Smart Water Bowl Requires Pets Be Microchipped or RFID Tag Attached to Collar

By B.N. Frank

There are significant health risks associated with exposure to all sources of RadioFrequency (RF) Radiation aka wireless Wi-Fi radiation (see 1, 2) and Electromagnetic Fields aka “Electrosmog”. There are also government agencies worldwide that warn constituents about this but not in the U.S. In fact, last year, a federal court ruled in favor of organizations and petitioners that sued the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for NOT adequately protecting Americans from wireless radiation exposure (including 5G). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) isn’t doing anything to protect Americans either (see 1, 2).

Research has determined that exposure affects animals too. Keep that in mind before you buy anything “Smart” and/or wireless for your beloved fur children.

From Wired:

Review: Sure Petcare Felaqua Connect

This smart water bowl keeps track of how much your cats are drinking (or not).

WIRED

Tracks drinking habits. Wide, shallow bowl. Doesn’t need to be plugged in. Easy to set up.

TIRED

Batteries not included. Needs a separate hub. Made of plastic. Expensive.

We all need to drink more water. For humans, there are apps and even smart water bottles to keep us on track. For our pets, it isn’t as easy. We can encourage them to drink more by keeping water fresh and away from food and litter, but if we aren’t watching their every move it’s hard to be sure they’re drinking enough. And forget trying to answer a vet asking how often they drink.

I’ve been testing Sure Petcare’s app-supported Felaqua Connect water bowl for nearly a month, and it has kept me better informed without annoying my two cats more than I usually do. It tracks which pet drank from it and how many ounces were consumed. Small dogs can use the Felaqua too, but it’s made for cats as they tend to not feel as thirsty as dogs, which could lead to real problems real fast. We feel dehydration, but your kitty friend might not.

Waterlogged

For the Sure Petcare app (iOS, Google Play) to accurately track which cat is drinking in a multi-pet household, your pets need to be microchipped or you’ll need to attach an RFID tag to their collar. Microchipping is standard among veterinarians, and it can help get your pet back to you if they’re lost. Without a chip or tag, the Felaqua will still deliver notifications on how much your cats are drinking, you just won’t know which cat is lapping up.

The downside is you have to set up the hub to use the app—it plugs into your router and lets you access notifications and controls from anywhere in the world. I prefer smart home gadgets that don’t need a hub, but this one is small and cute with its light-up cat ears. (You can dim them or turn them off in the app.) If you get other products from Sure Petcare, like its feeder or door flap, you won’t need to add any more hubs.

Once I set up the hub and connected the water bowl, adding each cat was easy. The app walks you through getting them close enough to the bowl so it can scan their chips. Just assign their name to their respective microchip number.

The rest of the app is straightforward and informative.

Read full article