Science - Making our world better

Japan invents 'cat chat' device

Ever wondered what your cat is trying to tell you? A Japanese company hopes to solve this conundrum with a new toy that seeks to interpret your pet's meows.

Following Takeda Co's successful launch of Bowlingual - which does the same thing for dogs - Meowlingual is due to be rolled out in November.

A palm-sized electronic console is held next to the cat in question, and an interpretation of its cries and purrs is displayed on the screen.

Meowlingual translates the cat's emotion into phrases such as "I can't stand it," according to the Associated Press, although exact wording has not been decided.

The device will be priced at 8,800 yen (about $74), less than the 14,800 yen charged for Bowlingual.

Takara has sold about 300,000 of the dog-translation devices in the last six months and plans to launch a English-language version in the US in August.

Bowlingual claims to be able to interpret about 200 phrases or words - grouped in six different emotional categories: fun, frustration, menace, sorrow, demand and self-expression.

At first glance, I thought, "Wow!" We can't be far away from a human electronic translator now. This sounds a little Star Wars-ish. If this, in fact, works with ALL cats - "WOW!!!" Imagine a Persian cat "speaking" to a Siamese cat who in turn could "speak" to an American Short Hair. Do they really speak the same language?

Of course, this now raises the question, "Who cares what their cat thinks?" If you set out a dish of smelly fish meal in a bowl on the floor, and your cat says, "I don't particularly care for Purina tuna. Could I you take that back and put out Iams?" would you do it? And, what kind of "self-expression" do you expect your cat to use? "I really think that the upholstery looks better after it has been worked a bit." Perhaps it would be useful to know if you pet is "menacing" you. Ha! You'd always want to have rolled up newspaper around.