Coming soon to a Kickstarter near you:
Cat Town
THE PRODUCT THESIS:
Theodore is 30 years old (in cat years). He’s single, unemployed, and lives with his parents.
If he were human, he would play 8 hours of Baldur’s Gate 3™ a day.
We believe that this kind of entertainment technology ought to exist for cats too.
Cat Town is developing new technology for cat play.
The full hunting experience
Cats in the wild spend much of their time hunting small prey. Cat Town is designed to give the full experience of hunting: stalking, chasing, and killing. Our furry magnetic toys hide and come out to “forage” from time to time, and run away. When they’re caught, they safely pull away from the play structure, so your victorious micro-tiger can drag them off to chew on them in a corner as nature intended.
Ever-fresh AI personalities
Every Cat Town toy has a different personality, from slow, trundling guinea pigs to fast, clever weasels. By picking toys that match your cat’s energy level, skill at hunting, and preferences, you can make your Cat Town exactly right for your lil fuzzer. Cats are way smarter than dogs — everyone knows this to be true — and they quickly get bored of new playthings. So just like game companies offer expansions, we’re constantly developing new toys to keep your Cat Town forever fresh and interesting.
Mice that run away
Cat Town uses state-of-the-art computer vision algorithms to keep an eye on the play structure, which means that each mouse can “see” the cat and run away from them in real time. Real mice are wicked hard to catch, and ours are too.
Play for the whole afternoon
Cat Town platforms can support up to 8 mice per platform (you will have to reload your mice each day). Mice go through natural cycles of wakefulness, just like real prey. During active periods they’ll come out of hiding to “forage” every few minutes. The goal is to keep your cat engaged the entire afternoon (exact timing configurable!) so that your fuzzy companion wraps up their day’s work right around when you do.
Run, kitty, run
Cat Town playgrounds include ramps, platforms, and places to jump and hide. They come in varying sizes to fit your living space and scale up to be big enough that Mister Whiskers has to flat-out run in order to catch his virtual lunch. We aim to provide a good workout, not just mental stimulation!
Get yourself in the game*
Are your reflexes good enough to keep up? Cat Town platforms come with a retro arcade joystick so you can test your skill as a simulated rodent. Not at home? Watch your cat play on the live webcam stream*, and optionally take over to control the toy from your keyboard. Cat Town may even notify you when your cat is playing so you know when it’s time to join in!
* Video streaming and remote play are stretch goals on the Kickstarter and will only ship if we get enough interest! Tell all your friends please :)
WHAT’S UP
Current Status:
PRE-ALPHA
Cat Town was announced to the world at Open Sauce, June 15-16 2024!
We are currently hard at work on some design improvements. In Fall 2024 we will open for alpha builds. Alpha units will be sold at-cost and are reserved for engineers and makers (this is a new product so it’ll probably take a little fixing).
Be the first to hear when new builds are available by joining our mailing list!
