ISO deer camera to see critters

[Ravenwood1950]

Something is getting in through the cat door into my utility room and eating the cat food and fouling their water almost nightly.
I need suggestions of a reasonably priced night vision camera so I can set it up in that room to see what critter is coming in.
Would also like to be able to use it for other purposes in the future. I don't have a smart phone so cannot feed images to that.
Do they record for playback later? Please, need suggestions to help me scope out my critter problem.
Thanks friends,
Ravenwood

[nj_m715]

those things come in all flavors now. I have simple, cheap one that snaps pics or takes short vid clips and saves them to a sd card. it was about 40-50$ on sale from sportsman guide.
better ones take higher quality video, some have wifi for remote viewing.

my cam is like this one, they have a different one on clearance for 45$
https://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/stealth-cam-p14-infrared-trail-camera-kit-8mp?a=1800265

since it's out of season, you might ask around to borrow one. get your hands on one, try it out see if you like before you buy. you can take mine if you ever come through commerce. I won't need it until the end of summer.

[Lilburner]

Womder how the HD action cam/GoPro knockoffs work at night.

I just got two of these, marked down almost 90% - hell of a deal.

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/epic-1080p-hd-pov-action-camera-kit?a=1713604&_br_psugg_q=epic

[ProGeek]

Game cameras track motion. Do these cameras have a motion activation mode?

[Lilburner]

It was a suggestion for an alternative.

If someone were saving ~$50 for a single use/project item and were budget-minded, they might not mind spending upwards of 3 minutes reviewing a video at super speed to find a problem.

Frankly, depending on how important it is, and how soon you want to get to the root of a problem, I prefer that approach. Motion detection is a step that can fail.

[ProGeek]

Better get an animal trap. Put the food in the trap and put away the cat. You will find out what it is and can deal with it in a cage instead of looking at a picture. Three guesses: 1. Another cat, 2. Racoon, 3. Possum.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Humane-Animal-Trap-32x12x12-Steel-Cage-Live-Rodent-Control-Rabbit-Opossum/751064502

[Nemo]

Womder how the HD action cam/GoPro knockoffs work at night.

I just got two of these, marked down almost 90% - hell of a deal.

https://www.sportsmansguide.com/product/index/epic-1080p-hd-pov-action-camera-kit?a=1713604&_br_psugg_q=epic

You order one of those have a gun nearby.  That price is just about broadway (combo of broadband and highway) robbery.

Nemo

[Country Singer]

Three guesses: 1. Another cat, 2. Racoon, 3. Possum.

4. Skunk.  I only know that because I had it happen!  When I lived in California there was a family of skunks that would come up out of the canyon behind the house, enter the garage through the pet door, and scarf down the cat's food.  They also liked to hang out under the hot tub during the winter.

[Nemo]

Adding that possibility you might want to put a baited trap outside and lock the cat door.  Surely do not want a caged skunk inside.  That would be bad.

Nemo