Best Pet Cameras for 2020

This was one of the first cameras on the market specifically to keep an eye on your pet and has recently been seen on ‘Paul O’Grady For The Love Of Dogs’, as used at Battersea Rescue Centre.

It has two-way communication ability which is essential for many pet owners when they are out of the house and need to keep their animal entertained or comforted, as well as a barking alert.

What makes it so great to use with animals is the treat toss function, which can be done manually from the dedicated app if they have behaved or listened to your command. This can also be set up at intervals through connecting with Amazon Alexa if you want to give them a treat every hour or so. Treats can be up to 1cm large, so their current favourites will likely fit well.

When you check in with the camera, the light changes from yellow to blue (the two colours dogs can see), which can grab their attention and over time, they will learn what to expect. There’s also an audible signal before the treats go flying out.

Through the app, you can also take photos or record videos of any particular stand out moments, and then instantly share them with friends and family. The unit can be placed wherever you feel best, and the downward angle of the camera will even capture footage from a height in case you need to place it out of reach of boisterous pooches.

Despite primarily being a dog camera, there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to use it with a cat instead, as long as they respond to attention.

The Ring cameras are primarily part of the wider Ring security system, which includes video doorbells and floodlights, but their indoor version is perfect for keeping an eye on Fido.

You can see, hear and speak to the pets, as well as check on them at any time using the Live View function through the app. Motion detection settings can be fine-tuned to alert you when there is movement, so you’ll be able to know when they have woken up or when they are being a bit boisterous. 

It can be placed on a flat surface or mounted to a wall if you would rather keep it out of reach of paws. This version is battery operated, which will be perfect for any owners who are worried that their precious ball of fluff will chomp through wires or alter them in any way.

The Ring cam can be linked to other cameras in the collection or to a smart speaker for a bit of extra monitoring and control. There is also the option to store any recorded videos to the cloud, although this comes at an extra price.

Another camera not specifically for monitoring pets but does a good job at it while keeping an eye on your entire home. Pop it on a shelf, or attach to a bracket on the wall.

Up to five cameras can be installed into a system, which is ideal if your pet tends to explore the entire house when you are away. It can detect motion, so you will get a notification when your dog enters the living room or gets up to leave. Any motion triggers a small video to be recorded which you can check on – a push notification gives you an alert and lets you decide how to respond.

You can also access live streaming at any time, so if you feel you haven’t heard from them in a while, a quick check will let you see why. Unfortunately, the microphone won’t let you talk to them but you can hear any noises from their end.

The cloud storage service is completely free with Blink up to two hours of footage, so videos will always be there for you to look back at whether you have paid or not.

Another camera not specifically for monitoring pets but does a good job at it while keeping an eye on your entire home. Pop it on a shelf, or attach to a bracket on the wall.

Up to five cameras can be installed into a system, which is ideal if your pet tends to explore the entire house when you are away. It can detect motion, so you will get a notification when your dog enters the living room or gets up to leave. Any motion triggers a small video to be recorded which you can check on – a push notification gives you an alert and lets you decide how to respond.

You can also access live streaming at any time, so if you feel you haven’t heard from them in a while, a quick check will let you see why. Unfortunately, the microphone won’t let you talk to them but you can hear any noises from their end.

The cloud storage service is completely free with Blink up to two hours of footage, so videos will always be there for you to look back at whether you have paid or not.

This Hive camera will automatically start recording when it senses any movement or sound, sending an alert to your phone so you can judge how and if to act.

Two-way audio is present to grab the attention of your pet if they happen to be scratching the sofa or even having a snooze on your favourite chair, and it also has a one-hour battery life so you can still get some precious footage even if there has been a power cut before you get home.

You can set the Hive View to only detect humans and ignore your pets, so if you know Snowy and Simon are fine pottering about inside but want to ensure they’re safe from any cat burglars (literally), it can be used for general security.

As standard, you can view and download video clips straight to your phone to keep forever, whether it be something incriminating or hilarious. Privacy mode can also be scheduled for peace of mind, so it doesn’t have to be running when you are sat on the sofa for three hours in the evening.

Setting it up is easy as it just connects to your internet via Bluetooth, and is ready in moments. 8x digital zoom also comes in handy if you can’t quite tell if Fido is in their pet bed.