Pet cameras are sold around two-way audio, laser play, motion tracking and feeding logs, aimed at owners who want to check on a cat from work.

Security cameras emphasise wide coverage, night vision, motion alerts and local storage. Image quality and reliability are usually more mature, but interaction is limited.

If the job is seeing what the cat is doing and maybe saying hello, a pet camera fits better. If the job is spotting anything unusual at home, a security setup is better value.

Both raise privacy and cloud-storage questions. Avoid bedrooms and litter areas, and disable microphones and cloud playback when not needed.