If you’ve ever wondered what your cats get up to while you’re away or wished you could interact with them, the Furbo Cat Camera might just be the solution you’ve been looking for. Below, I’ll dive into the features of the Furbo Cat Camera, discuss its pros and cons, and explore why it’s such a smart investment for pet owners like myself who have a multi-cat household with Zoe, Alex, Leia, and an opportunistic dog, Freya.
See, talk, and play with your cat even when you’re away! Take better care with Furbo Cat Nanny's Smart Alerts for the ultimate peace of mind. Furbo's AI Technology is always getting smarter by learning your cat's behavior to notify you of important events. Works with smart devices. Always stay one step ahead of important moments. Connect and get alerted by Furbo through a smart device of your choice.
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Top Features & Benefits
Before getting into the nitty-gritty of my experience, here’s a quick rundown of what the Furbo Cat Camera brings to the table. Then, we’ll go over the best features in a bit more depth.
- 360° coverage
- Auto-tracking
- 1080p HD video quality
- 4x digital zoom
- Quiet rotation
- Two-way audio
- Feather wand toy
- Treat tossing (holds up to about 100 treats)
- Meowing alerts
- Color night vision
- Unlimited captures
- Connectivity: 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2
- Required OS: iOS 14.0+, Android 10+
Furbo Cat Camera App Settings and Features
360° Full Room Coverage & Auto-Tracking
One of the standout features of the Furbo Cat Camera is its ability to provide a 360° rotating view. This means you can keep an eye on every corner with ease, a necessary feature in a multi-pet household.
While you can rotate your view manually on the app at any time using the rotation controls, the camera will actually just do it for you when it’s auto tracking your cat. So, say Leia walks into the “frame.” The camera notices the fact that she’s a cat (and not, say, a random tumbleweed of fur floating across the room, which is entirely possible in a house with three cats and a dog), then follows her around the room so I can see what she’s up to. There is, of course, a downside to this in multiple-cat households, which I’ll share in a moment in the “cons.” Although I’m betting you can already guess what it is.
High-Quality Video and Real-Time Interaction
The camera offers amazing HD video quality and smooth, quiet rotation. Whether you want to check in during the day or keep an eye on things at night, the color night vision ensures you see everything in vivid detail, making it easier to spot your cat lounging or playing even in low light. It makes it super easy to see what kitty is up to, which (at least with Zoe) is usually just this (ignore the overflowing dog toy box in the background, please. Yes, my pets are spoiled!):
The Furbo isn’t just a passive watching device; it allows you to interact with kitty, too. With two-way audio, you can use the app to talk to your cats to calm them down or just let them know you’re there.
This feature is particularly beneficial for cats that may experience separation anxiety. It’s also useful when you have a mischievous kitten (technically, she’s a cat now since she just turned one, but she’s still a kitten to me) who likes to mess with things.
If you read my Leo’s Loo Too Automatic Litter Box review, you know she likes to constantly interrupt its cleaning cycle. So, I can just turn on the 2-way audio and say “Leia, leave it be!” Of course, being a cat, she only obeys the “leave it” command roughly 0.08% of the time, but hey, they say consistency is key and all to training, right? Or is that just dogs?
Engaging Play
The included feather wand toy is designed to stimulate your cat’s natural hunting instincts, and it’s actually a lot more durable than it looks. That said, at some point your cat will eventually destroy the feathers. When that happens, just unclip them from the end and replace them.
Search “clip on cat toy replacement” on Amazon and you’ll see a ton of cheap options. You don’t have to go with feathers. Just about any lightweight toy will work, as long as it has a clip on the end.
Treat Tossing
What better way to reward your cat than with their favorite treats? The Furbo lets you toss treats from anywhere with a click of a button in the app. One of the things that I really like about this feature is the fact that it’s a “manual” action. With some cameras and interactive toys, your pet just needs to push a button to get a treat. I’m sure you can imagine how well that goes over with 3 cats (one that would eat treats ALL day long if you let her) and a food-motivated dog.
