Pet Gizmos

OdorBox eliminates kitty litter odor and keeps bacteria at bay

By Jude Garvey

23:04 June 14, 2009 PDT

There is nothing pleasant about cat litter or “kitty litter”. Although the product has certainly evolved from the days where sand, ashes or dirt would be used in the litter box, it's really little more than an open indoor sewer. There are all sorts of deodorizers and sprays that claim to eliminate cat litter smells but often they just mask the odor short-term, and while options such as biodegradable litter which can be safely composted or silica gel litter which is highly absorbent do improve matters, there is no getting away from the fact - cat litter smells. Here's another approach designed to stop you gagging when near the litter tray - the OdorBox uses air purification technology that removes the odor and keeps the litter bacteria-free. Read More

Neater Feeder stops mealtime mess

By David Greig

16:32 June 4, 2009 PDT

The household pet provides a constant source of companionship, healthy activity for the whole family and even helps reduce anxiety - but the mess at meal times is something that pet owners everywhere would gladly do a way with. The Neater Feeder is designed to keep your pets' uncivilized table manners on a leash by containing spills, splashes, and splatter that would otherwise end up on your floor . Read More

Sparkling Mineral Water for Dogs at $8 a bottle

By Mike Hanlon

18:01 May 17, 2009 PDT

Australian premium pet products company, Pets Palace, is launching a range of natural mineral water for dogs. Even more remarkably, the top-of-the-line sparkling natural mineral water named Bellaqua comes in handmade crystal bottles, encrusted with jewels no less, and costs AUD $42.50 (USD $32) for a box of four, plus delivery. For cheapskates who don't really love their faux children, there are four cheaper, non-sparkling varieties of Pet Pop, coloured, flavoured still mineral water which sell for AUD22.95 (USD $16.90) for a box of four. Read More

Drinkwell Hydro-Go portable water bowl for pets

By Anne Hanrahan

18:00 March 12, 2009 PDT

Anyone who has ever embarked upon a road trip with their four-legged friend will appreciate this clever, simple invention. Drinkwell Hydro-Go is a two-in-one canteen and drink bowl designed to cut down on mess and water wastage. The integrated bowl is connected to the top of the bottle neck, flip out the bowl and pour water through the connecting funnel and you have a simple solution to re-hydrating your pet on the go without having to share your own water supply. Read More

First commercially cloned dog DELIVERED

By Mike Hanlon

19:25 January 29, 2009 PST

It’s official – the first commercially cloned dog, a 10-week old Labrador pup named Lancey (main pic), was delivered by BioArts International on January 26 to Florida residents Edgar and Nina Otto. With a bid of US$155,000, the Ottos were the highest bidder in an auction held last July to be the first to clone their family dog. Lancey’s genetic donor, Sir Lancelot, died in January, 2008, and the Ottos had his DNA stored. Samples of the DNA were sent to the Sooam Biotech Research Foundation in South Korea in October, and Lancey was born on November 18, and flown to the U.S. on January 25. Read More

ChatterBowl talks to your dog

By Emily Clark

19:28 December 11, 2008 PST

The ChatterBowl from Contech provides a novel way to keep in touch your dog or cat while you’re out of the house. The bowl allows you to record a personal message for your pet and automatically plays it back whenever they approach the bowl. Read More

SNIF Tag: pet tracking meets four-legged Facebook

By Noel McKeegan

19:02 November 10, 2008 PST

Using RFID technology to track the whereabouts of your pet isn't a new idea, but the SNIF Tag takes the process a step further by incorporating an accelerometer and motion analysis software, meaning that not only can you locate your canine companion, but you can also determine how active they've been and even who they've met while you're stuck in the office. Read More

CatCam documents pet adventures

By Emily Clark

23:28 October 12, 2008 PDT

“Mr Lee” became the internet’s most popular feline when his owner attached a matchbook camera to his collar in order to document the secret life of a cat. Now pet owners can buy their own Mr Lee CatCam to see what their furry friend gets up to when humans aren’t around. Read More

Come in Rover: the Pet sensing doorbell

By Emily Clark

23:53 October 5, 2008 PDT

Pets don't have knuckles with which to rap on the door, but technology can help when your furry friend wants to come in. The Pet Sensing Doorbell uses a smart key attached to your cat or dog’s collar to activate a cordless doorbell and alert you to their presence - no barking or scratching required. Read More

