JVTech News By taking a picture of your cat with this app, you will know if he is in pain with 95% accuracy.
Cats are among the most mysterious of domestic animals, but a mobile application aims to unlock some of their secrets. And since this suggestion is linked to the animal’s health, it can be really useful.
It is difficult to know if pets are sufferingbecause they express it very differently than humans. Cats in particular have a reputation for suffering in silence., and even hiding to die. This is a frankly sad observation, but it is a reality. The cat’s owner can of course take him to the vet when in doubt, but this is not always helpful.
CatsMe! is a Japanese application that aims to help cat owners who are anxious about missing out on their animal’s suffering.
CatsMe! track cat sores
The application which is paid – but a two-week trial is offered – uses artificial intelligence technology to work. Based on a database of more than 6000 images of cats, according to its creators, it 95% reliable in its results.
asked by Reuters, Mayumi Kitakata, 57, decided to subscribe to the application to monitor the health of Chi, her 14-year-old cat. “He is at an age where more and more diseases will appear”she explains. “Being able to consult the vet and at the same time limit the number of visits to the clinic is very important to him and me. » Launched last year in Japan,The application has already attracted 230,000 customers.
Japan, the kingdom of cats
It is the start-up Carelogy, which is the origin CatsMe!. The application was designed in collaboration with researchers from Nihon University. And it is probably no coincidence that such a service was born in Japan, a country that loves felines: there are nearly 16 million cats and dogs in Japan. These animals would therefore be more than children under 15 in the country. A situation which reflects the aging of the population, but also the decline in the birth rate in Japan, where people seem to rather have a cat than a child.
“Our statistics show that more than 70% of older cats suffer from arthritis or pain, but only 2% of them go to the hospital”, explains Kazuya Edamura, one of the researchers and veterinarians who contributed to the development of the application. He believes that while vets like him can tell to some extent whether an animal is suffering or not, it is more difficult for owners who are not trained. The application can therefore help them.
