Cat Bringing You Dead Animals as Gifts? Artificial Intelligence Will B

Published A Few Days Ago
ADVERTISEMENT

The use of artificial intelligence in the pet industry is slowly but surely gaining more ground: this AI-powered cat flap just proves it.

If you have a cat that’s free to go outdoors as he or she pleases, you’ve probably got a few gifts in return. And by gifts, I mean dead (or almost dead) critters your kitty has hunted down for you and oh so helpfully put right on your bed so you could find them once you wake up. It’s disturbing and disgusting, but hey- studies show that that means your cat considers you their family member, albeit an incompetent one. While the gory gift is a kind gesture in your cat’s eyes, it doesn’t mean you have to like it though.

Ben Hamm certainly didn’t like his cat, Metric, bringing his prey inside the house. That’s why he developed an AI-powered cat flap that blocked the thoughtful kitty whenever he tried to enter the house with a critter stuck between his jaws. He installed an Amazon Deeplink camera above the cat door and trained the artificial intelligence with pictures of his cats with and without dead animals in tow. The algorithm is based on 3 steps: checking if the cat is going in or out, checking to see if the cat is in the frame, and lastly, checking to see if there are any critters in his mouth. Hamm had to feed over 23,000 images to the AI for it to start detecting his pet trying to sneak in dead animals.

Once the artificial intelligence was able to discern his kitty ‘coming in for a snack vs coming in with a snack’, the rest was easy. He programmed the kitty flap to stay locked for 15 minutes once the gory gift was detected, send him a picture of the deed (just in case) and automatically donate a small sum to Audubon Society, a bird organization. (Metric seems to prefer bird prey.) In the case Metric was coming empty-mouthed, he could enter normally.

Needless to say, many cat pawrents would be thrilled about having this type of AI-powered pet door at their disposal, but this is still far from being a publicly available product. Until it hits the pet store shelves, though, my advice is just to have an indoors-only cat. The nastiest thing my indoors-only cats have gifted me with is hairball vomit- and I’d take vomit over a dead animal every time.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

You May Like

Study: Cats Aren’t As Concerned With Rats As We Thought They Were

A new study suggests that our favorite feline mousers may be slacking on the job, and have tricked us all into thinking that mice don’t play when the…
Three-Toed Box Turtle

The Three-Toed Box Turtle is a subspecies of the Common Box Turtle, and it is named ""three-toed"" because its back feet feature three toes.
4 Ingredients Dog Treat Recipe

If you’re in a bit of a rush and don’t have many ingredients to work with, the 4 Ingredients Dog Treat Recipe will be right up your alley. We lov…
Gotland Rabbit

The Gotland Rabbit is inquisitive and energetic. A rare breed from Sweden, this rabbit will benefit from time spent exercising and interacting with you.
Crested Malt

The Crested Malt was developed by crossing the sweet Maltese with the friendly Chinese Crested- and it can inherit the parents'' hypoallergenic qualities.
Bare Eyed Cockatoo

The Bare Eyed Cockatoo parrots, also known as little corellas, are one of the smaller and unique breeds in the cockatoo family
Plecostomus

The Plecostomus is a type of armored catfish that is found throughout the tropical regions of northeastern South America.
New Canine Cancer Research Findings Could Benefit People, Too

Veterinarians at Mississippi State University are searching for new ways to understand cancer in dogs — turns out, their findings may help us as well.…
Sorraia Horse

The Sorraia Horse is an ancient breed from the Iberian Peninsula. Once trained, the Sorraia horse could make a wonderful companion.
Best Dog Training Treats

Dog training treats give your dog a reason to learn and improve- with the right type of yummy snack, you can even teaach an old dog new tricks!
Best Dog Crate End Tables

Dog crate end tables offer all the functionality of regular crates with the added appeal of looking like stylish pieces of furniture.
Shar-Poo

The fun-loving Shar-Poo brings together the smarts of the Poodle with the devoted nature of the Chinese Shar-Pei for a great family dog.
Boston Marathon Bombing Service Dog is The Star Of a New Book

A special service dog named Rescue is the star of a new book about how he came into the lives of two survivors of the Boston Marathon bombing.
Jatese

The Jatese, or the Maltichin, brings together two companion breeds into one cute package- the Maltese and the Japanese Chin.
Paso Fino Horse

The Paso Fino horse is known for its friendly, docile, and social personality. They are gentle horses that are easy to handle and train