GPS collars, connected kibble dispensers, smart waterers, dedicated cameras, robotic toys… Our four-legged companions are also entitled to their high-tech devices. But are they really useful and are they really worth the expense?
French households have around 7.5 million dogs and 15 million cats (Statista, 2021). And, in many of them, these furballs are considered members of the family, for whom we are sometimes willing to spend a lot. The market for food and accessories for pets is also juicy – valued at more than 5 billion euros per year (Promojardin-Prom'animal), constantly increasing. We are also seeing the development of dedicated services (insurance, mutual insurance, funeral services, etc.), high-end food (organic, grain-free, insect-based, etc.), as well as accessories. Among these, a certain number use new technologies – we speak of “pet tech”.
Tech to secure
Throughout our wanderings on the Web, we have read a certain number of reviews and studied the product sheets of numerous technological accessories for animals. We would tend to classify them in different categories: those which have a concrete use, those which have been enhanced with intelligent or connected functions, and those which are toys or gadgets.
Among those that we are tempted to classify in the category of practical objects, there are, for example, GPS collars. In our opinion, they can be relevant for runaway dogs or cats who go out freely and tend to stray a little too far from the house. Some of this equipment also makes it possible to demarcate a perimeter (the collar then vibrates to “sound the reminder” when the animal leaves it). This can be useful in urban areas, for example to prevent a cat from approaching a dangerous road. This reassures the animal and reassures its master or mistress.
Likewise, if your cat comes and goes freely in the house in an area very frequented by felines, a cat flap equipped with a microchip reader can prevent you from ending up with a furry intruder installed in your sofa or bed .
Note that, among connected collars, some also offer monitoring of the animal's activity, as for humans (distance traveled, sleep monitoring, calories burned, etc.) – features that leave us a little more skeptical .
Connected control of food and water
There are also connected automatic food dispensers for dogs and cats. The principle ? The device is usually connected to wifi. From a smartphone, you program the quantity of food dispensed, as well as the times. The promise: avoid shifting the animal's meal times when you have an irregular schedule and possibly ensure that it is fed if you are absent for one or two days.
However, connectivity tends to increase the bill. Indeed, when simple distributors programmable from a screen are accessible from around sixty euros, you have to count almost double (a little more than a hundred euros at least) to offer your animal a connected model.
In the same vein, manufacturers also offer connected drinkers. These intelligent fountains, which can also be used by dogs, are mainly intended for cats who sometimes tend to sulk about water that “stagnates” in a bowl (which can ultimately cause kidney problems).
Be careful though, not all of them offer the same features. In some cases (the Pixi smart waterer from Catit for example), the application is only used to send reminders to the user when it is necessary to refill the water, change the filter or maintain the pump, also allowing to remotely activate an eco mode or a timer. Connected functions that most users will probably be able to do without. Especially when we know that the connected model costs €130 compared to €50 for the unconnected version. Xiaomi's Smart Pet Foutain, which provides the same reminder functions, is a little more accessible (around €70).
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Some waterers instead offer to monitor whether the animal is drinking correctly and how often (like Felaqua's connected water dispenser), the application indicating how much water the cat has drunk, how many times it has drunk during the day and displaying a history to know if their habits have changed. Here again, count between 100 and 150 euros. It will be up to the user to question the relevance of such equipment depending on the conditions and their animal (this may perhaps be more justified in the case of a sick or aging animal).
However, such solutions should not replace daily care of the animal.
Toys and gadgets
Finally, among the plethora of accessories for animals, we find technological or even connected toys such as robotic lasers for cats or automatic ball launchers for dogs. You can always offer toys like this to your pet. As for felines, they often have fun with nothing (corks, shoe boxes, etc.) and you also run the risk that Félix's interest will not match the expense. As for Médor, it's good to want to keep him busy, but playing ball with him creates a bond too.
What about cameras dedicated to animals with two-way audio function, the promise of which is to be able to observe the animal during the day and talk to it to reassure it if it is bored? This undoubtedly reassures both the owner and the animal. If after reflection you plan to equip yourself with one, be aware that certain models “marketed” for pets seem a little expensive to us given their technical sheet (not all, for example the dedicated Petcube camera is sold for around fifty euros) . In any case, do not hesitate to compare and “pick” from traditional cameras which will do the job for a sometimes more reasonable price.
What about monitoring the animal's health and well-being?
Finally, we wondered about the potential interest of data collection for veterinary monitoring and the well-being of the animal (which, unlike us, cannot choose to give its consent to the collection of “his” data). As we mentioned previously, it is not desirable for the multiplication of these connected or automated objects to replace the bond between the animal and its human, for the cat or dog to be systematically reduced to being fed by a distributor automatic, playing with a robot…
The ethics committee of the National Council of Veterinary Associations issues an opinion on these questions. He explains in particular that “When they are well designed and used, connected objects can be of great use in animal health” – for animals, their owners and veterinarians. For example “a connected litter box will be able to detect disease biomarkers in a cat’s urine”. However, there is a lack of guarantees regarding the precision and accuracy of the data – the owner should not miss signs of illness out of overconfidence, for example.
The committee also believes that there is a lack of perspective on the impact of these devices on the relationship between humans and animals. “The effects of automation or systematic delegation of tasks to machines on the psychological health of animals raise questions and can be worrying for animals developing a strong attachment to their master or expressing significant needs for interaction. » Deploring the lack of legislative and regulatory framework, he calls on the public authorities to take up the issue.
We will leave the final word to the Animal Law Ethical & Sciences Foundation, which concludes that in the current state of knowledge, “ethically, with regard to animal welfare, these connected objects are neither good nor bad. They are, like any scientific and technological advance, what we want to do with them, what we must do with them.. And we can only encourage animal owners to question the needs of their companion, without anthropomorphism, before giving in to the sirens of pet tech.
