For many of us, pets are important members of the family, sometimes even as important as children. It is only natural to want to monitor them and ensure their safety when you are not home.

You could use a pet sitter or ask a family/neighbor when you are not around, but those options may not always be available. In such cases, you may want to rely on a pet camera.

Thanks to technological advances, pet owners can now use home cameras to monitor and communicate with their furry friends.

These cameras stream live video with audio of pets, and some even have a two-way talk feature. The pet camera’s features make it perfect for owners who are usually away from home to ensure their pet’s well-being in their absence.

Let’s look at what you need to know about these pet cameras and what to keep in mind before buying one.

When picking a camera, you want to make sure it has the facilities to perform the task you need it for – in this case, watching your pets. Below are the must-haves for every pet camera.

  1. Pet Detection – Get notified when your pet is captured by the camera

Pet detection is an AI-powered pet camera feature that detects your pet’s movement and alerts you when they come into the camera’s view. The technology uses sophisticated algorithms to analyze video footage and identify motion patterns.

Cameras with this feature help pet owners to observe what their fur babies are up to in their absence. This feature also filters out the non-pet-related motions and allow pet owners to customize the notifications to only important events that they truly care about.

Been awaited for a long time, the pet detection is a new feature available on very few home camera models.  only cameras boasted smart detection feature with the latest firmware versions bring added peace of mind pet owners.

  1. Audio/Two-way audio – interact with your pet through your home camera

The Two-way audio deature on a security camera make you to interact with your pet through your home camera in a nice way.

The two-way audio feature on pet cameras takes remotely monitoring your animal companions at home to the next level! Rather than just watching your pets, this feature allows you to listen and talk to them.

Training your fur babies does not need to stop when you are away; you can easily order your pet to stop clawing the couch while you are at work with cameras that have this ability.

The feature can also be useful for calming your four-legged/winged companions in stressful periods when you are not around, giving them soothing reassurance with your voice.

  1. Pan, Tilt & Zoom – An Exciting Way to Play With Your Pet

With the Pan, Tilt and Zoom feature, you can get an exciting and immersive experience while playing with your pet! This technology allows you to adjust the focus of your camera vertically and horizontally, giving you a unique view. You can monitor your pet or simply have fun with them.

Zoom in to feel as if you’re closer or out for a bird’s eye view of the action. There is no limit to how much fun you can have with your furry friend.

  1. Auto-tracking – A fun way to watch and record your pet’s activities

Auto-tracking is another AI-powered feature that lets the camera automatically follow your pet’s movement. Once the camera detects its subject, it adjusts its position to track the subject till it leaves the camera’s field of view.

  1. Higher Resolution & Night Vision – See your pet clearly in low light conditions

You will need your camera to be able to record footage in low light conditions if you want to monitor your pets throughout the day. Usually, cameras with this ability typically use infrared technology to work in the dark.

  1. Other features of a pet camera

There are extra features a pet camera can have. These features are not a must, but you may want them if you want to do more than watch over your pets when you are not around.

These features include;

Smart feeders: Some pet cameras have food dispensers that can give treats to your pets at set intervals.

Toys: Pet cameras sometimes come with toys like laser pointers and cat teasing sticks to offer more interactivity with pets. These allow you to keep your fur babies engaged in your absence.

At their core, most dedicated pet cameras are specialized security cams with extra bells and whistles for pet interactions.

The extra features make pet cameras pretty pricey buys, and if you find that they are too expensive, we suggest you opt for a security cam instead.

Any modern security camera should do if you want to keep tabs on your pets when you are not around. You will want to pick security cams with some or all of the necessary features discussed above; most security cameras have those features nowadays.

Asides from their relatively low cost, security cameras can also warn you of intruders on your property since that is their main purpose anyways.