What is a GPS tracker for cats and why buy it?

The GPS tracker for cats is the ideal device for those who live with the most independent and wandering pet there is.

Those who have a cat know how common it is for their four-legged friend to spend long periods away from home, sometimes without returning for days at a time. Some can get used to it, but most owners experience these long periods of absence with great apprehension.

The GPS tracker for cats is designed as a technological solution to alleviate the anxieties of owners and ensure the safety of their friends.

How does the GPS cat collar work?

The GPS collar for cats is the 'feline' version of the more famous GPS collar for dogs.

The technologies used are almost identical but, as we will see later, GPS collars for cats have important features designed especially for them.

However, the main function is the same: to monitor your four-legged friend's movements at all times.

To do this, GPS trackers for cats mainly use two technologies:
. GPS with radio waves
. GPS with GSM (cellular network)

GPS cat tracker with radio waves

The device to be attached to the cat's collar is equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System) receiver that connects to satellites. These satellites track the device and its position is transmitted to a portable device via radio waves.

Pros and cons

The strength of a GPS tracker with radio waves is that it works even where there is no telephone network.

A GPS tracker with GSM (telephone network) can only send data on the cat's location where there is a telephone network.

However, the radio-wave GPS tracker has three significant downsides.

The first is the high price, which can be over EUR 400.

If, on the other hand, we take a satellite-based cat tracker with GSM such as Kippy CAT as an example, the price is significantly lower.

The second negative aspect is the absence of important functionality for the well-being and safety of your cat. In fact, a GPS tracker with radio waves generally only indicates the position, whereas a GPS tracker with GSM, such as Kippy CAT, can inform you of your cat's state of health and the activities they have carried out during the day such as sleeping, eating, walking, and doing much more.

Finally, the third downside is the very limited coverage.

The wording 'GPS' would suggest that the cat's location is unlimited because it is monitored by satellites, but this is not the case. The receiver attached to the collar is indeed always monitored, but its position is only transmitted to the handheld device as long as it remains in radio wave coverage.

If your cat moves away from the coverage, we can no longer locate them.

As we shall see, the GPS + GSM tracker, on the other hand, has almost unlimited coverage.

GPS cat tracker with GSM

Some GPS cat collars, such as Kippy CAT, use a combination of satellite technology and GSM connectivity, i.e. the telephone network.

Again, the device attached to the cat's collar is connected to satellites, but its position is transmitted via cellular (GSM) networks to a smartphone or computer application.

Pros and cons

The use of apps allows you to have live tracking of your cat visible on a map. Usually, on the other hand, GPS trackers with radio waves only report the distance between you and your cat numerically.

As anticipated, a GPS tracker with GSM can also provide not only the location of your cat, but also information on its health and activities during the day. Advanced GPS trackers with GSM, such as Kippy CAT, also have other very useful and unique features to take care of your pet such as the virtual fence. It is possible, through the Kippy CAT app, to set a perimeter on the map beyond which we do not want the cat to stray. If it exceeds this, we will receive a notification from the app.

To take care of their health, Kippy CAT also has a Health Rate feature. Thanks to a proprietary algorithm, Kippy CAT recognises your cat's health level. When the parameters are out of range, Kippy CAT will alert you and show you a customised level of ideal exercise to achieve.

Another strong point of the satellite GPS cat tracker with GSM is its coverage. The satellite cat GPS tracker with GSM hooks up to any available telephone network. Kippy CAT, for example, thanks to its 4G LTE CAT-M1 and 2G technologies, always hooks up to the best phone networks available in the area where the cat is located, including those outside national borders. As a result, you can locate your cat with no distance limits, all over Europe.

As weak points, a satellite cat GPS tracker with GSM has mainly two. One we have already seen and that is the limited coverage to areas where there is a telephone network. The second is the need to activate a subscription to access the application's functionalities, including localisation. The purchase of a service package is indispensable for GSM technology, because it uses the telephone network as a smartphone does and therefore needs a SIM card to function.

Packages, however, usually have affordable rates, such as Kippy CAT's premium package.

Better a GPS tracker for cats without subscription or with subscription?

Taking into consideration the pros and cons of the two trackers, the answer to this question is: it depends.

If you live in an area with low if not no cellular network coverage, then we recommend getting a non-subscription gps collar.

If, on the other hand, you live in a city or suburban area with a stable cellular network, we recommend a GPS tracker with a subscription such as Kippy CAT.

What's the difference between a GPS collar for dogs and for cats.

As we have seen, they are virtually identical in terms of technology. They differ, however, in two fundamental aspects: weight and security systems.

The GPS tracker for cats is much lighter than the one for dogs, so it is more comfortable for our little feline friends. The GPS tracker for cats also has a greater emphasis on safety systems, such as the automatic release system for preventing choking.

The cat is a born explorer and very often ventures into tight spaces where it is easy to get caught on something like branches. The anti-stroke system is a mechanism that releases the tracker from the collar if it senses resistance. Kippy CAT has made this system even safer by integrating a collar to its device that releases with just 4 kg of pressure.

GPS tracker for a small cat: what is the ideal weight?

For both small and standard-sized cats, the ideal weight of a GPS tracker should be less than 40 grams. Kippy CAT, with built-in collar, weighs only 34.8 g.

The 6 key features of a quality GPS tracker for cats

1. Live Tracking

This is the most important feature. Kippy CAT allows you to locate your cat in real time, with no distance limits.

2. Anti-stroke security system

3. Virtual fence functions

4. Weight and Dimensions

While the weight must not exceed 40 grams, there is no absolute specification for the size, but the smaller the device the better, as it reduces the risk of it getting caught on something. Kippy CAT is one of the smallest cat GPS trackers on the market, at 146 mm long and 21 mm high.

5. Battery life of more than 2 days

Your four-legged friend explores a lot and for a long time, so it is essential that a tracker has a long battery life. Kippy CAT in this respect is one of the best trackers on the market. It has 4 days of autonomy with localisation every 2 hours away from home, 8 days with the cat in the vicinity of the house (Energy Saving Area) and 12 days with the cat always in the vicinity of the house.

6. Waterproofness

This is one of the most important features. A non-waterproof tracker does not match the adventurous life of your explorer friend. Kippy CAT is 100% waterproof (IP67), dustproof and submersible for up to 30 min at a depth of 1 metre.

We hope this article has been helpful for you.

If you want to find out more about the Kippy CAT GPS cat tracker click here.