Best kitty cam, on a budget? (Cute Frosty pic included)

Status
Not open for further replies.
Ana & Frosty (GA)

Ana & Frosty (GA)

Member Since 2018
So our BEAST Frosty (do not be fooled by the cute onesie look) managed to raid the food cabinet AGAIN. I am so mad! And we are SO careful about making sure that the pantry door is closed, but somehow he got in and ate a whole bag of dry cat treats Last Friday, and today he got into the dog food!

I took all the dog food out of bags and put them into plastic containers with a lid, and put away hairball treats high up on the sheld that I don’t think he can get to. But I’m still nervous he will somehow get into it.

I am suspicious that perhaps he is somehow opening the pantry (he is really long, and smart, he could totally be standing on his hind legs and opening the latch) . But either way, I wanted to get a camera for them so I can check on them during the day. And if I can catch him in action - bonus!

All my friends and my sister have really expensive pet cameras, and I was wondering if anyone used something that does NOT cost $300... I’m still paying off Frosty’s vet bills from his first vet visit with Cushing’s :(

Thanks, everyone!
 

Attachments

  • 413F40AF-9278-40DB-BBC8-C2DC922FB1AD.jpeg
    413F40AF-9278-40DB-BBC8-C2DC922FB1AD.jpeg
    51.3 KB · Views: 137
I've heard you can Facetime your pantry (sort of). If you leave your computer open, facing the pantry, and set the app to automatically answer (don't ask me how, I don't use Facetime) you can keep an eye on that door.
 
I don't have any pet cams. But I do know one thing for sure. Frosty is such a cutey in his pajamas. I sent the pic to Theresa too. He is so lucky to have you for his kitteh Mom. :bighug:
 
Hope the camera everyone recommends from Amazon works for you!

Ummm I can't believe that cutie pies causes that much trouble:p Frosty has the cutest face and that onesie:bighug::bighug::bighug:
 
I just clicked your Instagram link and saw the photo of a guy (husband? boyfriend?) holding him in that onesie. Oh, my goodness, that is so sweet. I can't stand how cute he is in the onesies/shirts.
 
I have stumbled onto a foolproof solution to stop a cat from repeatedly urinating in a specific spot outside of a litterbox!

BUY A FRIGGIN CAMERA AND POINT IT AT THAT SPOT! Argh!!!!!!

I am not kidding, the Mystery Pisser has been going in one corner of our spare room for weeks, about once a day. Fortunately, I was able to put a pee pad there that usually caught it. But since I set up the camera on Friday...Nothing! This could be good, regardless, but of course I don't yet know if they have instead just moved locations!

But the reason for replying here is not just because I am losing my sanity. I just wanted to confirm that the Wyze camera does in fact work well, setting up the notifications was easy, and it was indeed a good value for the low cost. I am actually watching Amazon today for Prime Day in case I can get another one on sale.

Hope everyone is doing well!
Sandi.
 
We are lucky. Our current 3 kittehs (Leo, Little Dude, and Chinus) are all being good. We did have that problem in the past with other kittehs.

I hope it is just that simple. Maybe the Mystery Pisser doesn't like the camera making little whirring noises near his favorite pee-spot!?

In my day job I do corporate computer security. I looked at the Amazon reviews for Wyze. It has great reviews. I would ensure it is only capturing pet pics. One of the reviewers looked at the network traffic from the camera. The camera is sending information out of the house to multiple servers. For "conservative, security-minded me", that is a challenge. My job is to figure out in the corporations, what could go wrong for security and how to prevent it. So for the camera, I would not want someone snooping on my habits in the house, and some hacker monitoring that. Like I said, I am pretty conservative about these things. For most people, it is probably fine.
 
Understood, @JeffJ , and thx for the reminder to be vigilant about security.

Fortunately for us this is in a corner of an unused room and the camera is aimed to only see the pee pad as it is currently aimed, so it won't catch our general comings and goings or I would be concerned too.
 
No problem. I don't want to get anyone worried.

We had Scoobs until 2016 when he passed. He used to get in pissing matches with Chinus. We even thought about a full time house sitter at the time to just follow the little pissers around to see where they were going. Cat pee is just awful.

As a preamble to that, we had our entire house tiled. And I paid $2,500 extra to have it epoxy-grouted. Just as it sounds - it is essentially epoxy with some sand. Nothing, and I mean Nothing soaks into any cracks or grout in our house.
 
