19 Apps for Pet Lovers

There's an app for everything, even for your four-footed friends. And why not; there are nearly 144 million dogs and cats in this country. They deserve to have as much fun as the rest of us. However, you might find the array of possibilities daunting. Whether you're looking for a tablet game for your cat, apps for logging your dog walks or first aid apps for your pet, there's going to be something here for you and your furry friends.

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The ASPCA has a good line of mobile apps aimed at helping out tech-savvy pet owners. The ASPCA Pet Safety app (Android, iOS) can help pet owners plan for pet safety during emergencies, natural disasters and extreme weather. The app presents safety and preparedness hints, suggestions on how to search for lost pets right after emergencies and tools for storing pet information or creating a lost pet kit.

The ASPCA's other mobile app is the Animal Poison Control Center app (Android, iOS), a handy guide to common household items, drugs, hazards and plants that can be toxic or dangerous for dogs, cats, birds or horses. Users can search for a particular substance or plant or filter by species. They can also get a color coded risk assesment, a list of expected symptoms and suggested actions, poison calculators for things like chocolate or rat poison and —most importantly — a one-touch dial to the ASPCA's poison control hotline.

Pet First Aid by American Red Cross (Android, iOS) is a nicely designed first aid guide and knowledge base for owners of dogs and cats. The app provides users with simple first aid lessons, step by step guides and how-to videos. The multiple configurable pet profiles come in handy, as do the section where you can save your vet's contact details.

petMD Symptom Checker (iOS) takes its cues from other symptom checking apps, only rather than picking out human body parts and describing symptoms, with petMD, you consult a chart of cat and dog body parts and look up symptoms. The app references more than 2,500 articles on various dog and cat maladies, with remedies and veterinary information.

Keeping on top of all your dog's health needs is no mean feat. Dog Buddy is a to-do and health log app that helps you keep a journal of your dog's medical needs, treatments, vaccination schedules, and other info you might need to make sure that your four-footed friend stays healthy and happy. Users can track their dog's weight, create journal entries and milestones, store photos, and save your dog's bio data, vet contact details, medication schedules, and more, all for free.

Similar to Dog Buddy, 11Pets is a pet needs and health journal app for Android devices that helps you stay on top of your pet's vaccinations, medicines, scheduled vet visits, and more. Users can store their vet's contact details, their pet's medical history, photos, and medication needs, as well as track your pet supply needs.

Whistle is a combination GPS and health tracking device worn on your pet's collar that helps owners keep track of their pets through the connected Whistle (Android, iOS) app. The device uses three different methods to track your pet (GPS, WiFi, cellular signal) for redundancy, and users can set geofenced safe areas, with notifications if your pet leaves the region. In addition to the pet locator function, the Whistle app can also record your pet's activity and rest, complete with custom goals, and graphs that you can show to your vet.