Tabcat V2 Cat & Kitten Tracker - No Monthly Subscription Fee | 2 Lightweight Homing Tags, Cases & Tracking Handset | More Accurate Than GPS | Track 2 Cats Indoors & Outdoors to 1" & 500 ft Range

TabCat really really works. 10 Stars. Very small, easy to set up, easy to use, very accurate. This is the ultimate cat pager/tracker. No subscription charges-ever. Does not rely on satellites or cell phones or apps. I tested TabCat in an open field with grass more than 1 foot tall. At a distance of 400 feet, the TabCat remote control was near the limit of it's range which is incredible for very low level weak RF signals. Slowly point the TabCat remote control towards the horizon and slowly rotate in a full circle. Follow the strongest signal reading on the bargraph and fastest beeping tones. Very handy. The TabCat remote control correctly showed me which direction to start walking +/-45 degrees from 400 feet away. At 300 feet, the signal was much stronger and more accurate +/-30 degrees. At 200 feet, the signal was about half strength, even more accurate +/-15 degrees. At 100 feet, accuracy improved to better than 10 degrees. The signal strength was very strong and the beeps were getting faster and higher pitched. At 50 feet and closer, TabCat was extremely accurate. All I had to do to use TabCat is walk, point the remote control slowly in several directions, listen and watch for the strongest signal, then move towards the strongest signal. TabCat can pair with up to FOUR separate collar trackers allowing you to find four different pets easily. Some will say that 400 feet is not enough range, however, this is plenty for 12 acres out in the country. It would take me less than 30 minutes to accurate seek and correctly find my four cats. Nevermind the marketing and sales folks which sometimes exaggerate products. (Ever heard of the 600 mile compact indoor "digital" UHF TV antenna? Ha!) For TabCat, 500 feet range would be under non-realistic perfect ideal conditions, not real world conditions. This real world performance is double what I thought was ever possible given the small size and low power constraints. If you need to cover the whole county region, get a GPS cell phone $ubscription plan pet tracker. Otherwise, TabCat does the job perfectly and practically. The batteries are standard batteries that last for several months. Batteries are easy to change out. The instructions say TabCat is water resistant. To be sure, use the included flexible rubber covers to help keep water out of the collar tracker. Be sure to purchase rubber covers for each of your collar trackers. I ordered TabCat with 4 collar trackers and 4 rubber covers. Definitely splash resistant. To fully waterproof the collar tracker be creative and use a very small sealed balloon or tape. The TabCat remote control is slightly larger than a thick credit card and is also splash resistant. A small ziplock bag will make it waterproof. I like the feature where the remote control will turn itself off after inactivity so that it does not run the remote control CR2032 batteries down. This greatly extends battery life. This product is designed to work for many years. I could not ask for a better product than TabCat. 10 Stars.

This is by far the coolest thing I've bought in a very long time. It works extremely well. Unlike bluetooth or gps, which use your phone and an app, this is just a simple beacon and detector. Unlike bluetooth or GPS, this gives you *directional* hotter/colder locating. The one disadvantage is the range, but that's really not a big deal (for me) because just a little walking around will usually get you a signal. Some people have mentioned that it takes a little getting used to to follow the signal. As an electrical engineer, I was kind of expecting this, so it didn't surprise me. It basically comes down to understanding the physics of radio signals, and how different objects affect them. Metal objects, like cars, will block the signal. So if your cat is on the other side of a car, for example, the detector will "hear" the signal more strongly if you point it to the sides of the car which might make you think your cat is off in that direction. Soon as you walk around the car, it will start to point you to your cat on the other side. The signal is also subject to reflecting off of objects, like cars, steel buildings, or even some walls. It can even be *refracted* by some objects depending on its material. Remember, radio signals are basically light (actually, they ARE light, just at a lower frequency that you can't see). As such, they pass through some objects, bounce off of others, and even refract through others. Think of it like trying to locate a sound in your house. Sometimes it can be tricky with the sound bouncing off of walls and such, but you'll always find it. It's kind of like that. For example it may point you at your house making you think your cat is inside, but if you turn around 180 degrees, you may find that it was picking up the signal from behind you, reflecting off of your house. This will be obvious because the source will be stronger than the reflection. All that to say, if there are houses, cars, tool sheds, etc.. especially metal, they will block and bounce the signal around, but keep moving around and you'll quickly hone in on your cat. Another awesome thing about this tracker is that it has taught me a lot about my cats' habits. 2 things I've learned: 1) cats are instinctive hiders. I've found a lot of my cats' favorite hiding spots that I never would've known about before. 2) cats rarely, if ever, wander far (if they're fixed). When they don't come when you call, you may think they've wandered too far to hear you. That's almost never true. Cats are jerks and have no problem ignoring you, and chances are they are just hiding because that's just what they do. Hiding is a very strong instinct for them, especially if they got spooked by something. This tracker will prove to you that 95% of the time, they didn't leave; they're just hiding. Because they're cats. Anyway, this tracker is awesome. Not only does it give me peace of mind because I can always find them, it also gives peace of mind because it has taught me about their habits. To that extent, I don't worry so much anymore because I have a much better understanding of "what they're doing out there". I understand a part of their lives that I didn't before. Now when they don't come home for dinner when I call them, I don't think "oh no, has the time finally come? Are they gone?" (because that's usually how it happens. They just, disappear). Now I think, "she's probably under the shed ignoring me." Cats are jerks, but we love them anyway for some reason. The tabcat is worth every penny. Oh and the trackers are tiny and don't bother my cats at all.

