Daily Mail (UK): Where’s the mouse? iPad app that lets cats play with virtual ball of yarn and protect cheese from mice

Cat flaps have officially had their day.

It’s the cat app that is the must-have feline gadget of today.

A new iPad app has been developed by the RSPCA in Australia to keep techno-moggies entertained.

The ‘Affection Collection’ is made up of Kitty Raid, where cats have to defend cheese from invading mice, Roller Kitty, where cats can play with a roll of virtual yarn, and Kitty Chef, a game where cats can become chefs.

Designers said they wanted to promote enrichment for cats and highlight their intelligence. A points scoring system helps owners know how well their moggie is performing.

The three games are never played twice in a row and move on automatically to keep the cats entertained for as long as possible.

It is hoped it could prove useful if cat owners are struggling to keep their pets indoors.

It is also the ideal playmate for lonely moggies.

RSPCA spokesman Michael Beatty said: ‘This is a unique concept that RSPCA hopes will really help put cats in the limelight this month,

‘Basically, you place your iPad on the ground, start the game and your cat or kitten can interact with it on his/her own terms.

‘There are automatic features including reset and shuffle, making it easy for cats to navigate this game on their own, and keep them interested’.

It’s not the first time cats have been allowed to play with iPads. Footage on You Tube shows moggies from all over the globe playing cat and mouse games with their owners.

The cats seem just as fascinated with the glow of the screen and the repetitive play as everyone else.
[…]
Saxon Cameron, a student from Bond University, developed the app for the RSPCA, based in Queensland.

He said: ‘This game I have designed you can put down so if you go out to work or to the shops; it’ll repeatedly shuffle through games so the cat will remain interested’.

‘For us it is all about keeping indoor cats stimulated and excited because they have not got that natural environment to go hunting’.

More here.

Another article in The Australian mentions a cat playing eagerly with a game app called Ribbit that features jumping frogs that disappear. However, the rest of the article is behind a paywall. There are several game apps with “Ribbit” in the name, and I cannot determine which one the article referred to. You can always try out various apps with your cat. To safeguard against dings from your cat’s collar or other objects, you might want to put a plastic screen protector on your iPad first.

Cats playing Game for Cats with Apple iPad

Uploaded on Dec 16, 2010 by tlindstr

Two Siberian cats like to play “Game for Cats” with Apple iPad 🙂
Note that the iPad has Invisible Shield screen protector.

Siperiankissat leikkivät iPadillä 🙂
iPadissa on Invisible Shield suojamuovit.

Cats are:
Aq-Bars Ace of Spades, Ässä
Aq-Bars Barbarit’zka, Karkki

Tags: iPad

This entry was posted on Saturday, April 6th, 2013 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Australia, Caturday, Open thread. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.