The wearable pet tech industry is expected to be worth nearly 20 billion pounds by 2025. In recent years, pets have moved up the hierarchy of the home, replacing spouses as the most loved members of the family. Pet ownership in the UK is expected to rise annually and, unsurprisingly, the demand for pet tech is rising too.

Health

Our furry friends can sometimes be victims of our undying love. Over-feeding is the leading cause of weight-related health problems such as diabetes, brittle bones and heart disease, but with the ever-advancing world of wearable technology, it’s never been easier to monitor and exercise our critters.

FitBark is the FitBit for the canine world. With FitBark you can set health goals for your pooch, chart their activity 24/7 and link up with your own FitBit health plan. And all this data can be downloaded and handed to your vet to make sure your dog is at the peak of fitness.

Monitoring the health of one pet is a great leap in technology, but monitoring a whole herd of creatures is completely ‘extra-pawdinary’. Silent Herdsman is a revolutionary wearable tech designed to monitor the health, location and fertility of up to 20,000 cattle.

The Scottish-based company has been developing this tech further over the last few years to make sure that farmers can ‘cowmunicate’ with their herds, so yields and the health of their animals can always be a priority.

Happiness

Exercise and entertainment for pets come hand in hand. Unfortunately, there are no ‘social petworks’ for our cats to troll all day long, but there is Shru. Shru is an interactive cat toy that responds to the individual ways that your kitty plays. Shru is USB charged and can be programed to particular play modes. It also comes with a “Find me” feature for when Mr Tiddles decides to smack it under the couch.

This toy can keep your feline engaged while you’re at work and, because it acts like a real animal, there’s less chance that fluffy pants will bring back a living, breathing, flapping pigeon from the garden.

Keeping your favourite buddy engaged while at work is something all pet owners worry about, but with new smart home pet tech you can interact and play with your pets from anywhere.

Systems like Petcube, Petchatz and Petzi Connect combine audio and video along with laser pointer play systems or treat dispensers to keep your pet entertained when you’re away. These systems improve quality of life for domestic animals while also giving owners peace of mind and interaction with their purrrfect non-people.

Safety

Microchip feeders and cat flaps have been key to pet health and safety for the past decade, but with the rise of the QR code, the safety of our pets outside the home has become easier to monitor.

A PetHub ID tag includes an individual QR code that, when scanned, will produce details for the animal, including address and contact details. On top of this, when an animal’s QR code is scanned, the owner is immediately alerted so they know their pet has been found.

You can also make sure your pet isn’t getting into any trouble with Eyenimal Petcam. See the world from your pet’s point of view with a tiny camera that attaches to their collar. It is discreet and records up to 4GB of video and audio, so you’ll know if Mr Tiddles has a second family or is causing trouble in the neighbourhood.

Keeping your pet safe will only get easier with the development of pet technology, and it also might shed some scientific light on to the behaviour of domesticated animals, which will make them easier to cater for and happier in the long run.

Although pet tech should never be seen as a substitute for animal care, the industry is giving pet owners devices they never realised they couldn’t live without. The pet technology industry is growing faster than we can imagine and is keeping our pets happy, healthy and safe, as well as easing our own peace of mind when it comes to our lovable fur-babies.