Eight things to check before you commit
1. Unlimited pets, without a per-pet price
Plenty of apps are free for one pet and then charge per animal, or cap the free tier at two. If you have a multi-pet household, check the pet limit on the free tier and on the paid tier before you invest hours of data entry.
2. Real per-pet sharing, with roles
Sharing an account password is not sharing. What you want is to invite a person and choose what they can do, per pet: full edit, read only, or something narrow like seeing the medication list and requesting refills. That is what makes it safe to give a sitter access to one animal for one weekend.
3. A shared dose log, not just reminders
This is the single most important feature in a two-carer household. A reminder tells both of you to act — so both of you might. A log that updates instantly for everyone shows the 8am dose is already given. Reminders prevent forgetting; logs prevent double-dosing.
4. One calendar across all pets
You want a single view of every dose, appointment and booster due date, filterable to one pet when you need it. Four separate pet profiles you have to check one by one is how conflicts get missed.
5. Export you actually control
Ask one question: can I get everything out as a PDF or a file, today, without paying? If not, your pets' history is hostage to the company's future. Calendar export (ICS) into the calendar you already live in is a strong bonus.
6. Support for the species you actually own
Many apps hard-code dog and cat breeds, dog and cat vaccine schedules, and weight ranges that cannot handle a 45-gram bird. If your household includes rabbits, reptiles, birds or fish, test that first — enter your smallest animal before you enter the dog.
7. Emergency access that does not require the app
The person who finds your lost dog, or the out-of-hours clinic treating your cat, will not install anything. Look for a shareable emergency card or a scannable QR code that shows contacts, allergies and current medications in a browser.
8. Sensible privacy
Medical records, vet details and often your home address live in this app. Check that shared links can be expired, password-protected and revoked, and that you can remove a family member's access cleanly.
Features that sound good but rarely matter
- Social feeds and pet profiles for sharing. Fun for a week, irrelevant to care.
- Breed encyclopaedias. Free on the open web.
- Generic AI chat. Only useful if it can read your pet's records; otherwise it is a search box.
- Gamified streaks. Medication adherence should not depend on a badge.
A five-minute test before you migrate
- Add all your pets, including the exotic one. Did you hit a limit or a species you could not enter?
- Add one twice-daily medication and log a dose. Is it obvious to a second person that it is done?
- Invite a second person as read-only on one pet. Can they see only that pet?
- Export a PDF record. Is it complete and readable?
- Open the emergency view in a browser with no login. Are contacts, allergies and medications there?
An app that passes all five will still be working for you in two years. Most do not pass step 3.
Where Pettioe stands
Pettioe was designed around the multi-pet, multi-carer case: unlimited pets on every plan including free, per-pet roles (editor, viewer, refill-only), a shared dose log, one household calendar, ICS and PDF export, any species you care to enter, and a public per-pet emergency card behind a QR code. It is not the right answer for everyone — but those five tests are the ones to run on whatever you choose.