Cat Tracker - Small and Lightweight Waterproof Bluetooth Pet Collar Attachment, 328 Foot Range, Replaceable 6 Month Battery Life, Android/Apple iOS Compatible

I am a repeat customer, so to speak. I'm on my third Cat Tailer. I can't remember why I had to replace the first one I had, but the case on the second one broke where you attach the ring, so it was unfortunately rendered useless. I have tried other products - the expensive GPS tracker which requires a monthly fee and was a complete waste of money because the cat got the collar off and the battery on the tracker ran out before I could find it. No refund on the monthly fee. I got a Tab Cat tracker and it's not bad but you can't ascertain the battery life and you don't necessarily know how close or how far you are from the cat. One of the great things about the Cat Tailer is it shows you the battery level so you don't run into that issue, and it gives you an approximate distance from the cat (and you do have to get used to how that works), so back to Cat Tailer I went and I will stick with it.

After a year or so of use, I am satisfied enough to buy another tracker for my other cat. Once I got the hang of the Bluetooth "getting warmer/cooler" tracking, I was satisfied. But it is critical to have unobstructed Bluetooth signal for this to work properly -- and I believe that is one reason these reviews vary so widely. I've successfully changed the battery once and it is a job for small, nimble fingers (luckily mine still work). The rest of this review is from my initial purchase and I will leave it for informational purposes. I am using this to locate my cat if he doesn't come when called. He generally hangs around our flat terrain yard so it's fairly easy to home in on him -- and this works great. After more than a month of continuous use, the tracker battery is still close to 100%. The small tracking device fits into a rubber-ish holder (comes in the box) that fits neatly on his collar so it doesn't hang down or fall in his water/food bowl. The app is simple and easy to use on my iPhone SE. However, there are a couple of app functions that are supposed to work in the background -- that is, notification of when the tracker device either leaves Bluetooth range or returns to it -- or both. I was looking forward to being notified when my cat left Bluetooth range -- so I could immediately go outside and look for him before he strayed too far. Well, this doesn't work for me at all. When I contacted Cat Tailer, they responded very promptly with a thorough explanation. Here are some quotes from their reply. Note that these are isolated quotes and their reply is more detailed. But these snippets explain the gist of why I cannot make use these background functions. Cat Tailer told me that, "In order for [background functions] to work we need to run a portion of our app when your phone is asleep. Both Apple (iPhone) and Google (Android) severely restrict what we can do in the background and how often." "On Android we still have fairly good availability to background activity. On Android we only need to wait 6 minutes before we are fairly sure the Cat Tailer wasn’t nearby. Similarly on Android, we will normally notify within 1 to 2 minutes when the Cat Tailer comes back in range." "On iPhone, Apple gives us largely zero control over how often we can look for a Cat Tailer." "Currently Apple specifies that they will look for Bluetooth devices like Cat Tailer every 10 to 15 minutes. Because the phone might not see the Cat Tailer on that one peek every 10 to 15 minutes we wait a full 30 minutes before reporting that a Cat Tailer is out of range. For an in range notification and your phone deeply asleep you can expect it to notify within 10 to 15 minutes. If you have been regularly using your phone and it is only mildly asleep then it will report an in range within 5 minutes or so. But, out of range reporting still waits a full 30 minutes." My bottom line? I like this device and feel like it's very good quality and value for the money -- even without the background functionality. But I would have appreciated being able to find the background limitations information -- either on Amazon or on cattailer.com -- so that I could have taken it into consideration prior to purchase. It should also be referenced in the manual.

This has been a life saver! I have had it for years. Customer service is top notch. Easy to use and it has helped me find my little escape artist several times. I don’t know what I would do without it. I do not recommend using Amazon basic batteries, go with Duracell.

My cat is old and we've turned him into an indoor only cat. He still tries to get out every chance he has. Since he was catnapped once already by a well meaning cat lady in the neighborhood, we ordered this. pros: the battery is always charged. It is supposed to last up to 6 months as opposed to gps trackers which are more accurate and cover distance but need constant charging. the chances of my cat escaping on the day his device was all charged and ready just defies murphy's law. So this tracker solves that issue. It also has a little blinking light that lets you know it's working. The light can be easily turned off if you find it annoying. The app also allows you to check battery. I use the light. I figure, if the collar falls off as breakaways tend to, it could help me locate it in the dark as well as the cat pressuming the collar is on. It is lightweight, quiet and doesn't seem to bother him at all. I have been able to locate him a few times when he was very close and we thought he'd escaped. Turned out he was curled up in a closet. Another time he was heading up the street to a favorite hangout where people feed outdoor strays. I was able to intercept him. cons: it isn't very accurate. As you stare at the screen while using the app, the distance will jump all over the place, from 30ft away to 135 feet, meanwhile the cat is sleeping and hasn't even moved. The same issue occurs while using the alert feature. This is supposed to tell you when your cat is leaving the preset range which is simply near or far. However, my phone is constantly dinging telling me he's leaving. Again, he's just sleeping. In both these situations, I am also not moving. It makes that feature totally useless because I will just ignore it now. The device will only help you locate your cat if you know where he might already be. If a passer by takes your cat to a different neighborhood, out of the zone, you won't be able to find them unless you are walking around close enough for it to ping. Of course they tell you this up front. But I am bringing it up anyway because of my biggest gripe: the price. It's way too expensive for what it is. The tags they make for kids are cheaper and have better tracking on the app. I can't see the justification for the high cost. The parts and technology and limited accuracy don't warrant that price tag. It feels a little predatory, taking advantage of a pet owners' love for their pet. We'd pay anything not to lose our babies, right? But this tag only eases my mind somewhat. As far as the app, it would be nice to see two dots moving closer together or futher apart as you approach your cat or walk in the wrong direction rather than numbers jumping around. If you are frantic in your search that makes it all the more frustrating. It also should have a place on the tag to add the cat's info: name, phone and address. Instead, they largely display the logo. Let's focus on the point of the device for a moment: Getting pets safely back home. The company has already made their money, why not make it so we can write our pet's name on it? Many of us don't want to have multuple tags clanging around their pets neck, especially if they are outdoors where dogs or coyotes might be drawn to the sound. I went ahead and put a small round label and wrote his info on it and covered in clear packing tape. It will need to be redone, but works for now. A printable or write on tag would solve that. I'll be checking for updates. I appreciate that this product is made by a small business and that there was a hand signed thank you in the box. Hopefully my feedback helps improve the product. I really want it to work as best as possible. :)