Meet My Hyper-fixation: Emily & Cat GPS

As many a pet parent would agree, my animals run my life. I don’t think you could call it a hyper-fixation, because I’m just as fixated now as ever. But what I have recently hyper-fixated on is an app I got to track my cats.

We recently moved houses into an area with a little bit more room for roaming. Hot take, but I do let my cats outside unsupervised. Hate me if you must! I will not be shamed! It doesn’t mean I don’t worry. Plus, Flicker eats my house plants if we don’t let him out.

Case in point: A once thriving neon pothos, reduced to rubble overnight:

We used to have Apple air tags attached to their collars, but those are not very conducive to actually keeping track of a small creature. It could show me what 500-meter radius they were in, which had me wandering the open space behind our house like a wannabe serial killer when it was time for them to come inside.

Anyway, moving on. My hyper-fixation lately has been this absolutely fabulous invention called Tractive GPS. Not as affordable as an air tag, but for an initial purchase plus a $6 monthly subscription, I can actively stalk my cats.

I am not a chill cat mom that checks their whereabouts when I need to find them and bring them inside. Instead, I check about every 20 minutes.

How far have they traveled? Has Luna crossed the road too many times? If so, we’ll need to have a talk with her later. Has Flicker fallen asleep under someone’s deck? I’ve met a lot of my neighbors through my cats.

And not one to enjoy my hobbies alone, most of my friends and family also know about my cats’ whereabouts throughout the day. My husband once received eight cat updates within two days of him being at work. My mom, also one of my neighbors, texts me midday to ask if I know where Luna is, when really she’s already watching her lounge on the neighbor’s lawn. 

It’s giving: It’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your children are?

All this to say, I love my cats. I am not chill. I will probably never be chill. And that’s okay, because thanks to technology, I can be the helicopter parent I always swore I would never become.

Cat tax:

Plus, Luna has started to bring me gifts in the form of voles. Not high on my wish list, but you can tell she’s proud of herself, so I try to show my support. Until one makes it inside the house.