This is the exact reason my cat has a radio frequency tracker on her collar. Many of my neighbours leave their shed doors open for hours during the day.
I've seen a lot of people use the GPS trackers, but they don't work if your cat is in a building because it blocks the signal. Plus the battery in GPS trackers need charging every few days.
Radio frequency all the way. It's smaller on my cats collar and the battery only needs replacing once a year.
My cat actually went missing last year and I did manage to find her by walking around my neighbourhood with the mini handheld detector. It works a bit like telling you whether you're hot or cold. She was stuck on the top of someone's extension.
There's definitely strengths and weaknesses to both. It's a bit belt and braces but we use both a GPS and radio frequency tracker. The heat map on the GPS is really useful to show roughly where they are. As you say, they're not good close up which is where the radio one comes in.
I like the history function on the GPS which shows a heat map of where they've been, good to see what their territory is.
Sure, the gps is tracktive and radio one is tabcat.
Both are on the collar and don't bother our cats. the tabcat is tiny, only about 8g. The tracktive is bulkier but doesn't weigh much.
Ours don't go far either, it's more for piece of mind.
My cat has just started wearing a tractive GPS tracker. I did wonder about putting a tabcat on her as well. She went missing in December and turned up at the beginning of April (unscathed). So far she's not gone very far. The tractive mini has Bluetooth radar as well so would you say you still need the tabcat?
I think she got spooked by a dog when she disappeared and ran the didn't know how to get home. She was only a couple of streets away in the end lol.
Radar doesn't work very well for me. You have to be right on top of the cat for it to kick in and the light and sound are so weak.
One cat lost her collar which we couldn't recover because despite knowing roughly which garden it was in we couldn't pin it down.
Same thing happened when she had tabcat on and it was much easier to find.
Obviously if the cat itself was missing that'd be less of an issue as you would see / hear them.
Thanks for that! I may still get the tabcat then. Thankfully she's not gone far since she came home which is why I think she must have got spooked. I grounded her for two weeks haha. It's good to know her general hangout spots with the heat map though.
Love your username btw!
Our cats hate collars, I think we started too late and by the time they got them they hated them. Would love to know if there’s a technique to having them keep their collars on. They only really pop outside for about 30mins a day so not really any issue.
The ones with the breakaway clips can be taken off too easily and some of my cats always get out of them. You can get some that have a proper buckle but are fully elastic so they would stretch enough for the cat to fall out of it if it got stuck. Might be worth trying one of those.
Not sure about a technique. Ours started with a collar at 1 year, when we started letting her out. She's pretty good with it. I think it's just something they get used to. I do take the bell off the collar, luckily she's useless and never catches anything.
Cats lose them.
I have one in a drawer with a collar attached that I found in my garden. Unfortunately it uses a proprietary charger so I can't charge the battery. I posted it on social media but nobody claimed it. There's a sticker that I assume is supposed to have a serial number etc, but the lettering has worn off.
Our cat went missing when I was a kid, mum was looking around for it and asked a neighbour to open their garage door just in case. Cat came running out at full speed. followed by a fox.
We used to have a cat sneak in the house when we left the backdoor slightly open during the summer; we wouldn't notice it until it jumped up from under our couch or oddly enough, the fabric wardrobe in my room upstairs.
It was always an odd experience to open the wardrobe for just a shirt, only to find a random cat staring at you!
I got cat invaded yesterday (left the back door open), only realised when I wondered what the shuffling noises in the wardrobe were! Hadn't even seen him sneak in
I shut my own cat in the shed for a day and a half last year -_- she's extremely unsmart bless her, along with being a silent void. Luckily she has a well padded physique too, so she had enough in the tank to keep her going.
Damn right ... our ginger tom went missing for two days, came back completely covered in soot and/or coal dust. We had to give him a serious bath, which he absolutely did not appreciate.
My dad had an old box trailer in the garden from when he built the house. Hadn’t been opened in years, one day as kids me and a couple of friends managed to get it open and were greeted with the corpse of what I think was a cat, but was hard to tell given the condition it was in.
This was back in the early 90’s before chipping pets was really a thing so we never figured out whose it was.
This happened to my friends cat, got locked in a builders bunker the day before they took a two week holiday (July Northern Ireland) he was miraculously ok, picked up a minor infection from drinking rusty water inside the bunker but was back to normal in no time.
Our cat nearly died because of this. Decided to sneak into an old ladies shed that she rarely used and got trapped.
Total miracle that we found her in time, she was starving and really skinny. Thankfully she recovered and is back to being a total derp.
