Radhika Sanghani for the Daily Mail

Published: May 12, 2021 at 18:34 ET | Updated: May 13, 2021 at 02:37 ET

Having dinner at my boyfriend's house, I received a notification on my phone saying that Coco's food has just been distributed for her.

I opened the smart food dispenser app on my phone and watched my happy cat eat her dinner. I pressed the microphone to let her hear my voice, and then started cooing at her.

Coco meowed happily. After we both finished eating, I opened another application and played a laser game with her. As I watched on the screen of my phone, she ran around my apartment, chasing the red dots I controlled with my fingers-all from six miles away.

It’s no longer enough for cats that are not interested in you to wave a ball on a stick or pour a can of food into a bowl. On the contrary, the rise of technology means that pets can have their own robot friends and electronic feeders with built-in calorie counters. There are even apps dedicated to translating meows.

Radhika Sanghani and her cat, Coco (pictured), after a study found that 2.1 million people across the UK collected a new pet during confinement, they made some gadgets that are most suitable for pets. Judged

Thanks to this, as pet owners like me begin to return to their normal lives—offices, night outs, weekend outings—for endless months, a lot of love and love has been invested in locked puppies and kittens. After paying attention, our furry friends will not be alone.

One of the highlights of the CES 2021 is the "smart" cat and dog flip, which allows owners to talk to pets through their smartphones. MyQ Pet Portal retails for over £2,200 and will be available later this year.

By 2025, the pet technology market is estimated to exceed 14 billion pounds. "Because of Covid, pet smart technology has exploded in the past year," said Ben Lee, an entrepreneur and digital product expert. "Pets are incredible partners. They have become a solution to loneliness."

According to data from the Pet Food Manufacturers Association, in the UK, 2.1 million people have a new pet in confinement, and another 1.8 million are considering having one.

Owners also spend more and more on their cats and canine friends. In 2019, the purchase of pets in the UK reached a record 6.9 billion pounds, and experts believe that spending will only continue to increase.

"As a society, we track our own data, and we also want to do this for our pets, from nutrition to sleep," Li said.

The benefits still seem to be focused on the owner-GPS collars and smart cat flaps are more to reassure the owner than to improve the pet's life-but Li believes that technology will soon be used to predict health.

At the same time, there are many apps and gadgets that can do everything from caring for babies to keeping pets warm-everything comes from afar. Coco and I tried some of the best...

Webcam to monitor your pet

Radhika said that Petcube Play 2 (pictured) gave her peace of mind when she was away from Cocoa and was worth every penny. 

When I stay at my boyfriend's house, I often worry about Cocoa. So I am very happy to hear Petcube Play 2, which is a webcam, which means I can see her and talk to her through my phone, and play laser games with her.

The smart HD camera has a 160-degree viewing angle and the option to record video through the app. When I move the laser on the phone screen, it somehow transforms into a real red dot on the floor of my living room.

Coco likes it, check her when I'm away, and I feel at ease. It is really worth every penny. 10/10

Robots playing with cats

Radhika said Ebo Pro (pictured) is not cheap, but it is very suitable for indoor cats that need entertainment 

Ebo bills itself as "a cat's intelligent robot companion", aiming to prevent loneliness and boredom. The little ball was wandering near my house, calling "Ebo", and Coco stared at it fascinatingly.

There are many functions, from laser gaming to webcams and audio input, similar to how Petcube works. Artificial intelligence technology means that it can adjust its game according to my cat's personality. My poor technical skills mean that it is difficult for me to figure out all the functions, but I like to take selfies-Ebo wakes up twice a day to play with Coco and then go back to the charger.

Ebo is not cheap, but it is very suitable for indoor cats in need of entertainment, can be used to train them and track their movement.

At first, Coco doubted her robot friend and poked it with her paw, but when it spoke and turned on the laser light, she cheered up and was happy to chase the red dots around the house. 9/10

Comfortable smart bed with thermal control function  

PetKit comfortable pet bed, £135, petkit.co.uk

Radhika said that the PetKit Cozy pet bed (pictured) is best for pets who struggle with heat or cold

I was very impressed with everything that this smart pet bed offers. It uses humidity sensors to adjust the temperature of the bed, heats it up in winter, and uses air conditioners to cool the pet in summer. When your pet is lying on the bed, a hidden infrared sensor monitors it, so you can get app updates about pet sleep patterns. The only problem is to convince Coco to use it.

She can only enter when I put a blanket on it (the padding that comes with it is very thin), but she is not too impressed. This is best for pets who struggle with heat or cold. 7/10

Furry friend's GPS tracking collar

Pawtrack GPS cat collar, £39.99, monthly subscription fee of £7.99, pawtrack.com

Radhika said the Pawtrack GPS cat collar (pictured) is cumbersome to set up, but it shows exactly where Cocoa went 

My apartment is on the main road and I am afraid that Coco is too far away from home, so I am happy to try the Pawtrack collar.

It uses GPS, so owners can view their pet's location and nearest path on the app, and can alert you when your cat is beyond your border. There is even a tracking beacon to help you find the cat hiding in the leaves.

The setup is cumbersome, it must be charged every night, but it shows exactly where Cocoa has gone. 6/10

Decode your cat's meow app

MeowTalk, free, App Store or Google Play

Radhika said that MeowTalk (pictured) may be useful for noisy cats, although initially did not believe it would work 

This free app promises to use machine learning technology to "translate your cat's meows". I don't believe it will work. But when I tested it on Coco, I was impressed.

When she grunts, the app will translate it as "I am relaxing." When she meows outside my bedroom door, the app will tell me: "I want to be loved!" I hug her, The application records the fact that it is correct. The only problem for me is that Coco seldom meows, but for noisy cats, this app may be useful. 7/10

Smart feeder shot for your friends

Skymee intelligent automatic food dispenser, £139, amazon.co.uk

Radhika said the Skymee intelligent automatic food dispenser (pictured) is perfect for any anxious pet owner, but the accompanying app is not as easy to use as it is 

What excites me most about this food dispenser is the ability to set up automatic timing feeding for Coco so that I can leave home without worrying about her meals. But it turns out that the feeder does more than just release food based on prompts. It has a built-in high-definition camera, I can watch cocoa and eat, and a two-way microphone so I can talk to her while she is eating.

This is not entirely necessary, but it is definitely fun and a great addition to any anxious pet owner.

The feeder is suitable for cats and dogs (although it only provides dry food) and helps to arrange a healthy feeding plan for pets based on their breed and size. But it has a built-in setting, every time it releases food, it will "whoop" loudly, which will naturally scare Cocoa. It can be turned off, but it is a tedious process and I haven't managed it yet because the accompanying application is not as easy to use as it is. 8/10

Radhika said that RelaxoPet Pro (pictured) is useful for overwhelming and stressful situations such as thunderstorms or fireworks.

This mini USB rechargeable speaker is designed to help stressed cats relax by using high-frequency sound waves. It also has a noise movement system to monitor stress levels.

It is especially useful for overwhelming and stressful situations such as thunderstorms or fireworks. When my boyfriend visited (equivalent to her thunderstorm), I used it for Cocoa, and she was dumbfounded. After a while, she fell asleep.

It didn't work well when she was frightened by the neighbor's cat, but she seemed to like these sounds very much. 8/10

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