AI Pet Camera Software: See What Your Dog or Cat Did Today

Most pet cameras give you a live view and a stream of motion alerts. What you actually want to know is simpler: were they all right, and what did they get up to?

Agent DVR records when there is movement in the room. An AI assistant such as Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini then looks at frames from the day's recordings and gives you the short version, with times and pictures you can check. You can also describe something you want to be told about, and it becomes a rule that runs by itself.

On your phone, wherever you are

An iSpyConnect subscription from $7.95 a month puts your cameras on your phone: live and recorded video in the iOS and Android apps, alerts as push notifications, and the AI assistant in the Claude or ChatGPT app. One flat price covers every camera you add, with no port forwarding to set up. Agent DVR itself is free on your home network, so you can set it all up and try it before you pay.

Plans from $7.95/month Try it free at home first

What it looks like

Was the cat on the kitchen counter while I was at work?

Yes, twice. Looking at the kitchen camera between 08:30 and 17:30:

10:12 - she jumped up by the sink, walked the length of the counter and left after about a minute.
14:47 - back up next to the toaster, where she sat for nearly ten minutes.

The other six recordings were her crossing the floor or at her bowl. Want the 14:47 clip?

Things to ask

What did the dog do while I was out?
Where is the cat right now?
Did the dog go on the sofa today?
Did the dog walker come, and at what time?
Show me the living room across the day.

Rules to set up by asking

Tell me if the cat is on the kitchen counter today.
If the dog gets on the sofa this afternoon, tell him to get down.
Take a photo of the living room every hour between 9 and 5.
Weekdays between 12 and 2, tell me when the dog walker arrives.

Rules run on your own server with no assistant connected. They need Agent DVR 8.0.7 or later, and questions about what is in the picture need an AI provider set up in Server Settings - AI Settings. More rule examples

Why build it this way

Any camera, any room

Use an IP camera you already own or a USB webcam on a shelf. Add a second one for the garden or the hallway and ask about all of them at once.

The short version of the day

Instead of forty motion alerts, ask one question and get a summary with times. Follow up on anything that looks odd and get the clip.

Talk through the camera

If your camera has a speaker, a rule can speak a message or play a sound when your pet is somewhere it should not be.

Your home stays private

Recordings are kept on your own computer. Nothing is uploaded ahead of time: frames go to the AI assistant only when you ask a question or a rule needs to check a picture.

What you need

A camera

Almost any IP, ONVIF, RTSP or USB camera works, including a spare webcam. You do not need a special bird, pet or doorbell camera. Look yours up in the camera database.

Agent DVR on a computer

Install it on Windows, macOS, Linux, Docker or a Raspberry Pi. It records to your own disk and is free for private use on your own network. Download.

An AI assistant

Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini CLI or any other MCP client and start asking. Free on your own network. From your phone or the cloud it is part of an iSpyConnect subscription from $7.95 a month. How it works.

Good to know: The assistant describes what it can see in frames from recordings, so it is good at where your pet was and what they were doing, and less good at fine detail or anything outside the camera's view. Rules cannot yet count ("the third time today") or notice that something has not happened ("no movement since noon"). Speaking through a camera needs one with two-way audio set up in Agent DVR and a connected iSpyConnect account.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use a webcam or an old IP camera as a pet camera?

Yes. Agent DVR works with USB webcams and most IP cameras, including older ones that support ONVIF or RTSP. Install Agent DVR on a computer that stays on, add the camera, and you have a pet camera that records to your own disk.

Can I check on my pet from my phone?

Yes. With an iSpyConnect subscription from $7.95 a month you can watch live and recorded video in the iOS and Android apps or a web browser, with no port forwarding, and ask a cloud assistant such as the Claude or ChatGPT app about your cameras. On your home network it is free.

Can it tell me when my dog or cat does something specific?

Yes. Describe it in a sentence, such as "tell me if the cat is on the kitchen counter today". Each time the camera sees movement, your AI provider is asked a yes or no question about the picture, and you are notified when the answer is yes. That is one AI call per trigger, capped by default at 30 an hour for each rule so a busy camera cannot run up your AI bill. Ask the assistant if you want a higher limit.

Can I talk to my pet through the camera?

If your camera has a speaker and two-way audio is set up in Agent DVR, yes. You can talk through it yourself, and a rule can speak a message or play a sound file when something happens.

Is my footage uploaded anywhere?

No. Recordings stay on your own computer. When you ask the assistant a question it requests only the frames it needs, and iSpyConnect does not store them. What the assistant's provider does with the images it receives is covered by that provider's policy.