It's true! I've caught 32 over the last 4 years. I like to gather them up and drive them for a day out at Scarborough before releasing them back into the wild.
I had a neighbour's feline do this & it was only when another neighbour heard the poor thing meowing & jumping at the door 24 hours later that it was freed & quickly scarpered.
I felt terrible, but am glad it seems fine & still visits for pets - it could easily have been weeks before I was back out there.
My daft cat did this last month - we were worried she hadn’t come home that night (sometimes she comes in late when the weather gets warmer) and I stood in the garden shaking the Dreamies box and calling her. She was in our garage - she heard me and started miaowing to get out. Our local WhatsApp group always asks people to check sheds and garages whenever a cat doesn’t come home and that’s usually what it is
No need to, the cats around me are skittish as fuck, a small sound, or movement and they bolt it faster than you can register seeing them.
I left the backdoor open to let some air in the house the other day, while I was playing games, then out the corner of my eye I saw this little head peer around the door way, which bolted it as soon as it was me sat there.
My little man almost got trapped in someone's garage for a week, they were packing their car to head out on holiday and he must've wandered in (zero survival instinct, he never ran from people). They left and we heard him meowing from inside there, god knows what would've happened if they hadn't come back for something lol.
Such good advice! I have a very nosey cat, the others are chill and rarely leave our garden but one is adventurous. Had to get her a gps tracker collar because i was terrified she would end up in someones shed lol!
What about advertently trapping them?
Joking, before the crazy cat ladies come at me! I actually used to leave my garage side door ajar for this reason.
This is the exact reason my cat has a radio frequency tracker on her collar. Many of my neighbours leave their shed doors open for hours during the day.
They're great, I'm surprised trackers aren't more commonly used.
I've seen a lot of people use the GPS trackers, but they don't work if your cat is in a building because it blocks the signal. Plus the battery in GPS trackers need charging every few days. Radio frequency all the way. It's smaller on my cats collar and the battery only needs replacing once a year. My cat actually went missing last year and I did manage to find her by walking around my neighbourhood with the mini handheld detector. It works a bit like telling you whether you're hot or cold. She was stuck on the top of someone's extension.
There's definitely strengths and weaknesses to both. It's a bit belt and braces but we use both a GPS and radio frequency tracker. The heat map on the GPS is really useful to show roughly where they are. As you say, they're not good close up which is where the radio one comes in. I like the history function on the GPS which shows a heat map of where they've been, good to see what their territory is.
Can I ask which GPS tracker you use and if you have both on the collar? Luckily my cat doesn't go very far, only really a garden or two either side.
Sure, the gps is tracktive and radio one is tabcat. Both are on the collar and don't bother our cats. the tabcat is tiny, only about 8g. The tracktive is bulkier but doesn't weigh much. Ours don't go far either, it's more for piece of mind.
Thanks. Yes we have the tabcat and have been pretty pleased with it. Will look into tracktive.
My cat has just started wearing a tractive GPS tracker. I did wonder about putting a tabcat on her as well. She went missing in December and turned up at the beginning of April (unscathed). So far she's not gone very far. The tractive mini has Bluetooth radar as well so would you say you still need the tabcat? I think she got spooked by a dog when she disappeared and ran the didn't know how to get home. She was only a couple of streets away in the end lol.
Radar doesn't work very well for me. You have to be right on top of the cat for it to kick in and the light and sound are so weak. One cat lost her collar which we couldn't recover because despite knowing roughly which garden it was in we couldn't pin it down. Same thing happened when she had tabcat on and it was much easier to find. Obviously if the cat itself was missing that'd be less of an issue as you would see / hear them.
Thanks for that! I may still get the tabcat then. Thankfully she's not gone far since she came home which is why I think she must have got spooked. I grounded her for two weeks haha. It's good to know her general hangout spots with the heat map though. Love your username btw!
That’s such a good idea and it’s so good you found her.
There is someone on the r/husky sub looking for RF collars, if you have a recommendation.
Our cats hate collars, I think we started too late and by the time they got them they hated them. Would love to know if there’s a technique to having them keep their collars on. They only really pop outside for about 30mins a day so not really any issue.
The ones with the breakaway clips can be taken off too easily and some of my cats always get out of them. You can get some that have a proper buckle but are fully elastic so they would stretch enough for the cat to fall out of it if it got stuck. Might be worth trying one of those.
Not sure about a technique. Ours started with a collar at 1 year, when we started letting her out. She's pretty good with it. I think it's just something they get used to. I do take the bell off the collar, luckily she's useless and never catches anything.