JeffJ said:
As a preamble to that, we had our entire house tiled. And I paid $2,500 extra to have it epoxy-grouted. Just as it sounds - it is essentially epoxy with some sand. Nothing, and I mean Nothing soaks into any cracks or grout in our house.
Click to expand...
This is good to know. Thank you!
 
Every... single... cat... I... have... ever... owned... has... been... able... to... open... interior... doors... including... those... with... a... latch... or... slide... lock :banghead:

Two were also able to open refrigerators and cabinets with child locks... and the toilet with a child lock :facepalm: They also worked with the dog and could unlock/open the sliding glass door so everyone could escape :arghh: My current cat routinely opens under-sink cabinets, but I haven't put child locks on them (yet) because he is hunting (and catching/eating) mice :joyful: and that is one way they could be accessing the main floor of the house :arghh:

I would put a hasp and locking D ring (no need for an actual lock) on your pantry door. They can be obtained cheaply at a hardware store or big box improvement store. No need for a huge/heavy duty one. No need to crank the lock down so tight you can't open it, either. A snap link might or might not be good enough, depending on the cat.

Otherwise it will be like an ongoing battle to keep bird seed from squirrels, although in this case, keeping kitty out of the (people/dog/cat food/treats). Both cats and squirrels are good at learning/overcoming obstacles :banghead:

Make sure nothing is left outside the pantry, because kitty will go looking for anything/everything within reach/access outside of the pantry.

If your pantry door has some lightweight slats/lightweight grill, reinforce on the back side with a metal grill/mesh :rolleyes: You don't want to block air flow, but you do want to keep kitty out.

Watch for signs of chewing/clawing at the bottom of the door. Some bitter apple should deter this, and it is better to apply before any chewing occurs, and periodically thereafter so no bad habits start.

:otj: since September 2016
 
FurBabiesMama said:
I just clicked your Instagram link and saw the photo of a guy (husband? boyfriend?) holding him in that onesie. Oh, my goodness, that is so sweet. I can't stand how cute he is in the onesies/shirts.
Click to expand...
Thanks!! Yes, that’s my boyfriend. Frosty loves it when Dan holds him. Isn’t it the cutest? I swear he is smiling in that picture. :)
 
Last edited:
HereKittyKittyKitty said:
Every... single... cat... I... have... ever... owned... has... been... able... to... open... interior... doors... including... those... with... a... latch... or... slide... lock :banghead:

Two were also able to open refrigerators and cabinets with child locks... and the toilet with a child lock :facepalm: They also worked with the dog and could unlock/open the sliding glass door so everyone could escape :arghh: My current cat routinely opens under-sink cabinets, but I haven't put child locks on them (yet) because he is hunting (and catching/eating) mice :joyful: and that is one way they could be accessing the main floor of the house :arghh:

I would put a hasp and locking D ring (no need for an actual lock) on your pantry door. They can be obtained cheaply at a hardware store or big box improvement store. No need for a huge/heavy duty one. No need to crank the lock down so tight you can't open it, either. A snap link might or might not be good enough, depending on the cat.

Otherwise it will be like an ongoing battle to keep bird seed from squirrels, although in this case, keeping kitty out of the (people/dog/cat food/treats). Both cats and squirrels are good at learning/overcoming obstacles :banghead:

Make sure nothing is left outside the pantry, because kitty will go looking for anything/everything within reach/access outside of the pantry.

If your pantry door has some lightweight slats/lightweight grill, reinforce on the back side with a metal grill/mesh :rolleyes: You don't want to block air flow, but you do want to keep kitty out.

Watch for signs of chewing/clawing at the bottom of the door. Some bitter apple should deter this, and it is better to apply before any chewing occurs, and periodically thereafter so no bad habits start.

:otj: since September 2016
Click to expand...
I don’t even know how he’s opening things because he has no front claws, yet here we are.
What works for my regular cabinets is hair ties around the two round handles. Does the job. But our pantries have there really old latches from 100 years ago (our house is 200 years old) that I’m pretty sure they don’t make anymore, and he seems to figure out a way to open them.
 
My current cat has no front claws, either.
I can't use hair ties, as he'd chew (and possibly eat) them.

Your cat may be actually operating the latch, wiggling/knocking it, or hooking his paw(s) under/in between the door(s) and wiggling/pulling/pushing until the door(s) open.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top