(checked 2026-10-10)
Cats.com's best overall pet camera and a Tom's Guide 'worth every penny' pick: a very cheap pan-and-tilt camera that follows pets around a room. Video blurs during motion, smart alerts need Cam Plus, and Amazon owners say it often loses its connection.
Subscription: Optional: free microSD recording (including 24/7); Cam Plus adds 14-day cloud event history and person, pet, package and vehicle detection for $2.99/mo per camera (Tom's Guide, Cats.com)
Top complaints
- Loses connection, some units die
Amazon's review summary says it constantly loses connection for some owners and that some report it stops working; motion detection gets mixed feedback.
- Blurry during motion, 2.4 GHz only
Tom's Guide saw pixelation around anything moving and lists no 5 GHz Wi-Fi as a con.
Source: Tom's Guide review - Smart alerts need a plan; muffled audio
Cats.com says smart alerts, automatic recordings and facial recognition need a paid plan, and audio is muffled.
What owners love
- Pans almost anywhere
360-degree rotation and 180-degree tilt; Tom's Guide found tracking kept the subject in the recorded clip, and Pan Scan can patrol up to four waypoints.
Source: Tom's Guide review - Very cheap
Tom's Guide calls it worth every penny at under $35, and says Cam Plus isn't terribly expensive even after the price rise.
Source: Tom's Guide review - Clear picture and night vision
Amazon owners praise the clear picture, intuitive app and night vision; Tom's Guide says still scenes look good with proper color at night.
- You only have 5 GHz Wi-Fi
- You want treat tossing
- You want pet alerts with no plan
- Covering a whole room for little money
- Following a moving pet
- Local 24/7 recording on microSD
Scores (tap for why)
What experts say
- Cats.com: #1 overall cat camera (updated 2026-07-17); cons are muffled audio and smart features behind a paid plan.
- Tom's Guide: A solid camera that covers a ton of space, worth every penny; cons are no 5 GHz and blur in motion-heavy moments.