The purrfect activity for a coffee break

December 6, 2013 5:01 AM

The worst thing about cats is that you can't play with them unless you're physically present. Being elsewhere means being unable to play with a cat! It's a horrible situation, but now there's a solution. iPet Companion lets you select a shelter and control a camera and trigger toys in the selected shelter's kitty play room. If there's other people on that shelter's page, you'll have to wait your turn, but turns are two minutes long so there's rarely much of a wait.
posted by Pope Guilty (45 comments total)

I can keep a kitty playtime in my browser? Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

Look in your favorites, everyone! You get a kitty! And you get a kitty! And you get a kitty! Everybody gets a kitty!
posted by tilde at 5:16 AM on December 6, 2013 [12 favorites]

That's great!
posted by Rock Steady at 5:26 AM on December 6, 2013

Wow!

A whole host of cats several thousand miles away have just been doing a fantastic job of ignoring my actions.
Just like a nearby cat would!
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 5:32 AM on December 6, 2013 [29 favorites]

But what happens when i get attached to the kitty? This is just a slow slippery slope to having a house infested with kitties.
posted by SpaceWarp13 at 6:02 AM on December 6, 2013 [2 favorites]

OMG the shelter where I volunteer needs to have this!
posted by flyingsquirrel at 6:03 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

But what happens when i get attached to the kitty? This is just a slow slippery slope to having a house infested with kitties.

It's a feature, not a bug.
posted by Pope Guilty at 6:05 AM on December 6, 2013 [12 favorites]

The worst thing about cats is...

oh the lists I could show you. (and I like cats)
posted by edgeways at 6:07 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

This is kind of awesome. I wonder how could you create a setup like this for your own pet for while you're at work? My furry friend tends to get bored when I'm not around.
posted by gohabsgo at 6:07 AM on December 6, 2013 [2 favorites]

Okay, so that was delightful.
posted by jacquilynne at 6:10 AM on December 6, 2013

gohabsgo: I wonder how could you create a setup like this for your own pet for while you're at work? My furry friend tends to get bored when I'm not around.

There's a link near the bottom of the page where you can sign up for more information about the home version.
posted by Rock Steady at 6:19 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

The cats at the shelter in South Carolina have the coolest looking tree tower.
posted by JanetLand at 6:41 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

The worst thing about cats is that they are cats.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 6:53 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

The cats in South Carolina just totally ignored me. :(
posted by Jacqueline at 6:54 AM on December 6, 2013

There seems to be just the one kitten in Mississippi and it would rather eat than play. :(
posted by Jacqueline at 6:57 AM on December 6, 2013

Oh hey Dallas has humans!
posted by Jacqueline at 6:58 AM on December 6, 2013

In Dallas, it appears that toy #1 is stuck in the "on" position and clicking on the toy buttons does nothing. But you can move the camera around to stalk the shelter worker, which I guess is interesting.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:04 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

OK has anyone actually gotten the cats to respond to them because I'm on my fourth city and they've all ignored me so far.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:07 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

There was a cat in Iowa that was sitting next to Toy 3, and we played for a bit. At the same time, two cats were wrestling in the far corner. They didn't give a shit about the toys, but they were entertaining.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:10 AM on December 6, 2013

ZOMG there is the sweetest kitten in Idaho looking right into the camera AWWWWW

quick everyone go to Idaho cam
posted by Jacqueline at 7:13 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yeah, Idaho is where the action's at. They've got a room of kittens who are responding to both the toys and the camera.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:13 AM on December 6, 2013

I was all alone in Idaho and now you've filled up the queue!
posted by jacquilynne at 7:14 AM on December 6, 2013 [2 favorites]

If you pan the camera all the way to the right in Idaho, there's a kitten perched there who will look right into the camera at you.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:15 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

IDAHO HAS A LASER POINTER! I REPEAT: IDAHO HAS A LASER POINTER!
posted by Jacqueline at 7:16 AM on December 6, 2013 [10 favorites]

Mississippi kitten was doing the thing my kitten does when she's about to take a nap: curl up and chew on her tail.

All alone in that huge cage full of toys and things to climb, I think Mississippi kitten might have a posher life than my cat who has to share space with me in our one bedroom apartment.
posted by tofu_crouton at 7:19 AM on December 6, 2013

FYI: The laser pointer in Idaho is Toy #2.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:19 AM on December 6, 2013

I hate to say bad things about Iowa, but theirs is broken.
posted by winna at 7:34 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

What a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
posted by unwordy at 8:02 AM on December 6, 2013

There's a tabby in the Pinellas shelter who loves toy #3. Just sayin' ...
posted by maudlin at 8:04 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

I liked the Idaho cats before they were cool.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:04 AM on December 6, 2013 [3 favorites]

Oh wait sorry -- tabby decided to go and eat now.
posted by maudlin at 8:05 AM on December 6, 2013

Meanwhile, the tuxedo cat in the Pinellas, after staring dispassionately at toy #3 as I flailed away, just wants to stretch out on a sunny windowsill and relax. I feel ya, bud.
posted by maudlin at 8:09 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

Idaho is... problematic right now.
posted by Rock Steady at 8:10 AM on December 6, 2013

Yeah, some shelter workers came into the Idaho playroom a couple minutes ago and now they're blocking the camera or something.
posted by Jacqueline at 8:12 AM on December 6, 2013

LOOK AT THE LINT. LOOK AT IT.
posted by Jacqueline at 8:16 AM on December 6, 2013

If Idaho doesn't hurry up and uncover their camera, I'll be forced to interact with the cat lying next to me in bed instead.
posted by Jacqueline at 8:28 AM on December 6, 2013 [6 favorites]

Two minutes isn't enough time to get some of these cats' attention. This orange kitten in South Mississippi isn't interested at all.
posted by Redfield at 8:40 AM on December 6, 2013

It's like hot local cats in your area but real! moew meow meow!?
posted by Metroid Baby at 8:48 AM on December 6, 2013 [4 favorites]

NO WHY IS IT TELLING ME TO USE INTERNET EXPLORER. Cats you are bad today.
posted by elizardbits at 9:40 AM on December 6, 2013

I had no probs with Firefox, elizardbits, if that helps.
posted by Rock Steady at 9:56 AM on December 6, 2013

The Idaho humans fed the cats and then kept putting the cats in front of the toys whilst I was playing with them.
Idaho humans are the best humans.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 11:14 AM on December 6, 2013 [4 favorites]

Siverlight? please....
posted by judson at 11:30 AM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

Via Grantland, here's streaming Christmas Cats TV.
posted by klarck at 12:40 PM on December 6, 2013

The worst thing about cats is that they are cats.

Also, the best thing.
posted by JHarris at 6:05 PM on December 6, 2013 [1 favorite]

OH MY GOD! SOMEONE BUILT MY IDEA!!! THANK YOU MYSTERIOUS INTERNET STRANGERS!!!
posted by limeonaire at 10:38 PM on December 6, 2013

Huh, interesting; going back on Twitter, looks like these guys built this about nine months before I thought of it. Still, seems like there was some cat app synchronicity happening in 2011, and I'm so happy this exists!
posted by limeonaire at 11:23 PM on December 6, 2013