More Safety: Cat Tailer™️ tracking device review
The Cat Tailer™️ is a Bluetooth tracking device to be attached to a collar. See all specs at the link above, or at the end of this post.
I’ve had the Cat Tailer™️ for my 2 indoor-outdoor cats in rural terrain for 7 months. I love it. A GPS collar tracks farther, but I don’t like that 5G signal right next to my cat’s thyroid. And there is no monthly subscription: you buy it, you own it.
The Cat Tailer™️ Bluetooth tracker has a battery rated at 6 months. At 4 months, the battery was still at 60%, and I could view the charge every time I looked at the mobile app. At 5-1/2 months the wider-ranging cat needed a new battery. Three weeks later I replaced the battery for the cat who stays closer to home. Why would I want a GPS battery that needs to be recharged on a daily cycle?
The Cat Tailer™️ Bluetooth tracker is strongest with line of sight, but with practice you can learn what to look for. E.g., if they are behind a car, the app might show as 50 feet, but the app rapidly shows the distance change to 6 feet as you walk towards them.
This feature is useful for those times when your cat is there, but not revealing themselves, those ‘Talk to the Paw 🐾’ moments. 😉 You can even use the Cat Tailer™️ inside the house, after you give up looking outdoors and find them in your closet.
Aren’t our cats worth a little practice? The company has helpful videos and excellent real person customer support.
My main tip is to track your cat before they are lost, when you are just hanging out together. Then you’ll get used to how the app on your phone looks, when they are in various places.
I combine the Cat Tailer™️ tracker with a very reflective collar, so I can see my cat from far away with even a small flashlight. Also, it’s a good idea to attach an ID tag with your phone # and address. The Cat Tailer™️ combined with an ID tag gives your cat the best chance of getting home safely.
One useful feature is that more than one family member can download the app and get linked to each individual cat’s Cat Tailer™️. That way anyone in the family can help look for a missing cat, depending on who is home, or they can all look at once if necessary.
I like the black silicone sleeve (a collar slider accessory made for the Cat Tailer™️) for mounting the Cat Tailer™️, it fits the strap of the collar well, and I think it’s more comfortable and rugged for the cat than a dangling pendant.
Cats can respond to your distinctive whistling, so some practice with that can strengthen your relationship. If you whistle, and the app shows them responding by moving closer, you can get closer to them sooner. I have two whistles, a longer one that means ‘come to me right now’, and a short whistle that says, ‘please check in, just need to see your face’. A longer whistle can be heard better if they are farther away. And it helps that not every whistle is urgent. I’ve had to evacuate for wildfires several times, and that whistle is very helpful. Now that I have the Cat Tailer™️, I might not even have to whistle or take time to look, I’ll just find the cats so much faster.
Also, in the rare event that your cat sheds their safety collar (breakaway collar), showing up at home with no collar 🤦♀️, you can track the Cat Tailer™️ on the collar and get it back 😉.
Sometimes animal communication clients ask me about using the Cat Tailer™️ for dogs. After discussing it with the inventor, I realized there is one perfect use for dogs: if the dog is older, perhaps with some confusion or dementia, if they might wander a bit and not be sure where they are, that dog is a better candidate for the Cat Tailer™️. And in that case, it can help you look inside the house too. It is just so nice to have something effective to use, not just wishing and hoping.
I live in natural terrain with multiple predators, and the Cat Tailer™️ helps a lot to keep my cats safe. This device has really helped my relationship with my cats, and greatly improved my peace of mind. ~
The Cat Tailer™️ is by Ambystoma Labs™️ www.cattailer.com
(Available from Amazon and Cat Tailer™️ directly. This is an unsolicited review. I don’t object to affiliate links, but this is not one. )