I have a cat that wanders. I try and keep him in at night but if the weather is good he goes on walkabout. He can get back into the garage through a cat door but as we live in a rural area I'd just rather he be indoors with us for his own safety. If you've done your due diligence on cat trackers, you know there are 3 types. The Apple Airtags are cheap and show up on your phone, but they use Bluetooth and have a very short range. If you live out in the sticks like me, they are almost useless since there won't be a large network of iPhones to pick up the signal and share it to your phone. Then there are the GPS trackers. They'll give you a precise location of your cat right on your screen. The trouble is...they're expensive with a monthly fee (they use a cell phone network to track the transmitter so it's like getting your cat a mobile phone account), they're relatively heavy on you cat's neck, and the battery needs recharging like every day or so. Which brings us to the third type, a beacon tracker which is what the TabCat is. No monthly subscription, light weight, and the batteries last a reasonable length of time. The trouble is the range, which I have found is about 500ft. The cat collar tag is a miniature beacon. It is always listening but only transmits when it hears an interrogation signal from the handheld unit which you are holding. (If the tag was transmitting all the time the little hearing aid batteries in it would be dead in a matter of days, since transmitting requires far more power than receiving.) So, when you go looking for kitty you turn on your handheld unit, which is about the size of a credit card. It sends out an interrogation signal. If the cat's tag is in range it will respond with pings that your handheld unit picks up. The handheld unit has a highly directional antenna inside it. Swing it around and a series of eight LEDs light up based on how strong the received signal is from the tag. When you aim it for the strongest signal, that is the direction towards the cat. It's a lot like those police movies from the 1960s where they are tracking a car with a direction finding radio. Unless you cat is very close by, you are going to be hiking around a lot. Twice now I've ended up nearly half a mile from my house looking for the cat. And found him. It's a bit of a skill. I ended up walking for half an hour in various directions until I finally got a weak hit. Then a lot of moving left and right and seeing how the direction changed. Eventually I got close enough for a strong signal, whistled a couple of times and up popped Sherman, no doubt wondering, "What are YOU doing here?" Since I'm a bit of a radio geek I can live with the efforts involved. I did contact the TabCat folks and they told me it is using 2.45GHz microwave frequency. Which explains how they can get such an accurate directional antenna in the small handheld unit, since this is a very short wavelength. I did try an experiment by mounting the handheld unit at the focal point of a small microwave antenna dish of 14" diameter. It did increase the range a bit but it is pretty impractical tromping through the woods carrying a dish antenna. So far the battery life has been decent; I'm still on the original tab and handheld batteries. You can buy a dozen or more replacement batteries on Amazon for just a few dollars; these are fairly common button batteries. The instruction book tells you the type. A minor annoyance is that the handheld unit times out after about a minute so you have to press the keys again to restart it. But I know they have to do this because of the limited battery capacity. If you left it on constantly transmitting it would probably blow through the battery in short time. The tag you attach to your cat is very light weight. My cat has worn a breakaway cat collar for years so adding the tag to it didn't bother him a bit. All in all, if you worry about your cat's location, this unit does indeed work. But it will require some effort on your part too, chasing him down. Some people get the mistaken impression this is going to somehow show up on your phone's screen with an X marks the spot. It doesn't. It has nothing to do with your phone. You will be searching for the strongest signal on the handheld unit and it will involve a degree of exercise. But...better than having to walk a dog multiple times a day, right?

Finally a simple tracker that works! Long Story - What started me looking at tracking device was my very soft spoken cat disappeared for 16+ hours a couple of weeks ago, missing dinner which never happens and after calling her for hours, then a sleepless night worrying, at 2:30am my neighbor woke up and investigated a noise heard coming from his metal storage shed he was in the morning before, and as he opened the door my cat darted out! no water all that time in 85+ degree weather Yikes! So I tried two fancy sit on your a** trackers for android phones GPS apps, one with a monthly fee, both had large collar units my cat wasn't happy about and both were $$$ PRICEY so they should work right? Nope! neither actually track my cat as closely as they should or as advertised, one was so bad it had my cat 2 houses away on the app and google maps when she was in the house under my chair! and one was use it for about a year when the batteries die throw it away and buy a new one wth! Both were sent back, thankfully money refunded and I started over. What was I really looking for - I want to be able to find my cat quickly within walking distant in my community without needless wondering around calling for her. I don't need to see her ever move over a period of time on my phone, she isn't known to go blocks away, she fixed and stays close to home, she's just independent and may not come when called or could get trapped in a shed again yikes! Honestly I didn't want another app on my phone and wasn't going to pay a monthly fee for sure, plus without internet/phone service the tracker would be useless anyway... That's when I found Tabcat V2 and I could be happier! It works as advertised imagine that lol. A simple small tracker device with no special collar needed, no internet or phone. Just add to her collar and being small it doesn't bother her at all with an easy to use handheld unit with lights and sound to show me where to find her. I keep it next to the front door, easy to grab it when I go out looking for her. Notables - batteries are replaceable and inexpensive, both the tag and hand unit are durable and well made with the tags having rubber protective covers included. Simple setup instructions, put it on her collar and the first time I tried it I found her within minutes after being out for two hours a couple of neighbors backyards away and its still working! Customer videos and positive reviews are real and can be trusted! The best part the purchase price includes two tracker units, both work with one handheld unit synced on different buttons, so my small dog got one too. Again I could not be happier and hope you find the same peace of mind I have!

