Hello.

I am really interested to know if anyone has had any joy with having
tracking devices or cameras on their pets? I'd be very interested to
know this especially if you have a cat, but also a dog as well.

I am researching into whether its possible to have a tiny wireless
camera attached to your cat somehow so you can see what it gets up to
when its out and about.

I have seen some very tiny wireless spy cams, some have pretty good
quality video for such small cameras, and they are also quite cheap so
it wouldn't be a problem if it got damaged.

The main thing, well the only thing I am concerned about if this was
possible is to make it so that the cat doesn't even know its there and
doesn't have any discomfort. So one of the main things I'd be
interested to know is if these wireless devices transmitting on 2.4
Ghz (or whatever that is) give out much radiation like with mobile
phones? If so then I wouldn't be interested unless the levels were
extremely minimal and safe.

If it wouldn't be too heavy and you could have it hanging from its
collar, or, perhaps some kind of clothing your cat could have around
its belly, then that would be good. The only difficult thing would be
trying to get the cat to agree to have it, he could scratch you to
bits making it impossible to put on the collar. Perhaps a velcro
strip of fabric wrapped around the middle of the cat with the tiny cam
on top would work?

I think the main problem would be the power source. Some of these
tiny spy cams need a square 9v battery, or 4x AA sized batteries,
which would weight too much. If I was to get one of the tiny spy
cams, I would have to modify it so that it could run on the tiny
lithium batteries instead to minimise weight. Perhaps I could have 2
or 3 of them together which would have the right voltage. Of course
that would then reduce the battery life quite a lot because of the
lower capacity. At best I would probably only then get 1 or 2 hours
max if that.

I don't believe the range of the cam would be much of a problem as a
few of them can transmit up to a couple hundred meters away. Perhaps
if it went in another persons home though to visit their cat it might
cut the video, if it didn't though that would open a whole new can of
worms concerning privacy etc. I think it should be obvious if the cat
had a cam on it, though some of them do just walk into homes
uninvited.

There has been a programme on television here in England that managed
to do this I believe, so if I can find out the programme it would be
interesting to see their set up and how they did it.

Anyone else out their interested to see what their feline gets up to
during the day, and even night?

I have posted this to a couple other groups besides the cat ones where
I thought there may be some knowledgable people on tiny wireless cams.

Anyway thanks for any info/ideas/suggestions on making this possible.
It might turn out to be a bad idea, but I wont know unless I
investigate more.

Cheers

John

WTF??

LJ

"Lloyd Jones" <Temporary_J66At_SPAM_KILLER@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2s2qjoF1fni1kU1@uni-berlin.de...
lol lloyd

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 17:13:18 GMT, A strange species called "Mary"
<crazyaboutfelines@yahoo.com> wrote:

Hey! Stop laughing guys!

This is something I am researching.... I love cats and wildlife in
general and I also love digital photography/video. This is why I have
the interest in trying this.

I'm not going to have my cat going around the neighbourhood every day
look like the terminator or a half assimilated feline borg! (even
though he might act like it sometimes) He scares dogs away just as he
is! They go running when they see him! It is probably because of his
big brother though "the rotweiler". They know they are associated so
they don't mess.

It was just going to be a once off to get a better understanding of
what the little bugger spends all his time doing and where, what his
territory is, and who he interacts with etc. How many girl cats he is
humping

Just about everything on television that's about cats I'll watch
especially if it's tigers or domestic cats. I often go to Zoos and
wildlife parks filming the cats (and other animals too but not as
much), not just in my own country but all over. I am hoping to go on
a trip to India and Thailand some day to see Tigers in the wild, and I
would also like to visit South America as well. So far my experiences
have just been limited to Zoos and wildlife places. I've got video
from Melbourne Zoo Aus, Miami Zoo US, Chester Zoo UK Singapore etc...,
lots of other wildlife parks too. Am planning a trip to Berlin Zoo in
Germany in the near future (the largest in the world!) I have a stack
of DVDs on Tigers. I record just about everything on TV about cats,
any type of cat really.

I don't think the collar would work anyway because it would be too
bulky, and the only collar he's ever had he destroyed (didn't like
it). Perhaps the whole idea would have to be scrapped, but in the end
it is up to the cat to decide if it is going to bother him or not
he'll take it apart or let it stay on him. That's if the idea even
evolves more, and I think of a way to have a cam on cat without probs.
Who knows, in one year from now they might make a cam so tiny that it
is only millimeters in size. At the moment the smallest I see are
size of one penny.

Thanks and stop bloody laughing please!

John

"John" <duki@dafi.com> wrote in message
news:ramol0tui82hmrrvfnuc6bmj3lpnah68g1@4ax.com...
John, I have no suggestions for you, and I AM trying
to stop laughing, honestly I am. (I am still imagining the butt washing
shots.) But whatever you do, be very mindful that your cat can get caught up
in anything you strap on to him--cats hang themselves to death on collars
all the time. So be very wary of anything that might do this to him if you
let him roam.

"Mary" <crazyaboutfelines@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:aoZ6d.11195$zA3.2180098@twister.southeast.rr. com...
Sounds good to me.
Now, please, everyone, stop cross posting.

PeterS
Remove my PANTS to reply.