Better bowls curb canine gluttony

By Emily Clark

01:00 June 23, 2008 PDT

The team at Contech has come up with two bowl designs to stop pets from gulping down food and water too fast. Eating and drinking quickly can cause a range of health problems for pets, but these simple and cost-effective bowls can help alleviate these issues. Read More

Halo Pet Safety System for cars

By Emily Clark

20:44 June 19, 2008 PDT

Designed in response to a tragic story of two much-loved dogs that died in a car due to heat stroke, the Halo Pet Safety System from Sisters of Invention uses sensor technology and an alarm to keep animals safe. Read More

Online dog cloning auction

By Emily Clark

23:27 June 9, 2008 PDT

If the thought of parting with your four-legged friend is too much to bear then perhaps BioArts International could save you some heartache with its “Best Friends Again” dog cloning program. The US-based biotech company says it will offer five dog cloning service slots to the general public via a worldwide, online auction on 18 June. Read More

DogPause dog bowl - nothing to scoff at

By Emily Clark

00:23 May 15, 2008 PDT

May 15, 2008 Anyone with a dog knows that when you put food in front of them, it disappears pretty quickly. The DogPause dog bowl is being marketed as a “healthy way to feed your dog” as it slows them down to make sure they digest their food properly. Read More

PupSTEP pet stairs for your pooch

By Noel McKeegan

19:49 April 28, 2008 PDT

If your pampered pooch or elderly cat struggles to get on the couch, the bed, or into the car, pet stairs could be the solution. This example from Solvit - the PupSTEP Stairs - features a lightweight, portable design made from durable plastic in neutral colors that won't clash heavily with your home décor. Read More

Fit fur life doggy treadmill

By Emily Clark

21:01 February 27, 2008 PST

No matter how big a backyard you have, the reality is that your dogs will not walk itself. Dogs need to be encouraged and stimulated to pound the pavement. Inspired by a human fitness regimes, dogs can now work the treadmill in order to stay fit, thanks to Fit Fur Life Treadmills. Read More

The dog-powered recumbent trike

By Emily Clark

15:53 February 11, 2008 PST

February 12, 2008 First came the dog-powered scooter, now inventor Mark Schuette has developed a dog-powered recumbent trike that employs the same "dog behind a steering wheel" configuration with the added stability offered by a sit-down trike design and twice the steering power and braking power of the scooter. Read More

Relationship matching for dog and cat adopters

By Mike Hanlon

14:56 January 19, 2008 PST

January 20, 2008 Formalized personality testing is a relatively new method of determining abilities and suitability for a wide range of pursuits, careers and personal and teams relationships – the first such test was administered in 1919 and development over the last half century has been rapid with numerous such tests now available online. So it makes sense that sooner or later, these techniques would be applied to owners and their pets. Now the resourceful and innovative ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals ) has come up with a better way of finding a dog or cat that will best meet your needs and lifestyle as part of its adoption and selection process - the Canine-ality and Feline-ality Adoption Program is a simple but comprehensive assessment that helps to properly meet the expectations of new pet owners with the behavioural characteristics of available shelter dogs and cats to create the perfect fit between adopter and dog. Read More

Zoombak Assisted GPS Locators hit the market

By Mike Hanlon

22:07 December 22, 2007 PST

December 23, 2007 Anyone who has used a GPS system in a foreign country will know how much this relatively low-cost device can make to one’s state-of-mind. Now a new Assisted GPS (A-GPS) device has hit the market which could make a huge difference in other ways. Zoombak’s advanced A-GPS system uses both GPS and mobile phone networks to track your pets, cars and other assets. You can locate your belongings in real time, set ‘safety zones’ around any location and be alerted of their whereabouts by email, SMS/text message or track them via the web. So now you can know where your cat, dog, child car are, for USD$10 a month. Read More

Doggy Java: man’s best friend joins the latte set

By Emily Clark

17:17 November 15, 2007 PST

November 16, 2007 Next time you go out for gourmet coffee with your pampered pooch, fido won’t need to sit miserably under the table lapping at a tasteless bowl of water. Doggy Java is caffeine free, beef flavored “coffee” for dogs served in a Canine Cappuccino Cup with a Bonescotti Biscuit. Read More

petFINDER ID system improves on traditional tags

By Emily Clark

01:44 October 19, 2007 PDT

October 19, 2007 Pet owners would appreciate the trauma associated with losing a four-legged member of your family. Standard ID tags can be unreliable and often contain outdated contact information, so petFINDER has developed a new ID system linked to a message service aimed at helping reunite U.S. pet owners with their lost animals much sooner. Read More

