Cats are known to be independent, lone-wolf roamers. Being the nervous pet parent that I am, I’ve always wanted to know exactly how far my cat’s range is. And now, thanks to Vodacom’s V range of smart devices, I do! Here's how the V-Pet Tracker works – and what my pet got up to.

Setting up your V-Pet Tracker

Setup is fairly easy as the tracker comes with a handy ‘Getting Started’ booklet. The first step is to charge the battery for two hours. (I later discovered this gives you up to four days’ coverage.) Your pack includes a charging dock and two batteries, so you don’t have to worry about your pet going a moment without their tracker. Once the battery is fully charged, you attach it to the pod. At this point, the status light started flashing purple. The Podtrackers website provided a comprehensive answer as to why my pet tracker was flashing purple – it was simply indicating that I’d switched it on. Green means all systems are working, blue is searching for signal and red indicates that your battery is low.

Once my device was on and had located a signal, I had to attach it to the strap. To do this, you simply feed the rubber strap through the slot on the tracker and fasten it. The strap can be attached to almost anything, so I opted to attach it to my cat’s existing collar. And then he was good to go!

How does the V-Pet Tracker work?

The V-Pet Tracker uses GPS, 2G/3G, wifi and Bluetooth, so you’re almost guaranteed coverage no matter where your pet is. To monitor your furry friend, you will need to have a V-Sim, an active V-Pet Tracker subscription and the V by Vodafone app. You’ll also need to download the Pod Trackers app, which will show your pet’s profile, when he or she was last seen and where, and your location. You can also see how much battery the tracker has left. Plus, you can set up ‘safe zones’, so you’re sent an alert if your furball wanders too far away from home.

Besides making sure your pet doesn’t stray, the V-Pet Tracker allows you to monitor whether your pet is getting enough exercise. It’s also durable and waterproof, so your pet can go about its usual business without the risk of damage to the device.

Tips and hints:

• The V-Pet Tracker is suited to medium to large pets. If your pet is accustomed to wearing a collar, he or she will soon be fine with it. I recommend leaving it on for a few minutes every day and slowly building that time up to get them used to it. (Treats are also always a bonus and a good distraction!)
• To ensure the device is secure while your friend is out hunting and gathering, the holes on the strap are quite small. I recommend attaching the strap to your pet’s collar. But take the collar off before fastening it rather than attempting to keep your wriggling pet still.

Final thoughts

It turns out Joey is more of a homebody than I had thought. According to his V-Pet Tracker, the lazy cat spent most of the day in bed (which is probably why the vet put him on a diet recently!). At least I’ve got peace of mind now – and I know when he has been lazy so I can encourage my furry friend to get more exercise.

Curious to know if your pet is a homebody or a sneaky adventurer? Find out more about the V-Pet Tracker here.