There’s a Pet App for That

Fun With Cat Fishing And Bark Cam

True happiness may always be slightly elusive, but for pet owners, now there is true “appiness.” Sorry – couldn’t resist, but truly there are a plethora of smartphone apps that can be helpful to just plain fun if you own pets.

For the felines

Cat Fishing: An iPad app that let’s your kitty paw at the fish. The game gets harder with each fish caught.

Pocket Pond: Another fishing game for kitties, but this one allows you to design the pond and its inhabitants.

Catbook – A social community for cat lovers.

Paint for Cats: As entertaining for you to watch as is for kitty as they chase a mouse over the screen to paint a masterpiece.

Catgame: If the laser tag has been wrecking the house, this app lets kitty play onscreen.

Cat Clicker Training: Learn how to use the clicker method to train your cat.

For the canines

Games for Dogs: A virtual squeaky toy to play with your pooch.

Petometer: You can see how far you walked along with maps. You can also create walking reminders for your calendar and share walks on social media.

Dog Translator: What exactly does that bark mean? This app records and analyzes what your dog is really trying to say.

BringFido: Find specifics and reviews on dog-friendly hotels, restaurants, parks, etc. as well as dog events in the U.S. and Canada.

BarkCam: Need a perfect photo of Fido? This app uses sounds to keep their attention while you shoot and then lets you add filters, meme text, stickers and quotes to the images.

Dog Park Finder Plus: Travel with your dog just got a little easier with this app that let’s you find nearby dog parks and more.

For pets with specific medical conditions

Diabetes: The UK’s Royal Veterinary College launched the revolutionary Pet Diabetes App in 2016 to help owners manage this not-uncommon disease and help maintain a good quality of life. It is packed with a lot of useful management tools including medication reminder, calorie calculator and tools for monitoring.

Epilepsy: The RVC developed this canine app in collaboration with a similar app developed for people with epilepsy. Not only will it help with monitoring your pet’s condition, but it also anonymously helps researchers quantify data from the participant dogs to help expand understanding of the condition.

For all pet family members

PetSnap: Just when you got everyone to look perfect for their picture, the animals get distracted. Not any more with this camera function with 32 sounds to keep them looking as you snap away.

Dosecast: This one can work for all the patients in the house, furry and not, to keep track of medications, dosages and a schedule of reminders.

Red Cross Pet First Aid App: Clear instructions for care in a variety of pet emergencies, the ability to store information in the app about each pet and an animal hospital locator.

Enjoy, but remember to also just spend some quality non-screen time with your pets, and that an app cannot replace the experienced advice of your veterinarian.

Dr. Margot can be reached at parkhillvet.com.