Compare Our Options
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Photo: Molly Higgins
Enabot Ebo Air 2 for $199: This model from Enabot is an advanced interactive robot toy with a wheeled camera from the brand’s range. It has a 2K HD camera, two-way audio, and a laser toy, and you control the robot’s movements from your phone’s app. It’s light and compact, and can easily move around things. While acting as a pet camera, the robot also entertains (or scares or confuses) your pet by making various animal sounds, performing tricks like spinning and rolling, and displaying various “emotions” through its front screen. It also has a built-in laser toy that my cats really play with, as well as important features like 24/7 video recording with smart playback, motion detection, and activity alerts.
Photo: Molly Higgins
Petcube Play 2 for $60: This Petcube tries to combine the popular laser toys cats love with a pet security camera, to mixed results. Like many other cameras from the brand’s lineup, the Play 2 has crystal clear color and night vision, a wide field of view, and two-way audio. The laser toy is supposed to engage automatically when motion is detected, but this often didn’t happen when I tested the camera. When the laser worked and caught my cats attention, the feature quickly turned off. Also, because the camera needed to sit high on the shelf to see the area, the laser was often too high for cats to try to catch. You can play with the cat manually using the laser through the app, though it’s usually a little loose, and my cats end up more confused than playing with the laser on. A solid camera, but the toy aspect falls a bit short.
Photo: Molly Higgins
Furbo Mini for $17: I like this very affordable, 360-degree-rotating, basic pet camera. The Furbo app is easy to use, the 1080 HD feed is clear, it can be mounted on a wall, and it has two-way audio. It’s connected to power via USB, but it only works with 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi, so be careful. As with other pet cameras, to access full features—like smart detection, alerts, and access to historical videos—you’ll need Furbo Nanny, a paid subscription service. Fortunately, Furbo offers a free 14-day trial to see if the service is a good fit.
Photo: Molly Higgins
Petcube Bites 2 Lite for $70: This food delivery camera from Petcube features HD 1080p live video, night vision up to 30 feet, the ability to zoom up to 8X, and two-way audio so you can talk to and hear your pets. There’s also an easy-to-remove plastic dispenser that holds up to 1.5 pounds of kibble, and you can toss treats remotely from the app, where you can also control the amount and distance. With the registration service, the application notifies you when the device detects motion or sound, and logs it with a playback video. I like the customization capabilities and the clear video feed, but—like other Petcube devices—you need an additional maintenance plan to unlock all the best features.
Photo: Molly Higgins
Enabot Rola PetPal Robot Pet Companion for $200 (distribution therapy): This rolling beast camera has very good intentions, but the sometimes clumsy app makes the camera/toy/feeder combo unpredictable. With the app, you can watch your pets on the security camera and drive the robot around, pressing buttons to do tricks and take out treats. You can view the camera feed live from the app, but you can also schedule a recording, which is visible through cloud playback, and includes a “day in the life” compilation of 30 seconds. The robot should also detect unusual movements or sounds, such as barking or broken glass, and send a smart alert to the owner with a time stamp when you’re away. With AI-powered pet recognition, the bot can also capture a photo of your pet, but the AI features were unreliable when I tested them.
Photo: Molly Higgins
Petcube Cam for $32: This simple, compact camera doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of more advanced models, but it’s a good value for a reliable, basic pet camera. Like others in the Petcube lineup, it has a 1080p HD camera, night vision, and two-way audio. It sits on hinges and can be tilted up and down, with the option to flip the video feed in-app if you want to place it horizontally. You’ll need a product maintenance plan to get any features beyond the live feed. You can set a “moving location” to receive notifications only in a certain location, and you connect your phone’s location with the app, so you can receive frequent notifications when you’re away. You can also share the camera feed with others so they can view it remotely and specify the image you want to share. This camera is basic, but it has high-quality camera feeds and advanced extras that make it a steal at this price.
Photo: Molly Higgins
Catit Pixi Smart Mouse Camera for $56: This cutie looks like an oversized mini mouse, with magnetic feet that attach to the metal surface, and hinged mouse legs so you can adjust the height and angle of the camera. While it’s cute, it’s expensive for what it is: The lens doesn’t move, and it needs a microSD to get recorded video beyond live feeds. With an SD card, you can scroll through the video to see what happened in the past days, record live videos, and save photos and videos to your smartphone’s camera roll. Even with an SD card, however, it was difficult to identify which time you were looking at when reviewing the footage. The live video feed can be choppy, and there have been connection issues a few times. It’s too expensive at this price point because of the (lack of) power.
Photo: Molly Higgins
Pets nearby TreatView with Pet Camera for $100: This rugged pet camera features an HD camera, two-way communication, motion detection, built-in memory card, and storage for one cup of kibble or treats, which you can organize or take out randomly. The video feed was always crystal clear, although the audio was fragile and difficult to hear clearly. The treatment units were large, releasing large amounts of ammunition even in the lowest conditions. The sound of the alarm when I pulled it out was very impressive, and my pets were terrified of it—there was no way to silence it. Due to the placement of the kibble outlet, the camera is at a low angle, which made it difficult to see the area I was looking for. This is a solid pet camera, but its extra features become a burden rather than an asset.
Not recommended
Photo: Molly Higgins
Enable EBO Max FamilyBot for $510: I tend to be a big fan of Enabot’s pet tech—especially when it comes to Enabot’s line of pet cameras, which are generally affordable and consistently work well without requiring a Cloud storage system. This camera is billed as an AI family friend that can recognize pets and family members, remember routes and preferences, and come when called. In addition, it has the expected features of a pet camera on wheels, such as two-way audio and video, night vision, and 4K image. I haven’t had my camera work properly since I was set up, the robot can’t connect and recharge while in the dock. I’m talking to the support team, so I’m hoping to find a solution and I’ll update the review once I find out if it’s fixable or just a dud product.
To find the best pet cameras to review, I first looked for security cameras with additional pet-specific features. I set up each camera individually, noting any difficulties or issues with initial setup, Wi-Fi configuration, and camera feed speed and reliability. I tested each camera for at least a week (many, long) in various locations around my house and rigorously tested the additional features available on most cameras, such as scheduled feeding, feed output, playback time, and scheduled recording, and noted any issues I encountered. During the months of testing, I went out of town several times and relied entirely on these cameras to monitor my two children—not to mention the cats.
So, He is Indeed The Difference Between Security Cameras and Animal Pictures? Type Of
Security cameras let you watch your house (and pet) while you’re away, but pet cameras often have a few pet-specific features, like the ability to dispense treats and communicate with your furry friend via a two-way speaker. These cameras have special features that can help alleviate common pet problems such as separation anxiety or boredom. The Enabot Rola PetPal Robot Pet Companion, for example, has attachments so you can give your pet treats from afar or engage in “playtime.”
That doesn’t mean you can’t use a security camera as a pet cam, but like any other smart home device that connects to Wi-Fi, there’s a chance it can be hacked and compromise your privacy. Make sure your Wi-Fi password is strong, and set up two-factor authentication with your camera app; it’s not a bad idea to keep it off when you’re at home, as a precaution.
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