While our cats may believe humans are horrible, hairless hunters, their “gifts” of a mouse that has been partially digested are not always appreciated.
To prevent this unhygienic occurrence, an entrepreneur has developed a clever cat flap that temporarily locks your cat outside while it is carrying its prey.
Martin Rosinski, age 37, grew weary of being awakened by his adorable serial killer cat Jinx, who would drag in rats at night and cry loudly to wake her owners.
In June 2021, the app’s technical director installed a camera and artificial intelligence (AI) technology that detects the presence of prey in his microchip cat flap.
If the prey is detected, the cat flap is briefly locked and notification and video of the attempted entry are sent to the owner’s phone.
Next year, he intends to develop his prototype, OnlyCat, into a marketable product.
Martin stated, “[Jinx] goes outside on her explorations, which regrettably involve spotting and bringing mice and birds into the house.
After a year of having the cat flap placed, we have 42 video recordings of her attempting to bring in various prey, some of which are dead, some of which are alive, and some of which are somewhere in between.
‘Two months ago, I believe she realized, ‘I can’t bring these home, it’s not going to work
She still catches them outside, but she has realized there is no use in attempting to bring them inside, which is a comfort.
In December 2020, Jinx, who was formerly owned by neighbors, opted to move in with Martin and his wife Michelle Bowyer.
After a couple of months, the 12-year-old domestic short hair began presenting a variety of furry and feathered gifts to express her appreciation for her new home.
Martin, from Ponteland, Northumberland, said, “The first time I worked from home, I heard Michelle raising a fuss because Jinx had brought a mouse in as a thank you and placed it on the carpet in front of her.”
‘This is their way of expressing love, therefore you can’t reprimand her, so we thanked her profusely and removed it from her.
Then, this began occurring more frequently, to the point that Jinx would meow loudly at 2 a.m. and declare, “Hey, I have a present!”
If we did not intervene quickly, she would opt to eat the mouse herself, resulting in mouse parts smeared on the carpet.
Martin realized he had to act when the cat began arriving with a writhing catch in her mouth up to four times per night.
It reached a point where this was occurring at 2:00 a.m. and 4:00 a.m. on many nights, preventing us from sleeping because we had to cope with it.
‘Being both a hobbyist and a professional with a passion for software, electronics, and manufacturing things, I figured I had the necessary skill set and equipment to attempt to solve this issue.
“I changed my cat flap by installing a camera and software that analyses the image captured by the camera to determine if the cat’s mouth is empty or has a treat.”
If the cat is holding prey, the cat flap will temporarily lock and send a notification with a video of the attempted delivery to the owner’s phone.
Martin and his 33-year-old web developer partner Michelle now receive video clips of mischievous Jinx attempting to pull her victims home throughout the day.
“We felt connected to our cat since we receive a little video clip of her face whenever she enters or exits the house, whether we are present or not,” he explained.
The alert also permits them to go outdoors and, if possible, attempt to rescue the animal from Jinx’s grasp.
Martin added: ‘It has prevented Jinx from introducing forty mice and two birds into our home in one year.
“We adore every aspect of Jinx as a cat, but there was one significant source of anxiety linked with her.”
The resolution of this issue leaves just the positive aspects of her connection with Jinx.
I will not miss the disrupted sleep and blood-stained carpets.
Transmission Dynamics is currently attempting to commercialize the solution that could assist other cat owners.
They hope to crowdfund the project and have the OnlyCat cat flap available by April 2023.
