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When pets are home alone, anxiety can flare up on both sides, leading to torn bedding or worn-out shoes (and your pets may do some bad things, too). But if you want to keep an eye on your furry friends, especially during important bonding phases, home security has a solution: special smart pet cameras.
These cameras are packed with intelligent recognition to detect barking or meowing, track your pet as it moves around the room, and give you notifications about your pet’s daily activities while you’re away. Some, like Furbo, are smart enough to guess when your pet does specific things, like jump up on an off-limits couch or start chewing on a shoe. They also let you save and share adorable pet videos, or talk through the camera to comfort a lonely friend.
Interested? Let’s answer the most frequently asked questions and take a look at some of our favorite pet cameras.
Are pet cameras safe for pets?
Most of the time, yes. But every pet is different, and some can get into trouble with smart pet technology. For example, we’ve seen cases of pets attacking or chewing on automated food dispensers. Smart pet cameras, on the other hand, can cause anxiety in some pets. They may not recognize the voice coming through the speaker, or they may see a moving camera as a threat while their owner is away.
Because of this uncertainty, we recommend setting up a few scenarios with your pet. Try leaving a smartphone (on speaker settings) or smart display with your pet, then walk out of your house and make a video call so you can talk to your pet and see them through the device. See if this irritates your pet or causes any issues.
Also think about how your pet reacts to the toaster, the air purifier with a timer, or (if you have one) the robot vacuum cleaner. That is a good indication of how happy they will be with a pet camera. If in doubt, ask a trusted veterinarian for advice.
Pet cameras allow you to keep an eye on your pet, but it is important to test your pet’s reactions first.
Why should I connect a vet to my pet camera?
Some pet cameras offer subscriptions for 24/7 veterinary communication services, veterinary consultations, or similar offerings. In general, we don’t think any of these veterinary services are necessary. You’re better off downloading a concerning video to your phone and showing it to your local veterinarian who knows your pet and can give personalized advice (or local emergency vets, if needed).
An online vet consultation is unlikely to make much difference, and we fear it will fuel owner paranoia rather than help.
Can a pet camera save footage for me?
That should be it. Saving videos is a key component of a pet camera, whether you want to post a cute clip on Instagram, prove that your dog really did eat your homework, or send your vet a video of your pet acting strange. We’ll cover more options in our recommendations below, but pet cameras typically let you save footage via cloud video storage — which may require a subscription — or local storage via microSD card, etc.
Some pets may benefit from a pet camera, but others may become anxious. So understand your pet’s needs before you buy one!
Do pet cameras need to connect to WiFi?
Yes. Current pet cameras need to be connected to your wifi to be able to view and control them remotely via their apps. Always place the camera in a place where you have a strong signal with your current wifi router.
Is it healthy for pets to throw treats out of a device?
On the positive side, throwing treats can help pets feel better if they suffer from separation anxiety and can even be used in distance training. However, some pets will happily dig through a camera to find the source of the treats, which can quickly lead to damage. And if your pet is on a diet or at risk of gaining too much weight, it’s not a good idea to have their treats within reach for either of you.
Where in my home do I place a pet camera?
Most pet cameras are designed to be placed on the floor or on low shelves. Some can be mounted on the wall in lower positions. Placement is all about interactivity and treat-dispensing: the closer you are to your pet, the greater the risk of pets damaging the camera, but proximity is also important for interactivity. Give cameras a good view of areas where pets might play — or get into trouble, like the living room.
Are pet cameras safe?
Pet camera security isn’t always up to par with the security practices of larger home security brands (which can sometimes have issues of their own). To keep your personal information private, we recommend sticking with companies that encrypt their data and using strong passwords for all of your pet camera accounts.
Top Recommendations for an Effective Pet Camera at Home
Furbo 360-degree camera with subscription
Furbo’s cam requires a subscription, but you get a lot in return.
Furbo offers a number of pet cameras, but we recommend this version, which requires a subscription of around $70 per year. While we’re not always fans of cameras that require a subscription, this one does come with key benefits like smart barking alerts, cloud recording of motion-detected events, and daily pet summaries. You also get security-related benefits like fire alarm detection and person detection, so it can also take the place of an indoor security camera.
The camera itself isn’t bad, with 360-degree panning and intelligent tracking features, plus HD resolution with 4x zoom and night vision. It also has two-way audio and a little treat-tosser to elicit a treat on command. While the AI ​​isn’t perfect, it can make a wide range of intelligent guesses about what your pet is up to (it even has a vomit alert) and send you lots of different alerts, which you can customize in the app to filter out the noise. That alone makes it our top recommendation.
Furbo offers models for dogs and cats, but there isn’t much difference other than an extra cat lure on top. There is also a mini version of the cam available.
Eufy D605 Pet Security Camera
Eufy’s pet camera has local storage, so you don’t have to pay extra fees.
We like Eufy’s object-detection capabilities and recommend checking out this $200 HD pet camera as a choice if you don’t want to pay for subscriptions. It offers key capabilities like 360-degree panning and tracking, motion alerts, and two-way audio. Like many pet cameras, it also includes a treat dispenser.
you can Pay for a Eufy subscription to get pet identification or sound-based smart notifications and cloud storage. But you don’t need this if you want to avoid the cost, especially since the camera has a microSD card slot for local storage.
For a Eufy camera that can do it all, consider the following: Eufy S350 Indoor Camera Instead, this camera offers excellent 4K/2K resolution with pan/tilt tracking, reasonably accurate pet detection, two-way audio, and high-quality zoom so you can see exactly what Speckle has in its mouth this time.
Petcube Bites 2 Lite
Petcube’s latest camera is flexible in terms of placement.
Petcube’s Bites 2 Lite doesn’t pan, but its HD camera is more affordable than many alternatives and has similar perks, like two-way audio and 30-foot night vision. It also includes a treat dispenser, but the design also means you can mount it directly to a lower wall, which some pet owners may find more convenient.
You get basic motion alerts for free, but the Petcube Care plan starting at $4 per month adds a ton of essential features, including live viewing via the app, video storage or downloads, and smart alerts to detect pets, people, or barking/meowing. That makes the monthly fee more or less a requirement for this camera.
Google Nest Camera
The Nest Cam is easy to mount, position, and charge.
We’ve previously talked about Google’s Nest Cam as a versatile, wire-free camera that can work indoors and out . But its built-in — and completely free — AI detection makes it an excellent pet camera, too. Google’s object detection is top-notch, easily recognizing when an animal enters or leaves its field of view.
Place Nest Cam to keep an eye on important places like the couch, food bowl, window seat, or pet bed, and you’ll get reliable updates about when your pet goes in or out. Three hours of free cloud storage also gives you time to watch and catch up on clips when you’re busy, without any additional subscriptions.
Animal detection can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be.
If you want to watch your pet in an outdoor setting, check out our list of the best outdoor security cameras , and our picks for the best wireless cameras . And if the prices of pet cameras make you cringe, check out the best cheap security cameras .