Domestic cats originated in Near East

By Mike Hanlon

July 1, 2007 All domestic cats are descended from at least five common ancestors from the Near East, Oxford University scientists and their collaborators have discovered. The new research, published in this week’s Science, also suggests that the domestic cat’s ancestors diverged from the ancestors of other populations of today’s wildcats around 130,000 years ago, far earlier than previously suspected. Read More

Kitty Keyboard Kover

By Mike Hanlon

May 23, 2007 And we thought we were the only ones with this problem. People who work from home and cohabitate with a cat have a fairly unique problem – cats like to be near the epicentre of activity, they like to sit/lie/sleep on warm objects and … a keyboard fulfils both criteria if its owner is a knowledge worker and spends most of their time on the keyboard. Indeed, the more people we showed the Kitty Keyboard Kover to, the more people mentioned it as a common problem. Maybe this is a grossly underestimated mega niche. The US$25 Kitty Keyboard Kover is a simple solution to your cat(s) walking all over your computer keyboard. It might be a problem if you don’t touch type, but then again it might even encourage development of new skills. Read More

Pet prosthesis - Dolphin recovers swimming ability with artificial fin

By Mike Hanlon

Bridgestone has developed a rubber fin for a dolphin that lost most of its tail fin to disease. The beneficiary of the technology is Fuji, a 235-kilogram 2.7 metre female at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium. Fuji has regained nearly all of her swimming ability since receiving the new fin in what is believed to be the first-ever successful development of an artificial fin for a dolphin. Fuji has been in the Aquarium for 28 years, and the oldest of her three offspring, Ryu, 26 years of age, is the Japanese record holder for dolphin lifespan completely under human care. Fuji contracted the disease that caused progressive deterioration of her tail fin from the edge in October 2002. Amputating most of the fin saved Fuji’s life but left her unable to swim well. Volunteers at Bridgestone went to work on the rubber fin for Fuji in December 2002 and the company subsequently assembled a project team to tap the full range of Bridgestone’s rubber technology. The team delivered its first prototype in September 2003 and followed up with a second prototype the next month. A few years down the track and Fuji is fully recovered - that's her getting airborne, complete with her artificial fin. Read More

The seat belt for dogs

By Mike Hanlon

February 7, 2007 After consoling many, many heart broken dog owners after an accident and injury caused by seat belt harnesses and poorly designed or ill-fitting dog harnesses, vet tech Sue Roake decided to create her own product. She knew from experience that many dog harnesses will damage the dog’s trachea in an accident - it doesn't take much to collapse or fracture the soft tissue, causing permanent damage and many thousands of dollars of veterinary care. Designed in consultation with veterinarians and orthopedic surgeons to be anatomically correct for a canine, the Secure Fit Safety Harness system from Be Bop USA Pet Products costs US$40. Read More

Garmin’s Astro GPS Dog Tracking System - release the hounds and know what they're up to

By Mike Hanlon

January 5, 2007 Using GPS-enabled devices to keep track of your assets has been going on for a while now, but with miniaturisation and engenuity and increased sales enabling such devices to become affordable and very portable, it’s now possible to keep track of your pets, children and other high-investment animals. Accordingly, we’re thrilled to see yet another useful application developed in Garmin’s Astro GPS Dog Tracking System, designed specifically for sporting dogs and their owners. The Astro system consists of the dog's transmitter (DC 20) and the user's handheld receiver (Astro 220). The DC 20 is mounted into a lightweight neoprene harness that straps to the dog's collar, around its chest, and behind its front legs. Users can also thread the unit directly onto a standard one-inch collar so that the unit fits on the back of the dog's neck. It requires very little configuration straight out of the box and there is no subscription or setup fee required to use the device. Astro shows the precise direction and distance to a dog, indicating if it is running, sitting, on point, or treeing quarry. It can track up to ten dogs per receiver at once, and location updates can be as often as every five seconds. Read More