Media Platforms Design TeamFind a missing pet. Office manager Kathleen Oswalt found Harper, her quirky—and lost—4-year-old shepherd-Plott hound mix, via a GPS device. Tapping into Global Positioning System technology and fitted inside a chewproof gadget that slides onto a collar, Tagg Pet Tracker texts and emails you when your dog or cat leaves a designated area. You can also learn the duration and distance of your dog walker’s treks. And it’s water-resistant. I tested it on my pup, Cleo, at a canine surfing event in Del Mar, CA. While she hung 10, er, 20, the Tagg ($100, then $8 monthly after first 3 months; pettracker.com) clung on through the gnarliest waves. Media Platforms Design TeamKeep your cat busy.Exercise your feline with Cat’s Meow ($20; getcatsmeow.com) or FroliCat Dart Duo ($43; frolicat.com). Amy Rushlow, online managing editor, loved how Cat’s Meow (shown left) kept her kitty, Callie, busy; it made Murphy, my 15-year-old, frisky. Push the button in the center of the round pad and a mouselike lever activates and captivates its audience. Both testers said that Cat’s Meow withstood pounces and slapping paws. “Hester and Henry loved FroliCat Dart Duo,” says Amy Beal, online deputy editor, about her tuxedo kittens. The toy has a rotating light with two lasers that shoot out in a circle. “We could leave it on for only 10 minutes at a time or they’d exhaust themselves looking for the mysterious red bug,” Beal says. Media Platforms Design TeamEliminate scooping!Henry and Hester also tested Litter-Robot II ($369; litter-robot.com). If you really, really hate scooping the litter box, this might be a luxury worth having. “I spend at least 10 minutes a day digging out dirty cat litter,” Beal says. Here’s how Litter-Robot works: Seven minutes after kitty makes a deposit, the globe rotates to filter clean litter from, um, the clumps, which then drop into a trash bag in the base. Genius. By day 2, Henry and Hester were exclusively using the Litter-Robot, ignoring their old-school box. Would Beal buy it? “I actually would. It’s bulky, but not having to scoop every day? Priceless,” she says.
Media Platforms Design TeamFishing around for a green thumb? The AquaFarm is a sleek-looking 3-gallon self-cleaning fish tank that houses one or two little swimmers and grows basil, lettuce, or wheatgrass with sustainable aquaponics farming. “It’s affordable ($60; backtotheroots.com), fun and a great way to model aquaponics and environmental sustainability for you and your kids,” says editorial intern Melissa Katner.
Media Platforms Design TeamClearing the air. The air in assistant research editor Devon Rutz’s cat-dedicated rec room smells outdoor-fresh now that she’s installed a high-tech air cleaner for her five rescued felines (and occasional fosters). CritterZone Air Naturalizer ($99; critterzoneusa.com) uses electrical technology to rid pet odors naturally, sans the need for chemicals or filters. Just plug the purifier in near your pet’s smelliest area. “Instead of covering odors like air fresheners, it actually dissipates them. We couldn’t detect any litter box odor even right after cats made deposits,” says Rutz. “It worked great, especially when we kept it on the lowest setting.”
Additional reporting by Melissa Katner More from Prevention: 5 Ways To Keep Your Cat From Driving You Absolutely Crazy
