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Having a pet can be one of life's great joys: a companion without many strings attached beyond food, vet bills and possibly regular walks, but one that gives you a sense of love and loyalty.
Still, given that many of us have to leave our furry friends at home more than we'd like, it's a good thing there's plenty of technology out there aimed expressly at helping pet owners.
From surveillance cameras to automatic feeders, these devices can make it easier to keep your pet happy, healthy and safe…
1. Automatic feeders
There's no getting around it: automatic food dispensers are incredibly convenient. These machines ensure you don't have to be home to feed your pets, and they come in all shapes and sizes. You can get battery-operated versions that use manual timers if you like, but there are plenty of smart, connected options out there too.
Go for the Xiaomi Smart Pet Food Feeder (£59.99, reduced from £84.99), which is aimed at smaller pets and therefore smaller types of treats. It connects to your Wi-Fi and lets you easily set feeding schedules, and you can also connect to it remotely to drop treats whenever you want.
2. Pet trackers
Whether you have a cat that loves to roam or you're just curious to know how much exercise your dog gets on walks, there's now a whole market for pet trackers. These collar-mounted smart trackers record your pet's activity (either by tracking location or counting steps in the case of cheaper models) and give you a much more complete picture of what your pet is doing.
One of the most popular brands in this sector is Tractive, which has trackers for both cats and dogs (both priced at £31.49, reduced from £44.99, but you’ll need to buy a subscription on top of that). It gives you a map showing exactly where they’ve gone, making it perfect for both general tracking and helping you find a lost pet.
3. Automatic litter trays
A few years ago, these devices were incredibly luxurious, and while they are still relatively expensive, more and more people are choosing automatic litter trays for their cats. These large trays have built-in cleaning systems that remove dirty litter and neatly store it away for easy disposal. That means you no longer have to bend down to scoop litter – one of the worst jobs in the pet world.
One of the highest-rated automatic litter boxes on the market is the PetKit Pura X, which is quite large but has a great reputation for efficiency, but is still very expensive at £399.99, down from £599.
4. Electric blankets
This may be the most outdated pet technology out there, but almost any dog or cat will be your best friend if you start using a heating pad or blanket regularly during a cold winter. These simple devices have insulated wires running through them to keep them nice and toasty, and it can be cheaper to use a blanket than to heat up an entire room just to keep your pet happy.
There are plenty of options available – while you can get a pet-specific electric blanket (there are even electric beds and pads to choose from), any product would do, such as the OHS Heated Waffle Fleece Electric Blanket in Charcoal (£30, reduced from £46).
5. Pet cameras
If you're often out and about and want to keep an eye on your pet, you can choose to install almost any cheap home security camera to keep an eye on everything. However, to make that experience much more rewarding, you can opt for something like the Petcube Bites 2 Lite (£148.99, Amazon), a camera designed specifically for pets.
It has the camera you're looking for, but also two-way audio so you can give your pet some vocal support, and its real draw is that it can also dispense treats. This means you can reward your pets for good behavior (like not getting on a beloved couch), even if you're not in the room.