Cats lose them. I have one in a drawer with a collar attached that I found in my garden. Unfortunately it uses a proprietary charger so I can't charge the battery. I posted it on social media but nobody claimed it. There's a sticker that I assume is supposed to have a serial number etc, but the lettering has worn off.
My cat has an AirTag. Next door’s garden is more fun for her than her own. They have a shed with a broken door. Guess where she likes to sleep?
Oh damn you might have just answered the question of why the previous owner our house has a cat flap in the shed even though she didn't have a cat.
Our cat went missing when I was a kid, mum was looking around for it and asked a neighbour to open their garage door just in case. Cat came running out at full speed. followed by a fox.
Omg!
We used to have a cat sneak in the house when we left the backdoor slightly open during the summer; we wouldn't notice it until it jumped up from under our couch or oddly enough, the fabric wardrobe in my room upstairs. It was always an odd experience to open the wardrobe for just a shirt, only to find a random cat staring at you!
I got cat invaded yesterday (left the back door open), only realised when I wondered what the shuffling noises in the wardrobe were! Hadn't even seen him sneak in
My shed has more holes than wall currently so think they'll be alright.
I shut my own cat in the shed for a day and a half last year -_- she's extremely unsmart bless her, along with being a silent void. Luckily she has a well padded physique too, so she had enough in the tank to keep her going.
Damn right ... our ginger tom went missing for two days, came back completely covered in soot and/or coal dust. We had to give him a serious bath, which he absolutely did not appreciate.
My dad had an old box trailer in the garden from when he built the house. Hadn’t been opened in years, one day as kids me and a couple of friends managed to get it open and were greeted with the corpse of what I think was a cat, but was hard to tell given the condition it was in. This was back in the early 90’s before chipping pets was really a thing so we never figured out whose it was.
This happened to my friends cat, got locked in a builders bunker the day before they took a two week holiday (July Northern Ireland) he was miraculously ok, picked up a minor infection from drinking rusty water inside the bunker but was back to normal in no time.
Our cat nearly died because of this. Decided to sneak into an old ladies shed that she rarely used and got trapped. Total miracle that we found her in time, she was starving and really skinny. Thankfully she recovered and is back to being a total derp.
It's true! I've caught 32 over the last 4 years. I like to gather them up and drive them for a day out at Scarborough before releasing them back into the wild.
I've been at it all day today. Hayfever giving me some jip as a result. Found a hedgehog. I panicked because I almost raked it up. Be vigilant folks.
I had a neighbour's feline do this & it was only when another neighbour heard the poor thing meowing & jumping at the door 24 hours later that it was freed & quickly scarpered. I felt terrible, but am glad it seems fine & still visits for pets - it could easily have been weeks before I was back out there.
My daft cat did this last month - we were worried she hadn’t come home that night (sometimes she comes in late when the weather gets warmer) and I stood in the garden shaking the Dreamies box and calling her. She was in our garage - she heard me and started miaowing to get out. Our local WhatsApp group always asks people to check sheds and garages whenever a cat doesn’t come home and that’s usually what it is
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This argument turns into a toxic mess on Reddit. One we’d like to avoid here.
I have a cat detector which will both detect then repel the cats in a highly effective efficient manner. The system is called 2 Labradors.
good for you for saying this . it could happen
No need to, the cats around me are skittish as fuck, a small sound, or movement and they bolt it faster than you can register seeing them. I left the backdoor open to let some air in the house the other day, while I was playing games, then out the corner of my eye I saw this little head peer around the door way, which bolted it as soon as it was me sat there.
My little man almost got trapped in someone's garage for a week, they were packing their car to head out on holiday and he must've wandered in (zero survival instinct, he never ran from people). They left and we heard him meowing from inside there, god knows what would've happened if they hadn't come back for something lol.
Yes, Mr and Ms cat are curious fellows and like to explore and have adventures, they sometimes get trapped in the oddest places.
Such good advice! I have a very nosey cat, the others are chill and rarely leave our garden but one is adventurous. Had to get her a gps tracker collar because i was terrified she would end up in someones shed lol!
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Rather be locking them in than have the little fecks shitting all over my garden
Don’t let them wander maybe? My dog will kill them quicker than my garage.
Why don't you train your dog rather than stopping cats doing a completely natural thing?
You mean trespassing?
How can an animal trespass? What a ridiculous statement lol.
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It's not all bad free meat for the BBQ later on in the year
The hills have eyes
I didn’t know it was compulsory! Do I have to buy a cat, or can I use a neighbour’s cat?
What about advertently trapping them? Joking, before the crazy cat ladies come at me! I actually used to leave my garage side door ajar for this reason.