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Post by chrisleitz on Mar 6, 2006 10:59:12 GMT
That's it. Buddie has finally pushed me over the edge. He went AWOL last night. He is usually in by 7pm and then the cat flap gets locked. All three of our lot usually come when called or when we whistle. Not so last night. Karsten and I went up and down the country lane, looking under bushes near the road and frantically calling for him then going back home to check if he's back etc. We were both getting really panicky and desperate. This is really unlike him. Finally just before 10pm, we decided to go back again to see if he managed to find his way back. And there he was, happily staring at us through the catflap, the little sod. Although money is a bit tight this month, we will be getting a locator system that works within a 1 mile radius. The Catlocator.com does one that would cost us all in (includes 3 collars and spares) around $390 (£225). Has anybody tried this system? The web link is as follows: thecatlocator.com/locator/intro.htmlSilly me was in tears last night with imagination running wild. Can really do without that. |
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Jayne
CatSnaps Forum Hero
shp(o~-2515;; b~0;; i~0;; u~0;; s~1;; a~1;; p~12,81,94,897;; )
Posts: 145
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Post by Jayne on Mar 6, 2006 11:40:58 GMT
Oh poor u, they just don't realise what they put us humans through do they? When we moved into our new house Perry went AWOL for a few days, really worried me but if I had to have loocator collars I think I would need a second mortgage!  I personally haven't used the system but will let you know if I hear from anyone that has. |
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Post by zoooo on Mar 6, 2006 12:04:48 GMT
I can imagine how you felt... Radiolocators are great stuff. Not only for cats, dogs, etc. Many lives were saved on Friday in Italy (Piedmont) when avalanche burried 30 contestants (mountain rescuers). They all wore radiolocators - that was a regulation. All of them were saved due to locators. It's amazing! Speaking of cats - mine are indoors only, except during holidays when whole cat-human family migrates down to the island. We don't have cat flaps, but we keep downstairs windows open, so they can circulate. Evenings it's a cat-collection time, a sort of ritual - two of us running around garden trying to catch the two boys. Girls are easy to catch. They never go too far away, and there wouldn't be any problems if they stayed outside during night, if it wasn't for annoying battle sounds and cries right beneath our windows. Too many local ferals claiming their territory. It's easier for us and for cats to lock them inside at night.  I'm not sure if purchasing a radiocollar would be worthwile in our case. They would wear it only 2-3 weeks per year. All of them have collars with bells, so I can hear them even when they are not visible. ;D When they invent a GPS-radio-collar for cats I'm buying that one for sure (even if I don't need it desperately). ;D |
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Post by chrisleitz on Mar 6, 2006 12:55:56 GMT
Jayne, thanks for keeping your ears pricked. Is this Felix (image next to your profile) by the way? She's a lovely looking girl.
If Buddie would be younger, I may have been less frantic last night but as he's 10 this year and he hasn't gone AWOL since he was 2, I really got very upset.
Tihana, I keep mine in at night too for the obvious reasons. The radio locators seem a great idea to me. The GPS ones have the drawback that they won't work if your cats are locked inside somewhere. This Catlocator system seems to be so much cheaper than anything available in the UK. I was hoping that our US visitors to this site may have heard of it and could comment.
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Post by zoooo on Mar 6, 2006 13:29:56 GMT
The collar might work great, but there is always possibility of it falling off. If the collar has anti-choking rubber band it may end up in bushes. If it doesn't, the cat might choke. Does the radiolocator have to be that big? The best option would be to implant it under the skin like the microchip. Is that still SF? If my cats were outdoor-cats I would be very happy if the Big Brother watched over them at all times. Sorry, not BB but Big Mother or Big Father. ;D ;D ;D |
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Post by chrisleitz on Mar 6, 2006 14:21:23 GMT
A tracker microchip would be fantastic. I haven't heard of it yet. Mine are chipped anyway, so i'm sure they would be fine with a 2nd chip.
Re the collars falling off, it does not happy very often with my lot. And even if it does, you would be able to track/find it with the radio receiver and put it back on again.
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Post by zoooo on Mar 17, 2006 20:36:24 GMT
I have the freshest info!!!!!!
Yesterday I talked with my brother's friend who works at University (veterinary faculty). He is involved in a project where they monitor population of dolphins in Adriatic sea.
His professor is in another project - they monitor BEARS. They have 4 bears radiocollared. Those radiocollars DO HAVE GPS!!! The bear-collars are emitting exact positions 4 times per day. Amazing! That toy costs 1500 euros each.
Battery required for emitting the signal is HUGE, and runs out pretty fast. That's the biggest problem.
So, we'll have to wait until they start making GPS-collars for smaller animals. So far, the smallest animal which can handle the collar+battery weight around it's neck - is a wolf.
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