Cool Pet Gadgets To Help Your Senior Dog or Cat

Technology has transformed countless areas of our lives, and now it’s changing our pets’ lives, too. There are fabulous pet gadgets you may have never heard of designed to make life with your senior pet that much better.

A major advantage of including technology in your senior pet’s daily life is the ability to automate care, particularly when you can’t be home with your cat or dog. Whether you’re using pet tech products to keep track of your pet’s activity or to dispense small amounts of food throughout the day, technology can help ensure everything is taken care of while you’re away.

Many people are unaware of the numerous ways that technology already has altered how we can care for our pets. If you’re interested in improving your senior dog or cat’s life, now is the time to get techy.

As our pets age, we naturally monitor aspects of their health more closely. One particularly important element of a senior cat or dog’s healthcare program is weight management. Nearly all ailments become worse when a pet is overweight. Because of this, it’s invaluable to be able to monitor how much exercise your pet is getting.

One cool dog gadget designed to combat weight problems is an activity tracker. There are special collars, such as the Link AKC activity monitor smart collar attachment, that are made for keep track of how your pet moves during the day. The AKC’s smart collar is designed to ensure an accurate assessment of your dog’s activity, making it easier for you and your veterinarian to determine their ideal caloric intake. Plus, it features a built-in GPS and notifies you on your smartphone if your pooch wanders from home.

If you prefer a tracker that fits on your senior dog’s existing collar, consider an attachable device like the FitBark 2 dog activity attachment, which measures activity and sleep. Tracking your dog’s sleep is important because problems with sleep can occur with canine cognitive dysfunction (aka dog dementia), which becomes more likely with age.

For feline lovers, there are cat gadgets that track activity, too. The Whistle 3 dog and cat activity monitor is an attachable device that includes a GPS tracker. It attaches to your cat’s collar and sends an alert if your pet wanders into potentially unsafe territory.

Many senior health problems can be managed, at least in part, with a finely tuned diet. These pet tech products are designed to feed your dog or cat with precise amounts and individual diets.

A senior cat or dog with kidney disease might benefit from a prescription diet. But if you have other pets as well, mealtimes can get tricky. How can you ensure that the right pet eats the right food? Today’s technology can help. The SureFeed microchip pet feeder will open only for the pet who is wearing a designated microchip.

Another frequent struggle around food is portion control. If you’re trying to keep your pet’s weight down, the last thing you want is to give them unrestricted access to food. Fortunately, there are automatic feeders that dispense a designated portion of food on a preset schedule. The Arf Pets automatic pet feeder even allows you to catch your pet’s attention with a recorded mealtime message.

After tackling food concerns, the next pet tech product to consider is one designed to help keep your elderly pets well-hydrated. When senior pets do not drink enough water, it can cause many problems, particularly if they suffer from health issues, like kidney disease, that predispose them to dehydration.

Some pets, particularly cats, can be persuaded to drink more when they have access to an automatic water fountain. Circulating water can seem to be more attractive to pets than stagnant water. But for finicky cats, hearing the motor might deter them from drinking. To avoid this complication, you can try a product with quiet operation, like the Drinkwell 360 pet fountain.

Bathroom pet gadgets came into popularity before many others on this list—probably because pet parents are always looking for ways to make cleaning up their pets’ waste more efficient (and less gross). But these bathroom gadgets can also be beneficial to senior pets.

Most people have at least heard of a self-cleaning cat litter box. Besides being a great way to avoid one of the less pleasant parts of cat parenthood, these cat gadgets also can be helpful for cats who refuse to use a dirty box.

Since most senior cats suffer from at least a degree of arthritis, they need a box that they easily can enter and exit. The PetSafe automatic litter box is ideal for less agile, elderly felines because it features low walls and no lid.

For senior dogs, indoor potty pads can be a lifesaver. As they age, some dogs have difficulty making it outside or waiting until you come home when nature calls. The BrilliantPad automatic potty pad machine includes an automated clean-up process, allowing for a clean pad to be available at all times, which can help eliminate accidents.

Keeping older pets mentally stimulated and physically active is vital for their health and longevity. Encouraging playfulness is a great way to accomplish both goals, and your absence needn’t prevent your pet from playing when the mood strikes.

Cool dog gadgets like the iFetch mini automatic ball launcher can enable your senior dog to initiate entertainment on their own. This automated toy is designed for small to medium dogs, shooting miniature tennis balls for dogs to retrieve. Dogs can even learn to drop the ball back into the machine to continue the fun.

Most cats find toys that trigger their natural instinct to hunt hard to resist. The SmartyKat Feather Whirl electronic cat toy feeds that instinct by rolling unpredictably and waving feathers to get cats stalking and pouncing. Plus, its quiet motor shouldn’t scare any anxious felines away.

Like the SmartyKat Feather Whirl toy, the Petlinks Mystery Motion electronic cat toy is an automatic cat gadget that can entice your senior cat to get up and move. Its feathers revolve around a tent-like blanket, stoking cats’ curiosity by imitating prey they’d find in the wild. And it has four speed settings, letting pet parents adjust the activity level and keep things surprising for their kitties.

It’s not unusual for senior pets to become more dependent on you as they age, which makes leaving them home alone stressful for everyone involved. Calming pet gadgets can help reduce anxiety and improve those times that must be spent apart.

A good way to reassure a fearful, older pet is with the power of pheromones. The Adaptil Calm electric dog diffuser fills your pup’s environment with a synthetic version of the same pheromone that mother dogs emit to calm their puppies.

For cats, Feliway’s Classic plug-in diffuser emits a synthetic version of a cat’s facial pheromones, which promotes a feeling of contentment. This kind of tool is helpful for everyday use in anxious pets.