With the Furbo Cat Camera, YOU decide when to toss the treats, not your cat. The chamber inside the camera can hold about 100 treats. While Furbo says, “ Round-shaped treats 0.4-inch work best,” I’ve used regular Temptations (not the jumbo ones) as well as other square or odd-shaped treats without an issue.
Speaking of food-motivated dogs, I do recommend tossing treats when your pooch isn’t in the vicinity. Otherwise this happens:
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Furbo Cat Nanny Features
These aren’t really benefits/features of the camera itself, but they’re still worth mentioning. Furbo Cat Nanny is an optional subscription plan. You get 30 days free when you activate your camera. You can also buy the camera + a 2-year plan. Sometimes they run amazing sales where you can actually get it for less money than it costs to buy JUST the camera. So, I want to give you a quick rundown of what to expect with that.
- Vomit Alert – Yep, it’ll actually tell you if it detects your cat throwing up.
- Cat Activity Alert – Furbo uses AI technology to keep an eye on your cat and alert you when anything major happens.
- Meowing Alerts – Including Continuous Meowing Alert and Crying Alert.
- Person Alert – Good for when you know that NO ONE should be in your house!
- Home Emergency Alerts, CO/Smoke Alert, Glass Breaking Alert – Basically, a ton of home security features.
- Video History/Kitty Diary- Watch clips of your cat’s day and save them into a sharable Kitty Diary!
Drawbacks of the Furbo Cat Camera
As with all cat tech gadgets, the Furbo does have a few downsides.
Price
As always, we’ll start with the biggest elephant in the room: the price. The Furbo Cat Camera retails for $210, which isn’t exactly cheap…but it’s also not even remotely the highest price for a treat-tossing pet camera. It’s almost always on sale, though. For example, as I mentioned above, they have a sale going on where you can get both the camera and the one-year Cat Nanny Plan for about $20 less than just the camera alone.
Tricky App
One of my biggest issues wasn’t with the camera itself but rather with the app. Setting up the Furbo Cat Camera and getting it connected to my phone wasn’t hard at all. In fact, out of all of the smart pet gadgets that I’ve used, it was probably one of the easiest.
However, I did have issues with the notifications settings in the Cat Nanny aspect of the app. I never could get the “off times” to stick, so I was constantly getting notifications even when I was at home. And I mean constantly. Within the first hour, I think I had about 50 notifications. You can turn off different alerts, though (see screenshot below), which helps.
It’s always watching…
Like Roz from Monsters Inc, when the Furbo is plugged in, it’s always watching you. Always. Watching. The On/Off Scheduling is a subscription feature (and as mentioned above, it didn’t even work for me consistently).
So, if you’re just chilling at home and you don’t like the idea of the Furbo watching, you’ll want to unplug it. I wish that there was just a button you could push to activate/deactivate it. At the very least, that should be a free feature of the app itself versus a paid Cat Nanny feature.
Is the Furbo Cat Camera a Good Investment?
Despite the drawbacks, I do feel like the Furbo Cat Camera is a good investment, especially if you work outside the home. I work at home, so I mainly use it as a fun way to play with my cats, then I unplug it. However, on the rare occasions when no one is home, it’s great not just for keeping an eye on the cats, but also for checking in on Freya and just making sure my house is still in one piece.
Bottom line, if you’re looking for a high-tech solution to stay connected with your pets and enhance their life even when you’re away, the Furbo Cat Camera ticks all the boxes. It’s more than just a pet camera; it’s a way to ensure your pets are happy, engaged, and safe throughout the day.
See, talk, and play with your cat even when you’re away! Take better care with Furbo Cat Nanny's Smart Alerts for the ultimate peace of mind. Furbo's AI Technology is always getting smarter by learning your cat's behavior to notify you of important events. Works with smart devices. Always stay one step ahead of important moments. Connect and get alerted by Furbo through a smart device of your choice.
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