Hi guys and girls,
I have a cat that likes to go on long trips out and come back a day or two later. Sometimes we miss him coming back so it might be weeks before we see him. I would love to attach a presence sensor to his collar as we have 4 cats and a motion sensor wouldn’t work. Has anyone used a presence sensor. Are they too big? Maybe you guys could recommend a way of tracking his trips home. I am in the uk tho so my range of devices I can use is alittle limited
Thanks in advance
Nathan
I’m not sure how many presence sensors there are out there. I only personally know of a cell phone or the smart things presence sensor. I would say it is not small like a tag but might work if strapped flush with the collar. But like I said it is a little big and you will notice it.
Another option could be to use a smart doggy door like the iris one from Lowes. They have trackers/RFID devices to unlock and lock the door. Someone was able to get it integrated into smart things with a code found here.
I hope this helps.
How big is the cat? Unfortunately, most tracking devices are too big for animals under 15 pounds/6.5 kilograms.
Are you just trying to recognize when he comes to the yard so you can let him in? Because the range of the SmartThings – branded motion sensor is only about 15 m of your network. It’s quite lightweight, in part because it’s not actually doing anything except checking in with the smartthings hub, so a larger cat might tolerate it, but it’s not waterproof so a cat that is gone for several days maybe taking it into environments where it won’t last long.
BTW, for technical reasons having to do with the different mobile phone systems, GPS trackers in the UK can actually be a bit smaller than the ones in the US. For that reason there are presently more choices of GPS cat trackers in the UK than there are in the US. 
The following article is a good 2017 listing of the more popular choices in the UK. Most of these will, however, have a monthly fee.
http://www.appcessories.co.uk/wheres-that-darn-cat-the-best-gps-cat-tracker/
Any system that can send a text or an email can be integrated with SmartThings through IFTTT, so you could certainly have a light come on in the house or something like that. But again, generally with a monthly subscription fee.
Thanks. I think I might have to forget about using st and go with a Bluetooth trackr. That might work
Unfortunately, the petsafe model which is compatible with SmartThings is not sold in the UK.
There are a number of RFID or microchip reader cat flaps that are sold in the UK, including some by petsafe/StayWell , but I don’t think they have integration possibilities. They just unlock the door when the correct cat arrives.
If you just want to detect the cat coming in range, then, yes, the Bluetooth devices will probably be smaller and it’s easier to find ones that are weatherproof. 
I’m not sure how will the crowdsourcing concept will work outside a big city, though.
Again, if you find one that has an app on the detecting tablet/mobile that can send an email or a text, you can integrate with SmartThings through IFTTT.
Oh really. Cool. Well I found these that they sell in the us that use ifttt https://www.xyfindit.com/shop