This Christmas's new tech trend - gadgets for pets

Bistro is a robotic feeder beyond any cat-lady’s wildest dreams - not only does it recognise your cat using computerised facial recognition, it tailors a personal diet for each four-legged gourmet who visits.

Cat lovers can also watch their cat tuck in via a video feed (captured by a camera in the feeder), which broadcasts to  a smartphone app.

The gadget - expected to retail at $250  (£145) plus shipping, also borrows a leaf from the current trend for fitness wearables (for humans) ,with graphs of what and when each cat eats, and warnings if they are likely to pile on the pounds.

Gadgets for pets seem to be a growing trend this year - with Amazon launching a new Wearable Technology section, with a host of gadgets for pets.

GPS collars such as Tractive's GPS Pet Tracker (£120) allow owners to track their pets on their phone's screen - and monitor how much exercise they are getting. Owners receive a warning if the pet walks outside an 'invisible fence' around their home or garden.

Pets may face a horror usually visited only on human children - educational toys. Foobler forces dogs to solve puzzles for treats.

The normally sensible Sony has just released a £36  mount, for Sony’s Action-Cam, which straps to a canine’s back to capture what pets do when you are not around. Proud owners have already uploaded dog-cam videos to YouTube.

“Sized for medium to larger dogs, the lightweight adjustable harness fits comfortably yet securely onto your pet’s back,” says the Japanese company.

                                         [Meet Jibo - the first 'family' robot]
 
Bistro claims it could help to curb the rise of obesity among pets - a recent study in the U.S. found that more than half of cats were overweight, which can lead to serious health problems.

The company says that the graphs stored by the gadget are a useful tool when talking to a vet about health problems - and a warning system for cats piling on pounds.

Miniature scales underneath the feeding area monitor exactly how much your cat eats and drinks - and  the facial recognition software (similar to the technology used in airports to screen humans), ensures each cat is fed the correct portion.

The gadget has already beaten its $100,000 funding goal on crowd-funding site Indiegogo, with several weeks to go.

“When your kitty is having a meal, the weight sensors (load sensors) beneath the feeding tray, waterer, and the weighing scale will measure the weights continuously. After the cat leaves, the system will automatically calculate the amount of food and water your cat took as well as their weight,” says creator Mu-Chi Sung.

Mu-Chi’s inspiration came from his own experience, a near death of a kitten he considered himself a “parent” to - having saved its life by switcing its diet to healthy fish, he wondered whether he could have spared the animal suffeering by monitoring its diet more carefully.

Bistro even calorie counts, with one cat, the app will calculate the ‘correct’ amount of food to eat per day, and dole out that exact amount.

With multiple cats, the problem’’s slightly trickier - Bistro admits it’s impossible to stop greedy cats stealing food, but the machine can reduce the amount of spare food doled out to other cats if you’re concerned one greedy puss may be cruising around scoffing leftovers.

The app will offer a warning if your cat is eating too much, or not consuing a balanced diet (mice excluded, of course, as Bistro can’t account for takeaway snacks).