Pet Health Tracking App: What to Look For and How the Options Compare

A good pet health tracking app does three jobs. It keeps your dog’s or cat’s records in one place, it reminds you before things are due, and it lets you hand the records to a vet, sitter or kennel without a scramble. Everything else is a bonus.

This guide covers what to look for, how to do the job by hand, and how a few real options compare, including Petify. Where we are not sure of a detail, we say so.

What a pet medical record app should do

Use this as a checklist for any app, ours included.

1. Hold the real records. Vaccines with the date given, the next due date, the dose and the lot number. Lab results, receipts and microchip details are a plus. The original photo or PDF should stay attached.
2. Remind by type. Vaccines, flea and tick, heartworm, deworming, daily medication, rechecks and annual check-ups all run on different clocks.
3. Let you change the date. Next due dates differ between vets, vaccine brands and countries. The vet’s date wins, so you need to be able to edit the app’s.
4. Share without friction. A sitter or groomer should not need to install anything or remember a password.
5. Cover everyone who cares for the pet. If two people give the heartworm tablet, both need to see that it was given.
6. Work in a waiting room. Spotty signal should not stop you opening a vaccine date.
7. Say what leaves your phone. Especially if the app has AI features.
8. Match your species. Some apps cover 20+ species. Some cover dogs and cats only.

Start with the manual method

You can do all of this with a phone and a calendar, and you should know how before you pick an app.

• Photograph every page of the vet card the day you get it. Name the file with the pet and the date, for example “Biscuit-vaccines-2026-11”.
• Add one calendar entry per due date, with an alert a week ahead and another the day before.
• Copy the vet’s dates, not your own sums. For dogs, core vaccines usually include rabies and DHPP. For cats, rabies and FVRCP. Rabies is a legal matter, so check your local rules [VERIFY REGION].
• Keep a short notes file for weight, medication start dates and anything odd, each line dated.
• Back it up. Put the photos in a cloud folder you can open on any device.

This works. It breaks when the card is lost, when two people share a pet, or when someone asks for “the records” at a kennel counter and you are scrolling through 4,000 photos.

Our vaccine schedule guide explains what core and non-core vaccines are, and the flea, tick and heartworm guide covers the other recurring dates.

How the options compare

Six of the seven apps we looked at are breed identifiers. They are good at one job, naming a breed or mix from a photo, and they are not health trackers. Only one is a close match for records, reminders and weight, so that is the one we compare most closely.

A note on breed scans, since they come up when people search for a dog health tracker: a photo gives a visual estimate, not a DNA result. No app should be treated as a final answer on breed.

Where Pet Care Tracker is the better fit

If you have a rabbit, a bird or a reptile, Pet Care Tracker’s listing says it covers 21+ species. Petify covers dogs and cats only.

If what you want is a simple calendar with vaccine and medication reminders, plus diet and weight logging, its listing describes exactly that, and describes it as free. That is a reasonable place to start, and it may be all you need.

Where Petify fits

Petify is built around the moment the paperwork is hard: a vet card in your hand, a due date you are not sure about, or a sitter who needs the records tonight.

• Snap the vet card. Petify reads vaccine and preventive names, dates given, next due dates, doses and lot numbers. It never guesses. Blurry or unclear fields are highlighted so you confirm them before anything is saved, and the original stays in the vault.
• One colour-coded timeline. Core and non-core vaccines, flea and tick, heartworm, deworming, medication and check-ups sit together. Green is current, gold is due soon, red is overdue. Next due dates are worked out from the vaccine type, the date given and your pet’s age, and you can change them to match your vet’s date.
• Reminders where you will see them. Push, SMS or email a day, three days or a week ahead, plus calendar sync with Apple Calendar, Google Calendar or Outlook. For heartworm, a missed dose prompts you to check with your vet.
• A passport link for sitters, groomers and kennels. A QR code or link that opens in any browser, with no app or login for the person opening it. You choose the sections, set it to expire in 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days or never, and revoke it from the app. You can see when it was last opened, but not who opened it. A printable PDF is available for the counter.
• A symptom journal and an AI vet. Type or photograph a symptom and Petify gives general guidance, with a read on how urgent it looks. It already knows your pet’s profile and records. It is not a real vet, it is not a diagnosis, and it never replaces an exam. Journal entries with dated photos can be shared with your vet.
• Multiple pets, shared with family. One invite code, and everyone sees the same timeline and can log a dose, so nothing is given twice.

Petify has a version that shows ads, and paid plans with credits that cover AI and scan features. Get Petify on iPhone or Android

Dog health tracker or cat health tracker: what to log

The tool matters less than the habit. A few differences are worth knowing.

Dogs. Log weight on a regular schedule, heartworm and flea and tick doses, and anything that changes on skin, paws or ears. Dated photos of a spot help your vet see whether it has changed.

Cats. Cats hide illness, so small shifts count. Log appetite, water, litter box habits and weight. If something changes, note the date and tell your vet. Do not wait for it to look dramatic.

Whatever you use, the log is for your vet’s benefit. It does not replace an exam.

Five questions to ask before you trust an app with records

1. Where do records live? Petify stores records on the phone first, where they work offline. They are backed up to your account only if you sign in.
2. What leaves my phone? In Petify, photos, audio and chats sent to AI features go to third-party AI providers, currently OpenAI and Google Gemini. Its privacy policy says Petify does not use them to train its own models, and that the providers’ API terms do not permit training on them. Petify does not sell personal information. AI features need a connection.
3. Can I get my records out? Look for a PDF export. Petify can export a PDF health summary.
4. Can I delete my account? Petify accounts can be deleted in the app.
5. What happens when I stop paying? Read the plan screen before you start. Weekly and monthly plans differ.

If an app’s listing does not answer these, ask the developer.

When to call the vet

A tracker keeps dates and notes. It does not tell you whether your pet is safe. Here is a simple way to sort what you see.

Emergency now: go to a 24-hour clinic or call your vet immediately.

• Trouble breathing, collapse or a seizure.
• You think your pet has eaten something toxic. Call your vet or an animal poison control line now. Do not try to make your pet vomit at home.
• A male cat straining to urinate, or passing little or no urine.

Call your vet today.

• Refusing food or water.
• Vomiting or diarrhoea that keeps coming back.
• A sudden change in weight or energy.
• A reaction after a vaccine that is more than mild tiredness or a sore spot.

Monitor at home, and note it in your log.

• A mild change that you can describe with a date. If it continues or worsens, call your vet.

If you are unsure which group something belongs in, call your vet. Sources to check against: WSAVA and AAHA guidelines, AAFP for cats, and the Merck Veterinary Manual consumer version Download on the App Store · Get it on Google Play.

FAQ

Is there a free pet health tracking app? 

A paper card and a phone calendar cost nothing. Pet Care Tracker’s listing describes a free calendar-style tracker. 

Can one app track both a dog and a cat? 

Petify covers dogs and cats and supports multiple pets. Pet Care Tracker’s listing says it covers 21+ species.

Do I need an account? 

Petify’s records work offline and are backed up only if you sign in. Whether you need an account to start.

Does an app replace my vet’s records? 

No. Your clinic keeps its own record. An app is your copy.

Download on the App Store · Get it on Google Play