The best pet cameras: smart cameras to monitor your furry friends

Looking for a pet camera? Here are the best models we have tried.

 

we love our pets, and we want to take care of our partners, whether we have a tabby cat, a golden retriever, a goldfish or a boa constrictor.

Ever wonder what your pet is up to in the middle of the day? Does it stress you out leaving your pet at home for the day while you bring home the bacon? Well a pet camera might be the perfect little gadget for you. Whether you’re going to work, vacation, just going to the store it’s a great way to keep an eye on your pets and even interact with them if they’re (or you’re) feeling lonely.

Pet cameras, though a relatively recent addition to the smart security camera market, are a great way to do this when we’re away from home, helping us to keep a watchful eye over our furry friends from the office, the gym, or on vacation.

There’s a ton of options for pet cameras out there so I set out to sift through the noise and get you a list of the ones I found to be the best. I researched and tried over 50 different models, it was both fun and exhausting but now I can save you the time. 6ng into account everything from video quality to the ability to toss treats, here’s the best of the best and why!

Choosing the right pet camera for your home, your pet can be complicated, which is why you can buy it in 2022.

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Things to keep in mind when buying a pet camera.

Two-way communication.

Many pet cameras give owners the ability to interact with their pets through two-way audio and two-way video. This allows you to hear your voice and interact with you. With bi-directional communication, you can always control your pets with your voice or video.

Send motion and noise alerts to your phone.

Most pet cameras come with the functionality of sending notifications to your phone. Some cameras will take you video clips and send them so you can see your pet. Another great alert feature is noise detection, which involves sending alerts to your dog barks. Once the video clips are captured, some cameras will allow you to store them in the cloud.

Capture images while you’re away.

Watch your furry friend while you are at work or with a picture. Some pet cameras will allow you to view live images on your phone or stored in the cloud. This is what you are going to do better.

The Best pet cameras 2023.

1. Furbo Dog Camera
2. Petcube Bites 2
3. Petcube Play 2
4. Wyze Cam v3
5. Nest Cam IQ

 

1.Petcube Bites 2 Wi-Fi Pet Camera with Treat Dispenser & Alexa Built-in

 

Resolution: Up to 1080p HD | Footage recording: Cloud recordings with subscription | Audio: Two-way | Mains/battery: Mains | Extra features: Treat dispenser, Amazon Alexa

The Petcube Bites 2 is the ultimate pet camera for anyone who wants to interact with their furry friend, as well as keep an eye on them. It’s undoubtedly pricey, but its impressive spec list and smooth operation makes it an attractive proposition for any animal lover.

With a sleek, modern design, the Petcube Bites 2 lets you watch your pet live in 1080p HD video, which you can be zoomed in on up to four times via the PetCube app. The built-in camera gives you a 160-degree view of your room.

You can either save videos and photos to your phone for free, or sign up to Petcube Care for the ability to watch up to 90 days of video history, all saved securely on the Cloud. Subscriptions start at $3.99 (around £3 / AU$5.80).

Built-in sensors mean that you get alerts any time the Petcube detects movement or noise, so you’ll be the first to know if your dog is barking at an intruder or your cat is meowing for her dinner.

Two-way audio is available via the app, so your pet can hear your voice via the PetCube’s built-in speaker, while a four-microphone array lets you hear everything your pup gets up to.

Perhaps most exciting, is the addition of a treat dispenser that allows you to fling treats to your pet by swiping your finger in the app – you can control the amount of treats as well as the distance, making feeding a fun game for your pet (as well as yourself). If you want to stick to a regular feeding schedule, you can also set the PetCube Bites 2 to Autoplay mode.

For smart home enthusiasts, there’s Alexa built-in, which means you can ask the camera to fling treats and even reorder more supplies, without the need for a separate Amazon Echo speaker.

 

 

2.Petcube Play 2 Wi-Fi Pet Camera with Laser Toy & Alexa Built-In

Resolution: Up to 1080p HD | Footage recording: Cloud recordings with subscription | Audio: Two-way | Mains/battery: Mains | Extra features: Laser toy, Amazon Alexa

The Petcube Play 2 is a great solution for cat owners, as it comes with a built-in laser toy that you can control through the Petcube app – all you have to do is swipe your finger to control where the laser points, letting you play with your cat while you’re away from home.

Worried you’ll forget to play with your kitty? You can set the laser to autoplay, while motion and sound sensors will alert you anytime your cat needs attention.

While it’s smaller than the PetCube Bites 2, the PetCube Play 2 has all the same smart features, including 1080p HD video, a 160-degree view, two-way audio, and Alexa built-in.

3.Furbo Dog Camera: Treat Tossing

Resolution: Up to 1080p HD | Footage recording: Cloud recordings with subscription | Audio: Two-way | Mains/battery: Mains | Extra features: Treat dispenser, night vision, works with Amazon Alexa

It may be called the Furbo Dog Camera, but this smart pet cam could be used for your cats too.

It’s the most stylish camera on the list, with a sleek white body and wooden lid, with built-in LEDs that indicate its connectivity status.

Like the Petcube models, the Furbo Dog Camera boasts HD video and gives you a 160-degree view of your room; the camera feed does have a slight lag, but it’s only a matter of seconds behind real-time. It also has night-vision, allowing you to see your pet in the dark – handy if you’re leaving your pet at home for a night out.

The treat dispenser works in a similar way to the Petcube Bites 2, allowing you to fling treats towards your pet by swiping your finger in the Furbo app.

Two-way audio lets you speak to your pets while out and about, while real-time barking alerts send notification to your smartphone or tablet any time the camera detects the sound of barking.

There’s no smart home integration here, and you won’t find built-in support for voice assistants like Alexa and Google Assistant, but this is still a feature-packed pet camera that should suit any dog owner looking for a stylish solution.

 

5. Nest Cam IQ

Resolution: Up to 1080p HD | Footage recording: Up to 30 days Cloud storage with subscription | Audio: Two-way | Mains/battery: Mains | Extra features: N/A

Not only can it notify you if there’s movement in your home, but it can even identify if unfamiliar people should you ever have an intruder.

The Nest Cam IQ also has the best image quality of any of the cameras we’ve tested, shooting in 4K and HDR (high dynamic range).

The main drawback with the Nest Cam IQ is its price. Not only is it fairly expensive to start with, to use its full range of functions you’ll have to purchase a subscription to Nest Aware. But if you want the best quality, and are prepared to shell out for it, the Nest Cam IQ is probably the camera for you.