat, that should be simple.
Right now, Espy goes hungry and Marlo is getting fat. A bowl keyed just to Espy would be great.
On Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:19:00 -0500, dgk <d...@somewhere.com> wrote: >On Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:02:48 +0000, Daniel Bernard ><fifthhorse...@the.apocalypse> wrote:
>>On Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:23:48 -0500, dgk <d...@somewhere.com> wrote:
>>>On Sat, 07 Nov 2009 08:59:10 -0500, 7 of 9 <7...@9.com> wrote:
>>>>I bought something called the Photomate 887 (or 877?). It's a GPS data >>>>logger. It's about the size of the end of my thumb. It can record it's >>>>GPS position once per second. It's intended use is to clip to a belt or >>>>back-pack and record your position during some activity (hiking, >>>>vacation) and you want to know where you've been (say, to plot on google >>>>earth) or to record the GPS position of any pictures you took along the >>>>way.
>>>>It's small enough to clip to a cat's collar, and it lasts about 11 hours >>>>on a single charge. It's got great GPS reception out doors and >>>>sometimes indoors.
>>>>I've had it on most of my cats to see where they go during the day. I >>>>can plot their entire track on google earth or play it back to get an >>>>idea of how long they spend at any particular location. As you might >>>>expect, cats are creatures of habbit, and they end up going to the same >>>>places or coving the same ground. So I know the particular habbits of >>>>my individual cats. Some only visit the backyards of my immediate >>>>neighbors, and roam up to 300 meters away.
>>>>This Photomate logger also has bluetooth, and it will transmit it's >>>>coordinates via bluetooth as well as log them. I'm experimenting with a >>>>long-range bluetooth receiver (Aircable Host XR) and outdoor antenna and >>>>I should be able to track them in real time for some distance beyond 100 >>>>meters.
>>>Very good stuff. Technology is getting very useful.
>There is actually a need for something like this, but using IR instead >of Infra-red. I have one cat that eats everyone's food, and one grazer >who eats a little and then comes back later. What I really could use >is a bowl that recognizes a particular cat and opens up only for that >one. Since my cats have IR tags keyed to each cat, that should be >simple.
>Right now, Espy goes hungry and Marlo is getting fat. A bowl keyed >just to Espy would be great.
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