11 January 2024 , 14:54
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I'm a relatively new pet owner. My partner and I adopted a rescue kitten, Winnie, in September 2023 who is now about seven months old and while I work from home the majority of the time, leaving her when we got her to run errands, go out for the evening or pop into the office filled me with a (unnecessary) constant worry over whether she was ok - being a baby animal and all. That was until I got Furbo's new cat camera, which is the feline variation of its best-selling dog-cam which has honestly been a godsend.
A few of my friends and some family members had invested in a number of different pet camera brands and absolutely loved it but with an overwhelming amount of options on the market, I didn't know which one to go for. A colleague of mine has a Furbo for her dogs and after learning about hers, it seemed like the one for me (but be warned, it's not cheap).
Retailing at £209 (although it's currently on sale for £146), the 360 degree Cat Camera is a three-in-one, in my opinion, gadget that not only monitors your cat while you're out and allows you to check in on your fluffy friend via video, but it has the addition of a feather toy attached at the top to keep your kitty stimulated throughout the day and awarded with treats when they're being good.
Winnie wasn't too sure of it at first, but the gadget's feather wand soon had her occupied (Eve Rowlands)When it arrived packaged up neatly, it was so easy to set up. I slotted the camera, top and wires together, downloaded the Furbo app, plugged in the camera, set my account up and almost immediately it was up and running. The first thing I noticed about the camera was how stylish and elegant it looked. It had almost a Scandi vibe to it with its black, elegant design and bamboo wooden top that made it a feature of the room, rather than a boring piece of technology. It also came with two sticky feet to ensure the camera couldn't be pulled off by an inquisitive feline - although more on that later.
The recommended setup was just a few inches off the floor, so I propped it on our TV stand so that Winnie could reach it, and after turning it on the picture was so unbelievably clear - and I was able to zoom in on Winnie sleeping soundly in her bed on the other side of the room.
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Another cool feature I love utilising is the camera's 360 rotation, meaning I scan the room by clicking on the arrows on the app. You can also set it up so that if your cat is in the room, it can be followed wherever it treads.
Once we set up the camera and were sure it was in the right place and working, we decided to try it out and left Winnie to go for a coffee at a nearby cafe. Keeping a close eye, Winnie was intrigued at first. She didn't quite know what to make of the rotating camera that followed her every move but soon got very distracted by the feather wand toy, which had a bell on it and spent a good while keeping herself entertained - although she tried to pull it off the stand multiple times to bring her new toy with her where she went and got rather frustrated when it bounced back up; I was pleased, however, with its durability.
Her daily battle is Winnie VS Furbo's feather wand (Eve Rowlands)Testing out the two-way audio feature, I called out Winnie's name - much to her confusion. I assume she was thinking 'where on earth is that sound coming from? My human isn't here!'. But, unlike dogs, cats are rather blasé about being called upon, so she didn't come running when I tried it for a second time a few moments later when she'd settled in her bed. What's great about this two way audio is that I am notified whenever she's crying or meowing and I can assess why that may be.
Honestly. I was buzzing. This camera is an absolute game changer for me, who, admittedly (although not embarrassingly), suffers way too much with separation anxiety from my cat. I can check in on her whenever I want and even call out to her if she's not in the room - the ideal is having one in every room, but that may be excessive and would leave my bank account looking rather.... well empty and in minus figures. Its night time vision is cracking too - especially in winter - and picks up on her movements at when there's no light to be found.
There's more. Now, yes, this Furbo Cat Camera is intended to monitor my cat but it is such a team player when it comes to doubling up as a tool to give me peace of mind. As a candle lover, I often enjoy scenting my home with the likes of gingerbread (at Christmas), florals and vanilla, but the panic is real when I leave my house and suddenly have a feeling that one has been left burning (never has it happened, but the panic is still there). Or that my front door or a window isn't shut properly. But with this camera positioned in my main living area (where the candles are), I can check all these things and relax.
Okay. So I've told you about the camera. The toy. But what about the treat throwing? With her still being relatively young when we got the camera, we hadn't managed to find age-appropriate treats to reward her for being the perfect little pet that she is (when she's not scratching at our sofa...)until recently when we introduced her to Dreamz. My partner had great enjoyment in testing out the gadget's treat tossing element. It's range is quite far and you can control where it goes via the interactive treat tossing button in the app, which is pretty accurate. While we're still training her to actually get the treat, rather than watch it fly and then leave it non-plussed - it's got potential.
If you want to be extra cautious, the app offers a subscription service to Furbo Nanny which allows you to record moments - and replay - get real time alerts and also recaps your cat's day in its 'kitty diary'. This costs £6.99 per month or £69 per year and, since getting it, I've found it really helpful in keeping my worries at bay when I'm not at home. It also detects humans, which is an extra security perk!
My only con with Furbo's new cat camera is that the adhesives could have a smidge more industrial strength. Now, it may be the fact that my kitten, in the last few months, has gained some extraordinary muscles or is just dogged when it comes to attacking feathery toys, but on several occasions she has managed to detangle the feather from the rod and, when it wouldn't come off, tug so hard at it that the camera came off the table (onto a rug, don't worry, nothing was damaged, thanks to the Furbo camera's insane quality).
Thankfully, I just stuck a few more 'industrial strength' stickers from Amazon on the bottom and the camera has remained in place ever since, no matter how hard Winnie tries to tug at the feather wand.
All in all, while I don't think Winnie is too fussed about it, Furbo's Cat Camera has genuinely been life-changing for me and has definitely eased my separation anxiety.
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Now, of course, this camera isn't the most affordable. Especially if you've just bought an animal and have forked out hundreds on vets bills, toys, beds (which they will probably forgo for a cardboard box...), food, the works. So here are a few alternatives that are a bit more budget friendly. Tapo's 2k Pan Tilt Camera is on sale on Amazon for £24.99 down from £39.99 and is one of its 'Amazon Choice' products. Alternatively, Petcube Pet Monitoring Camera is £33 at Argos (down from £50).
The Furbo Cat Camera of my dreams, however, is available here on Furbo. It can also be bought on Amazon here.