"Spam Magnet" <CtrlAltElitePANTS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:cjhs2t$fgq$1@titan.btinternet.com
Come on, this is interesting I am not sure what
"alt.cats.world.domination" is about (making spy-cats to dominate the world?
I watch Alias too much).

But I would like to know a good answer as I wonder if the technology is
there already to do this (and if so, what are the implications).

Matej

"Spam Magnet" <CtrlAltElitePANTS@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:cjhs2t$fgq$1@titan.btinternet.com...
Oh, yes, your charming comment makes the nice
cat people want to just jump to take directions
from you.

On Thu, 30 Sep 2004 17:13:18 GMT, "Mary" <crazyaboutfelines@yahoo.com>
wrote:

--
Regards, SPAJKY ®
& visit my site @ http://www.spajky.vze.com
"Tualatin OC-ed / BX-Slot1 / inaudible setup!"
E-mail AntiSpam: remove ##

In message <%Q_6d.3634$F6.988622@news.siol.net>, Matej Artac
<matej.artacAT@SIGNguest.arnes.si> writes
I've seen TV documentaries where transponders are attached to birds to
analyse migration patterns.

If geese then why not cats? I can anticipate funding for some
enterprising student's PhD on "Nocturnal socialisation patterns of
domestic felines".
:-)

(I fear that I must continue to attach a smiley to posts in this
thread).
--
Tony Morgan
http://www.camcord.info

In message <yX_6d.11498$zA3.2189140@twister.southeast.rr.com> , Mary
<crazyaboutfelines@yahoo.com> writes
Purr-fect...
:-)
--
Tony Morgan
http://www.camcord.info

"John" <duki@dafi.com> wrote in message
news:2qaol0hivo3nn1uhhmdsbq4c0hthd0vnlb@4ax.com...
One the big gun biologists did a study on cat behavior by using a "cat-cam"
(they originally called it a "pussy cam"but they changed the name for some
reason - wise move). I can't remember which - might have been Leyhausen or
MacDonald or possibly Bradshaw.

They attached the camera to the cat's collar to track the cat's activities.
Outdoor proponents would sure be disappointed if they saw the tape.

Phil

"John" <duki@dafi.com> wrote in message
news:2qaol0hivo3nn1uhhmdsbq4c0hthd0vnlb@4ax.com...
One the big gun biologists did a study on cat behavior by using a "cat-cam"
(they originally called it a "pussy cam"but they changed the name for some
reason - wise move). I can't remember which - might have been Leyhausen or
MacDonald or possibly Bradshaw.

They attached the camera to the cat's collar to track the cat's activities.
Outdoor proponents would sure be disappointed if they saw the tape.

Phil

"John" <duki@dafi.com> wrote in message
news:2qaol0hivo3nn1uhhmdsbq4c0hthd0vnlb@4ax.com...
Maybe you should be exploring the possibilities of gps tracking devices
instead of cameras:
http://www.gps-practice-and-fun.com/...-tracking.html The issue of
cat tracking is specifically addressed near the bottom of the page- they
anticipate that next year's devices may be small enough for such purposes.
Our cats sleep for about 16 hours a day I think, which makes them very
easy to keep track of.

Regards,
Ian.

"Phil P." <phil@maxshouse.com> wrote in message
news:hamdncHrpIKuY8HcRVn-jg@giganews.com...


Why?

Do you think "outdoor proponents" would be disappointed seeing evidence that
their cats kill things? Knowing as they do that cats are carnivores?

"Phil P." <phil@maxshouse.com> wrote in message
news:hamdncHrpIKuY8HcRVn-jg@giganews.com...

"Ashley" <ashleyjaneDELETE@xtra.co.nz> wrote in message
news:tUa7d.8746$JQ4.613088@news.xtra.co.nz...

Maybe he means that they go under the house and go to sleep.

The range of spycams or surreilance cams is a hundred feet so it would be
impracticle for anything beyond your house. People do implant chips in their
cats and dogs so they can be identified if found by someone else when they
get lost. There are ways to remotely watch your home through the internet if
you have surveilance cams hooked up but this could not work with a moving
animal. For wireless you would have to have something like the phone cams
used by TV journalists and this would not be practical for a pet at this
point in time. In the future this might be possible if things get
miniatureized more.
"John" <duki@dafi.com> wrote in message
news:2qaol0hivo3nn1uhhmdsbq4c0hthd0vnlb@4ax.com...

"Tony Morgan" <tonymorgan@xtreme.pipex.net> wrote in message
news:ytHrc5B0zPXBFwS6@zen54488.dircon.co.uk

I guess planting a "bug" that sends a signal allowing a triangulation or
tracking of the animal is feasible. Putting a small camera on the animal,
however, I'm not so sure as, as the OP said, the batteries and the camera
itself would be a burdon. Sure, you can put it on a seal or a whale, but on
a domestic cat?

I am sure there are biologists out there researching that But again,
imagine a video footage of the encounters and activities of a pet!

Do not fear to smile

Matej

"Ashley" <ashleyjaneDELETE@xtra.co.nz> wrote in message
news:tUa7d.8746$JQ4.613088@news.xtra.co.nz...

The cats spent 40% of their time asleep, 22% resting, 13% hunting (although
this varied), 20% grooming, 3% wondering, and 2% feeding. --- just about
everything they do indoors.



Nope. But they should be disappointed if their cats *didn't* kill other
animals - especially after all the work nature put into designing the
quintessential predator.