My cat goes out pretty often and it worries me ... | VETSCOPE - RHELP

Cat / Japanese Bobtail - Answered 1407 days ago

My cat goes out pretty often and it worries me when she doesn't come back until it's late, so I'm thinking of making her wear a tiny GPS on her collar. Do you think it's safe for animals to wear that kind of technology? I looked them up on the internet and only found ones made in foreign countries. If there are any products you recommend, please let me know. Also, could you tell me the difference between GPS devices and microchips? Which one should I get?

Mariana García

Coco

Japanese Bobtail, 6 years old spayed female

5 Answers

Microchips are the size of a grain of rice and can therefore be implanted safely under the skin. it contains no GPS tracking or localization technology. It is used to identify a pet's owner when a lost dog or cat is already found and brought in to a shelter or veterinarian. While, GPS trackers for cats continuously calculate the location of your pet using GPS satellites, enabling you to view your cat's whereabouts in real-time in the companion app. It allows you to always know where your pet is and find them immediately if they get lost. It weighd about 30 grams and contain a battery pack, GPS antenna, GSM module, etc. You could easily attach it to your pet's collar or harness.

Answered 1407 days ago icon8

Unlike a microchip, a GPS tracker allows you to track your dog in real-time, so you can find your dog immediately, should they ever go missing. How does it work? A GPS tracker contains a GPS antenna and other important hardware that allows the device to locate itself anywhere in the world using GPS satellites. The calculated location coordinates are then sent from the tracker to the Tractive servers and to the Tractive GPS app on your smartphone with the help of the local cellular network – just like sending an SMS. For this reason the tracker works over any range, in over 150 countries worldwide, and requires a subscription plan. GPS trackers, unlike microchips, allow you to track your lost dog in real time; dramatically increasing your chances of retrieving your runaway dog. The Tractive GPS DOG Tracker is one of the most popular and best-selling GPS trackers for dogs around the world. The tracker offers dog parents the possibility to track their beloved canine family members in real-time using the LIVE Tracking feature. As a result, you can view the location of your dog, track, and retrieve them anytime your dog is wearing the GPS tracker.

Answered 1420 days ago icon4

The microchip for dogs is a radio-frequency identification (RFID) implant¹. As this name suggests, the chip is used for identification purposes only. It’s composed of a tiny, electronic chip, each of which carries a unique identification number. Enclosed in a glass cylinder, about 11-14 mm long and 2-2.3 mm thick, the chip is about the size of a grain of rice. Microchips weigh roughly 0.025 grams. Microchips are not big enough to contain hardware for GPS or another localization technology at this time. Microchips only work in cases where a dog who has been micro-chipped is lost and then found and brought into a vet. Vets can identify the owner of the dog by using a scanner which reads the microchip ID. The chip ID is linked to the owner’s contact information and registered in a microchip database. The advantage of the microchip is that it provides a permanent and safe solution for identifying your dog. Unfortunately, microchips are extremely limited in their use. The only possible way to make use of a microchip is for someone to find your dog, bring him to a vet and read the chip. While you are on the search for your missing dog, a microchip for dogs is of no help. In this way, microchips are of little use in retrieving your lost dog. Therefore, depending on a microchip to reunite you with your lost dog is not optimal when you need to act fast to find your beloved furry friend. Luckily, GPS dog trackers provide the solution to safely track and retrieve your lost dog in real-time.

Answered 1420 days ago icon4

Dear Mariana, Microchips are minute implantable devices which do not possess GPS, or tracking qualities. They are not able to tell the location of the pet. They can only aid in guiding the pet to its safe return, if lost. Therefore, GPS device is preferable. It is externally placed and able to ascertain the location of the pet as far as there is good networking. It will help you know where your cat is at all times.

Answered 1422 days ago icon1

Hello Mariana, You can check AliExpress for GPS products for animals. They are generally safe. However,the microchip is used for tracking an animal's history, medical records and also identification while the GPS is used for locating an animal in real time using the GPS satellite technology.

Answered 1422 days ago icon1

Loading...