5 Kickstarter Campaigns to Keep Your Pet With You At All Times

Twenty percent of the 80 million dogs in the United States suffer from separation anxiety. That's 16,000,000 dogs doing anything from whining to tearing apart your couch, dragging the stuffing through the apartment, and then eating it all. And what do you do if you want to make sure your dogs and cats are healthy and thriving while you're gone? 

Five Kickstarter campaigns—four that were successful and one that's still running—promote virtual pet play, monitoring, and easy transport to keep them with you at all times.

1. Control a toy through your wireless network with iPet Home Play.

Dogs and cats aren’t the only ones who can suffer from separation anxiety—some owners panic as soon as the front door is closed. iPet Home Play, an in-progress Kickstarter campaign from the people who created the iPet Companion, lets pet owners both keep an eye on their furry loved ones via video streaming and remotely interact. Using a smart wall adapter with a toy connector, a revolving video camera, and a web or mobile interface, owners can control a pet toy from anywhere. They can even take videos and photos and share them online.

2. Reward your dog and tell him you'll be home soon with iCPooch.

iCPooch, the successful campaign created by Bondgy, Inc., lets you feed your dog a treat, and even video chat with him through your home wireless router. You can use your phone or computer to connect. 

3. Make your pet smarter with CleverPet.

If you don’t have time to play with your pooch—even virtually—CleverPet does it for you. A cognitive development game for your dog, the fully-funded CleverPet is a wifi enabled game console that tests your dog’s intellectual prowess and automatically adapts as they master each level. The console has touch pads that light up in different patterns; when your dog taps the right one, or follows the series, the console delivers a treat. You can also use the built-in microphone to listen to your dog’s barks, and record your own voice. The corresponding app lets you track their progress. 

4. Track your cat's wellness through Taillio. 

Scrubs was right—everything really does come down to poo. Taillio, the successful Kickstarter campaign from Pet Wireless, monitors your cat's health from under their litter box. The device weighs the cat each time it goes to the bathroom and tracks its frequency of use, amount of waste generated, and behavior in order to alert owners whether the cat's displaying bathroom-related symptoms for cancer, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, kidney failure, urinary tract issues, and congestive heart failure. All the information is sent to the cloud and analyzed. If the cat's behavior needs attention, alerts are sent to your phone through the Taillio app. 

5. Keep your pet close to your heart with Poucheze. 

Ever thought to yourself, Wouldn't it be great to strap my dog to the inside of my hoodie so I can carry it around with me all day? Poucheze, by Poucheze LLC., has created and funded exactly that. For $50, you get a specially designed hoodie with a pet carrier that clips inside. The carrier holds up to 20 pounds and can be detached from the hoodie to be worn separately.