28 Mar 2013

Cat-nav: a match for Macavity the mystery cat?

Ever wondered where your cat disappears to each day? Dave Evans was feline curious too – so he created a GPS collar to track his pet Yollo.

Ever wondered where you cat disappeared to each day?

Father of two Dave Evans, 42, developed his “G-Paws” system after noticing Yollo had been gaining weight.

“We noticed Yollo was getting fat, although we weren’t feeding him any more than usual” explains Mr Evans. “We were suspicious that he was being fed at someone else’s house, so came up with the idea.”

G-Paws is a lightweight, weather proof GPS tracker that fits onto a pet’s collar. It doesn’t aim to offer real-time live tracking, but just provides a data record of where your mutt or moggie has been. What that means is when your pet has returned, you just plug the tracker via a UBS connection into your computer and it will map the co-ordinates of your pet’s movements.

I know he also enjoys chasing chickens at 6am every morning. Dave Evans, G-Paws

Yollo has been wearing the collar now for three weeks, and it has showed Mr Evans that his wandering feline is fond of travelling many miles and visiting two houses in particular.

“Now I know he travels a couple of miles each day, exactly where he goes every night and who’s feeding him.

“I know he also enjoys chasing chickens at 6am every morning.”

Ever wondered where you cat disappeared to each day?

The lightweight and simple nature of G-Paws also enabled Mr Evans to keep the cost down – it will sell for £50, whereas more complex products offering real time tracking can retail for hundreds of pounds.

Internet cat rooms?

G-Paws is also developing a social media website that will enable owners to share with other pet-lovers how far their cat or dog has travelled. Mr Evans says:

“For too long we have been kept in the dark about the secret lives of our cats. At last we will know what they get up to, what ‘second homes’ they have, how far they travel and where their favourite hang-outs are.

Tracker dogs

“The product is also an excellent way for dog owners who pay for a ‘professional walker’ to keep tabs on how much exercise they’re getting.”

It remains to be seen whether the tracker will make the chickens feel any safer or not.