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I would love to have GPS devices on my cats.
I'm not afraid of them straying off and getting lost, but It would be neat to know where they go and what they do when they are "out and about".
I heard of a building ( I think a condo ) in Seattle that was very cat friendly. There was a little gadget that you put on your cat's collar. It would show, on a computer, where in the building the cat was. You could also install cat doors in your apartment (there were many throughout the building) which could be programmed to allow just your pet through or to allow many cats through. The door would be activated when in proximity to the tab on the coller, otherwise, it would remain locked.
So if your cat befriended another cat you could allow them to visit at will. If a cat were nasty, you could lock him out.
Ideal. I heard about this from a reliable source, but have never seen it.
sounds cool, again my biggest concern is soooo much money going into those little devices for an animal that is NOtoriouS for loosing collars lol. if your using a breakaway collar like suggested for cats, all it takes is 1 tug and its gone (though at least you would be able to find the collar again lol) if your not using a breakaway its a danger so its that rock-hard place thing lol
mabe if they came out with one in a microchip type form...i know they make implantable tracking devices... and i know in 2000 there was a huge stink over an implantable device designed for use in children and child abusers...
dont think id put one in a human (too muhc risk of the govt exploiting that one) but an outdoor cat...i think it wouldbe preferable to a collar system lol
I think it is a pet owner's responsibility to know where their pet is at all times. GPS and such may be great to track a lost pet, (as chips only help if the pet is found), but by turning a pet outside, hoping they will come back, and then using such a tracking device is purely a reactive approach, not a proactive one. It pet owners did not set the stage for such an event to occur, it will not occur.
Where I live, there are Rindge Fisher cats, and turning your cat or small dog outside is the equivalent of ringing a dinner bell for them.
Not to get off topic, but some people don't like others' pets coming into their yards to kill birds and other small animals, but that is a topic for another thread.
To summarize, if pet owners took responsibility and kept track of where there pets are, then all this silly GPS stuff is not needed. (Unless they are the type that also buys the TV remotes with a GPS in them, so they can can find where they left them, but that is another story).
what about that cat who slips out the door while your trying to bring in groceries? or the dog who gets spooked and bolts? or the dog who after a car accident freeks out and dissapears down the highway? or the dog who manages to dig under the fence, slip his collar ect...
i agree, pets shouldnt be ousdie unsupervised (and if they are they should be in a secure confined area...however unless your building alcatraz, with double doors at every entrance, steel bars over every window (my roommates cat got out of a window open 6 inchese because he pushed his way THROUGH the screen), 10ft tall fences that have a 5ft apron top and bottom and barbed wire all around, and a magical never snapping collar or leash, with a back up just in case, and a steel crate for car rides (ive seen plastic ones flat out split open in car crashes) ect...its simply IMPOSSIBLE to say your pet will NEVER get out...
accidents happen...
my dogs are my babies, thier spoilt rotten, they dont go outside alone, they have a 5ft tal fenced area to play in andeven then its FULLY supervised ect...
they are microchiped and wear collars with id tags 24/7...
but i also know it only takes 3 seconds for a dog to slip out the door, only takes 3 seconds to push through a screen, 3 seconds to slip a collar (or the buckle breaks, which happens more freqently than you might think) ect.
the utility man could leae a gate open, or in a rush the door might not latch properly ect...
and what about pet theft...its not uncommon for theives to take puppies (especially purepred) during a home invasion...
the world isnt CERTAIN and theres only so much bubble wrap i can wrap my pets, self and home in to keep us all perfectly safe...
at least with a gps tracker, should a dog or cat get out even accidentally...they could be much more easily found/recovered.
not to mention automatic proof of ownership...
microchip memberships can run out, info not get updated ect...
a gps device however is linked to its scanner/tracker device...someone says "no that dog just LOOKS like your dog...you can easily say "then why does it have MY dogs gps device?"
The setup that I heard about is not used for outdoor animals. It is to allow your pet to visit his friends in other condos in the building without your having to visit the people whom they live with. It may be better for an only cat to have other cats to interact with, depending on the cat's disposition, than to grow fat and lazy sleeping in the same apartment all day.
