The Best Free Apps For Adventure Cats in 2021
In the world of smartphones, apps make our lives so much easier! But did you know there are lots of free apps for adventure cats that owners to take advantage of? While some of these apps are not specifically designed for pet owners, they can still be extremely useful. These apps range from helping you find pet friendly trails, tips on pet first aid, survival tips, and even just having some extra fun. We put together a list of our top 10 favorite apps to use when we go exploring. Some are for prevention or emergencies, while others are apps we use on every single hike. All of these apps are available for both Samsung and iPhone users.
Without further ado, in no particular order, here is our top 10 best free apps for adventure cats!
Red Cross Pet First Aid
Knowing some basic first aid for your pet is crucial when you take them adventuring with you. Accidents happen, and it is best to be prepared. We always recommend you have a pet first aid kit with you when out on the trails, as well as knowing the nearest veterinary hospital is just in case. Check out our article on how you can make a pet first aid kit yourself!
This app gives some general advice on how to handle the situation and help you assess the severity. In no means is this app meant as a replacement to veterinary care. We recommend calling or seeing a veterinarian if any injury occurs to your pet while you are out on the trails.
Geocaching
Ever heard of geocaching? It is a fun activity for hikers where you can search for hidden objects that others hide or hide objects yourself! It works by using the GPS location on your phone. You can find geocaches in areas all around you that you had no idea existed! This app even gives you hints if you need them. This can be a fun way to spice up your adventures or play games with your friends.
Bring Fido
While this app is marketed mainly for dogs, it has many great resources for pets in general. It is a great app for finding pet friendly hotels, attractions, restaurants, and hiking trails. You can also use the app to find pet stores, pet sitters, and veterinarians! If you do have a dog as well, it has resources for dog parks, dog walkers, groomers, and more. This is a great app to have when traveling with your cat.
SAS Survival Guide
This is a great app for survival tips should you ever get stranded or stuck out on the trails for longer than you expected. It is a book that was written by a former SAS soldier that has been converted into a free app. There are videos and photos in the app to help with all sorts of things, including starting a fire, edible plants to look for, how to handle extreme temperatures, and more. It even has a Morse code signaling device! This app is very handy to have downloaded for any unexpected circumstances. You can also download a more in-depth version as well, although that one costs some money (only a few dollars).
Picture This
There are so many plants out there, it is impossible to know each one. With this app, you can snap a photo of the plant in question and it will tell you what it is, as well as some information about it. The app is not designed specifically for pets, so it has no information on toxicity potential for our cats. But once you know what the plant is, you can google if it is safe for your cat. This works great out on the trails, as well as helping you decide on houseplants if you are looking for cat friendly ones.
GPS Tools
Everything is included in this all-in-one convenient app. You can use this app for weather, finding coordinates, GPS route finder, step counter, air quality determinant, maps, and more! It is really nice to be able to see all of this in one app, as opposed to using a different app for each thing.
All Trails
Another great hiking app that is not specifically for pet owners, but great for helping you find trails. There is even ways to search for pet friendly trails only. Just search your city or area and see how many great trails are available to explore nearby!
Cairn
It is all about safety while exploring the great outdoors, and this app helps with just that. One of the best things about this app is that you can set a “safety circle”. Here, you can add contacts that will get notified when you begin and end your hikes and see your real time progress. This alone makes this app great, especially for solo explorers, as you can always have someone know where you are. You can find information like where others have found cell phone coverage on the trails, which can be helpful when you need to find some service. There is also ways to access offline maps and trails as well, in case you are in a no service spot at the time.
Hiking Project
You can join the hiking community and submit your own adventures. With this app, you are encouraged to share your trips with the other users, from location, points of interest, route, and more. Each submission is reviewed by a team and, if approved, gets uploaded to the app for others to see. It has lots of photos and descriptions of many trails or hikes in the area that you search, to give you some ideas of the adventures to be had.
iNaturalist
Ever encounter something you don’t know when out exploring? Whether it is an insect/bug, plant/tree, or any other animal, just simply snap a photo! Submit the photo to the app and experts will review it and let you know. It is also a way for you to help submit interesting finds to them, which can help with their research projects. So you could be helping experts with scientific research! How cool is that?
BONUS APP:
Many of us know and love using Chewy.com! They have such a wide variety for pets, including your cat’s favorite food and treats. But did you know they also have great options for lots of things adventure cat related? There is lots of different harnesses, collars, and leashes, as well as even some cat backpacks and travel carriers. Car seats and seatbelts can be found here too, for your road trips. You can also find lots of things to add to your pet first aid kit here, such as kwik stop, vet wrap, insect repellant, and more. Or you can purchase pre-made first aid kits too. It really is a one stop shop for your pet, and signing up for an account is free. Technically not considered in our best apps for adventure cats, as its for all things pet related, not just adventure cats. But we just had to mention it because we truly use it for almost everything and it is a really convenient app to have!
Conclusion:
There really is an app for everything nowadays, and it sure is convenient! We rely so heavily on our phones daily, so why not for while we are adventuring with our cats too. Whether they are apps downloaded as precautions for unexpected situations, or every day use apps, they are all useful in their own way. These apps we recommended are ones that we specifically use and love. We wanted to share these with you guys, as we think these are the best apps for adventure cats right now. Hopefully we can make a post like this every year since apps are always evolving! But for now, check out these ones and let us know what you think. If you have any other go to apps, let us know! We’d love to hear what you all use too.
