A new product called Tailio turns a cat's bathroom facilities into a one-stop health-monitoring system that alerts owners to changes in their pet's weight or behaviour.
The humble litter box hasn't seen much in the way of high-tech innovations since the first self-cleaning box was introduced many years ago. While you may look at the litter box and see a chore in waiting, American company Pet Wireless looked at the same thing and thought: "Aha! Let's turn that into an innovative cat-health gadget!"
The result is the Tailio that wants to transform a cat's bathroom into an intelligent health-monitoring system.
The Tailio platform sits underneath any standard litter box. From there, it gathers data on when a cat goes to the loo, how much the cat weighs and the weight of the waste. It forwards the information through an analytics system and to a mobile app that warns the owner if a cat may need medical attention.
This sort of alert could be triggered by an unusual increase in bathroom visits, for example. Forgetful pet owners can also use the app for litter-box cleaning reminders, which your cat will appreciate.
Tailio can track multiple cats, telling them apart by their weight and differing litter box behavior patterns. This should be fairly effective unless you have cats who weigh the same and behave like twins. The weight-monitoring feature can be useful for flabby felines, letting you track your cat's weight loss (or lack thereof) when on a veterinarian-recommended diet. Similarly, it could help catch sudden weight loss sooner, an important sign of ill health.
The story behind the invention of Tailio is a sad one. Founder Alex Treiner lost a beloved cat to cancer after missing the signs of the cat's medical issues, such as extreme weight loss.
Cats are notoriously skilled at hiding illnesses, so it can be challenging for pet owners to notice problems before they become severe.
Treiner hopes Tailio will help solve that issue and save other cat people from potential heartbreak.
For more information visit http://tailio.com/