I admit it -- I did not have a lot of confidence this device would find my cat -- but it does. Last night it found her in complete darkness four houses away with no trouble. Pluses: - The tag is small and doesn't bother my smallish 10-lb cat. The batteries last a long time. - The tag has a flashing LED light when the cat is being searched for, although good luck seeing it unless the cat is turned in exactly the right direction. - The tag beeps softly when you are searching for the cat (this is more for the cat than for you, I suspect) while the hand-held sensor has three sound levels - off, low and high. - When any of the the lights on the handheld indicator come on you know the cat is near (150 feet or so) and when they increase you know you are getting closer together. When it changes from red to yellow to green you know your cat is within a few feet. It is very intuitive to use. Any yellow light means your cat is imminently findable. - after a couple of weeks the cat has figured out I am looking for her when her collar softly beeps and comes to me. Negatives: - It is sometimes a little difficult to tell which direction to go in to find your cat at first, but this works itself out as you move. - There is some light bleed from the power light to the first indicator light which makes it a bit hard to interpret if the cat has been detected or not. In summary, I really like this cat finder. It gives me peace of mind when the cat decides to go off on her own and I do not know where she is. I recommend this. If I were to lose it tomorrow I would buy another. Note: I've had this about a week and I have found that one of the most useful features is simply the ability to tell if your cat is near or far, without actually needing to track it down. If you turn it on and you see more than one or two lights, your cat is within about 150 feet. Any yellow lights at all and it is really close. I use that feature to just check at the door to make sure my cat is near the house. UPDATE: Five months in and I still love this device. If I lost it I would buy another immediately. Update 2 - one year in: OMG I LOVE this thing. It gives me so much peace of mind when my cat is outside. She has learned to come when her tag starts beeping. Even if only one light is activated on the handheld tracker I know she is somewhere near and I don't actually have to track her down. She often just comes home when she hears her collar beeping. PRO TIP: If you are trying to locate your dark gray cat in the dark and it is standing right next to you the Tabcat will not find it. The cat has to be a few feet away. Do not ask how I know this. lol.

This works really well -- we adopted a feral cat and were very concerned with her hiding in the house and not being able to find her so we bought this and a break away collar. She's an extremely small cat yet this tracker is small enough that she wears it all the time and it doesn't bother her at all. It does an amazingly good job at tracking her and it's very easy to use. Every time I've used it I have found her within a minute. Very happy with the purchase.

We have been loyal Tabcat customers for the past 3 years. The trackers themselves work great with great battery life. The remote is the problem. So faulty, and no seperate replacement! Very poor construction and difficult to explain to new users who are watching our cats. We are sadly switching to a new product now - the cost is not worth it for the problems with the remote.

For context, I live out in the country on a 15 acre farm. I need to be able to bring my cats in at night to keep them safe, but sometimes the cats have other ideas. I had previously used and loved a product from Com-Spec called the LoCATor. It was a big, bulky, expensive device, but that thing had incredible range (1 mile I believe) and it was top tier. Unfortunately that product seems to have been discontinued, and as my LoCATor collars have worn out and broken over time, I have been left without a good option for several years. Enter the Tab Cat. This is a much smaller version of the LoCATor, in every way. Less bulky, but also less range. However despite the lesser range, it has worked for me so far. Despite having a large property, the cats are usually near the house. If you don't pick up a signal right away, just walk around a little bit until you do. This works directionally, so for example if your cat is in the house upstairs, you can point it upward and it will pick up on that. It is leaps and bounds above an AirTag (which anyone who lives in rural areas knows is not a real option) and I am so relieved to have found another option that uses radio waves and can actually reliably find my cats. The size is very convenient (the locator is about the size of a credit card, and the actual tracker you put on the collar is tiny.) I love that the tracker beeps and lights up- makes it very easy to find a stubborn cat hiding nearby, especially at night, and I have found the cats will realize the jig is up when they hear their collar beep, and will come out of hiding on their own. I have not had these tags long enough to attest to their battery life or how difficult it will be to find a cat that is truly a long distance away, but so far it has been perfect for my needs.