Somebody thought of a device that could be used to log its location at predefined intervals or by pressing a button. The original idea was to combine this information with photographs to match up your snaps with their location. Nice. But dull. A genius took this idea and thought “I’ll tie that to my cat. That’d be badass”. Mr Lee’s CatTrack was born.
You program the intervals that the device will try to log its location via a Windows application and then strap the thing (which is about the size of a matchbox) to a backpack/harness effort on your long-suffering pet. Set them free and, when they return, display the data on a Googlemap.
I’ve done a couple of tracks with my cat and not only does he roam far further than we thought, the little git clearly has some local neighborhood hangouts. I’ve yet to try the CatCam out on him yet (a small camera which will take photos at predefined intervals) as it’s a bit too large for our waifish feline. We’ve moved to the coutryside now so our cat will be sporting his little GPS packpack a few more times so we can see how his territory changes over the coming weeks. Pointless, but facinating!
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Comments ( 24 )
[...] In the Arms of Strangers » Tracking your Cat with GPS – Alex Lee’s Blog [...]
neunetz.com » GPS + Katze = Großartig added these pithy words on Oct 06 08 at 9:47 pm[...] nur zwei Links: Katzencam und Katzentracking per GPS. [via: [...]
Ich bin strickt gegen “Katzen-Content” in Blogs. | Johannes Moskaliuk added these pithy words on Oct 07 08 at 8:07 am[...] Alex Lee kam jetzt auf eine ganz neue Idee diese Technik zu nutzen: Er spielt Big Brother und liefert die Antwort auf Fragen, die wohl jedem Katzenbesitzer öfters durch den Kopf schwirrt: [...]
Ja wo war denn die Miezekatze gestern? « IngoKaestner.de added these pithy words on Oct 07 08 at 9:10 amcat GPS – tracking kitty on a map…
Well it’s no cat detector van – more like a cat wearing a detector.While there are a number of dog GPS tracker units, getting one small enough for a cat is quite a challenge. Via FriendFeed, I find this report…
Richard's Tech Reviews added these pithy words on Oct 07 08 at 1:06 pm[...] Alex Lee has done this and posted his cat’s overnight meanderings, which even if you’re not a cat-fan, makes [...]
Cat GPS Tracking : Digital-Lifestyles (alpha remix) added these pithy words on Oct 08 08 at 1:31 pm[...] was auch lustig ist: da hat einer seine katze mit einem gps-dings ausgerüstet und trackt ihre beutezüge in der [...]
neues aus der roiberhöhle - katzenkontänt: added these pithy words on Oct 09 08 at 10:24 am[...] in the UK (complete with PC software, no Mac – Boo!) for just £35. You can check out someone who’s done just that in the UK and shared the results. Quite impressive really for the cost, you just need to add a [...]
Guest post: Jonathan Hopkins - Cats, GPS and visions of a feline future — Kits and Mortar added these pithy words on Oct 15 08 at 5:59 pm[...] in the arms of strangers) Das Bild ist von alex_lee2001 unter CC veröffentlicht worden [...]
Cat Tracking — instant-thinking.de added these pithy words on Oct 19 08 at 7:45 pm[...] with satellite technology. Alex Lee attached one matchbox sized tracker to his cat and you can see an image imposed on Google maps of where this wandering cat went in the course of a [...]
Killer Cats Days Numbered « Pet Memorial World added these pithy words on Feb 20 09 at 1:15 amI’m a bit concerned at your cat crossing that main road, could you have a word with him ?
June Dobbs added these pithy words on
Oct 07 08 at
11:16 am
That is really neat. What a strange, and wondrous use of technology. Bet the cat wasn’t too happy, though.
Gordon added these pithy words on
Oct 09 08 at
2:17 pm
Actually…not pointless. Is your data legally publiclly accessible?
Then it’s somewhat scientific data on the roaming habits of a certain type of domestic cat.
Any bit of data is useful to science SOMEHOW..even the most bizarre and inane things like where your cat wanders.
KeaponLaffin added these pithy words on
Oct 12 08 at
9:43 pm
Totally. Not. Pointless.
Although the GPS of it is new, they’ve (oceanographers) have been tracking sea life for decades by piercing ‘transmitters’ (for lack of a better word) on aquatic life, and on land *whoever it is* tracks land animals the same way; then after they tag the animals and disappear for a while and come back they find the animals and take notes of the tags on their ears, so they can say ‘antelope 123 from Nigeria in 1993 moved northwest 100 miles over the past 5 years’ etc.
Granted, when the animals die you lose the technology and gunk up my planet.
Stop destroying my planet.
Phil E. Drifter added these pithy words on
Oct 13 08 at
8:13 am
I work in the radio communications industry and we have a small device similar to the mentioned in the post, but it can store almost infinate amounts of data until back in range of the base system (which can be just a cheap two-way radio).
We get clients that want to track a wide range of things from the inanimate to the very much alive. I like the cat GPS, but it must be coupled with the catcam to get the full benefit.
I would love to see the emergence of blogs – by cats – based on the above GPS and camera data…the secret life of Tiddles!!!
Scott added these pithy words on
Oct 13 08 at
2:39 pm
I would hope you would use a break away harness on your cat so that if it gets caught/tangled/snagged your cat will be able to break away.
Emma added these pithy words on
Oct 13 08 at
9:51 pm
Really neat but you should be aware of the damage that domestic cats do to the local fauna. With a steady supply of food and no need to conserve energy but a strong hunting instinct most domestic cats roaming the countryside kill a lot of songbirds and small mammals that are integral parts of the ecosystem.
Look into it.
bret added these pithy words on
Oct 14 08 at
6:35 am
Utterly sublime… r(olled)ofl…l(ay)ofl… c(ollapsed)ofl
Hamy added these pithy words on
Oct 15 08 at
6:22 pm
I agree with KeaponLaffin… NOT pointless. From the standpoint of someone who HAS cats, TRAPS and sterilizes feral cats, I would LOVE to know where they go! I’d love to see implantable GPS trackers for cats to help us A) find our own if they go missing, and B) understand the movements of feral cats colonies for scientific purposes.
Connie added these pithy words on
Dec 01 08 at
5:54 pm
I suppose I will patent the dog version then, eh?
Anon added these pithy words on
Dec 21 08 at
6:23 am
Peter added these pithy words on Yes,gps tracker is easy for every one.And our company kingpigeon security company also sell GPS tracker,car alarms,AVL.Also house alarm systems,cameras and DVR.If you need any security producs,please visit our hoemage http://www.gsmalarm-dvr.com .Or email me info@kingpigeon.com.cn .King Pigeon Alarm Welcome to every one.
King Pigeon Alarm added these pithy words on
Dec 25 08 at
3:14 am
Could you tell me is there any company in Australia that sells the GPS tracking device for cats , we are desperate so many cats in Brisbane going missing in our areas, Kind regards Karen
Karen added these pithy words on
Jan 28 09 at
4:43 am
ya this is good i have one.. of this gps for my dog:)
John added these pithy words on
Jun 25 09 at
5:22 am
it’ll be cool if this can actually be converted into an iPhone app.
cat insurance added these pithy words on
Jan 07 10 at
10:05 am