It's just an alternative lifestyle for a cat if he so chooses. It's always nice to have a choice. Some cats are more social than others and some owners do not want more than one pet.
Cats just are free to go on stairs but not elevators. They also cannot access the lower floors and get out. A roof garden is fenced off so they cannot jump off the roof.
what about that cat who slips out the door while your trying to bring in groceries? or the dog who gets spooked and bolts? or the dog who after a car accident freeks out and dissapears down the highway? or the dog who manages to dig under the fence, slip his collar ect...
i agree, pets shouldnt be ousdie unsupervised (and if they are they should be in a secure confined area...however unless your building alcatraz, with double doors at every entrance, steel bars over every window (my roommates cat got out of a window open 6 inchese because he pushed his way THROUGH the screen), 10ft tall fences that have a 5ft apron top and bottom and barbed wire all around, and a magical never snapping collar or leash, with a back up just in case, and a steel crate for car rides (ive seen plastic ones flat out split open in car crashes) ect...its simply IMPOSSIBLE to say your pet will NEVER get out...
accidents happen...
my dogs are my babies, thier spoilt rotten, they dont go outside alone, they have a 5ft tal fenced area to play in andeven then its FULLY supervised ect...
they are microchiped and wear collars with id tags 24/7...
but i also know it only takes 3 seconds for a dog to slip out the door, only takes 3 seconds to push through a screen, 3 seconds to slip a collar (or the buckle breaks, which happens more freqently than you might think) ect.
the utility man could leae a gate open, or in a rush the door might not latch properly ect...
and what about pet theft...its not uncommon for theives to take puppies (especially purepred) during a home invasion...
the world isnt CERTAIN and theres only so much bubble wrap i can wrap my pets, self and home in to keep us all perfectly safe...
at least with a gps tracker, should a dog or cat get out even accidentally...they could be much more easily found/recovered.
not to mention automatic proof of ownership...
microchip memberships can run out, info not get updated ect...
a gps device however is linked to its scanner/tracker device...someone says "no that dog just LOOKS like your dog...you can easily say "then why does it have MY dogs gps device?"
Quote:"what about that cat who slips out the door while your trying to bring in groceries? or the dog who gets spooked and bolts? or the dog who after a car accident freeks out and dissapears down the highway? or the dog who manages to dig under the fence, slip his collar ect..."
1). My entrances have double doors. In my entire life of dog ownership, (44 years), the only dog that ever got out was the beagle. And that on;y happened twice, and the dog was a sucker for oreo cookies.
2). When my pets are outside the house, they are never, ever off a leash. Let's see how far a 5lb dog gets dragging one of those self-retracting leases, before I catch him (answer: 15 feet.)
3). A beagle can clear a 6ft fence, and dig 2 feet under one, so no outdoor run for her. The chihuahuas I could put in a 10x10 outdoor run, but had to put netting over it to avoid turkey vultures.
No outdoor 'pseudo-secure' runs for my pets.
Quote:"accidents happen...
my dogs are my babies, thier spoilt rotten, they dont go outside alone, they have a 5ft tal fenced area to play in andeven then its FULLY supervised ect..."
I agree. My dog is my baby. I have a full-time nanny for her (and my last dog) for over 13 years. The dog is watched and cared for constantly. Many walks per day.
Quote:"they are microchiped and wear collars with id tags 24/7..."
Same here.
Quote:"and what about pet theft...its not uncommon for theives to take puppies (especially purepred) during a home invasion..."
Since I am here all day, if there is a home invasion, I feel really bad for those attempting it. (well, not really).
Quote:"microchip memberships can run out"
You don't need a membership to get the data. You just need to know which database.
Not even sure why there is a discussion on this topic, if people really want these GPS devices, they are only several hundred dollars. Compared to all the expenses for the dog, this is nickels and dimes. (It would have been cheaper for me to send a kid to Harvard than have my last dog of 13 years, but I loved him , and that is all that matters).
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