Text: Per Steinar Moen
Photo: Kristoffer Wittrup

Now a group of students want to make it easier to ensure cats’ wellbeing. NTNU students Elin Haugum and Andreas Leander Karlsen Berg are part of Tibby. Their group has just been awarded NOK 75,000 in pilot project funding from NTNU Discovery to develop an app that will help cat owners improve the health and quality of life of the country’s 750,000 domestic cats.

“We started when we got these two kittens,” says Elin, referring to tiny, nervous eight-year-old Bønna (Bean), who’s been hiding under the sofa, and the more curious two-year-old Frosk (Frog), who’s practicing climbing on the windowsill. “That’s when we realized that there was a lack of information about products and services specifically adapted for cats.”

Different needs

Although you’ll find a lot of general information about cats, they have very different needs depending on breed, age and gender, among other things. “For example, many people don’t know that sterilized cats have an increased risk of obesity, which can lead to urinary stones and kidney problems. Or that Maine Coons are prone to heart problems. There are so many things to look out for that even breeders find it difficult to keep track of everything,” she says.

At the same time as she became a cat owner, Elin took the technology management course as part of her master’s degree in computer technology at NTNU. She was tasked with exploring a product and market opportunities. Could the country’s 400,000 homes with cats have an unmet need?

She scoured Facebook for groups about cats. “I joined them all, because I love cats myself.” She then shared a market survey on groups with names such as Katteelskere (Cat lovers), Norges Katter (Norwegian Cats) and Kattens atferd og helse (Cat Behavior and Health), and received a lot of clear feedback from the more than 1,000 respondents.

Unnecessary suffering

The answers they got back were not pleasant reading. Several people had problems finding information. “Cats die because people don’t have sufficient knowledge about them,” Elin concludes. Veterinary records and survey data show that many cats suffer and die unnecessarily – or are dumped – because their owners don’t have enough information and knowledge to deal with them. Many diseases and ailments in cats could be prevented with more knowledge about food, stimuli and simple medical treatment.

“No, my goodness!” exclaims Elin. “If this can be prevented with information, why don’t people get hold of this information?”

Their solution is to develop an instruction manual for cats in the form of the Tibby app. In this app, cat owners will be able to record their cat’s health data and any symptoms and receive tailored, quality-assured advice and information in return. The app will be able to provide guidance in the event of illness and provide answers to a number of everyday concerns. “Are those real plants?”, Elin asks a little worriedly when Frosk shows great curiosity about the meeting room’s plastic flora. A seemingly innocent plant can be highly toxic to a curious cat. Tulips, lilies and ivy are on the list of common houseplants that shouldn’t be ingested by kitties – and if your cat has eaten from a houseplant, the app will be able to advise you.

All about your cat

Andreas is a teaching student, product manager and fellow cat owner. He is showing an early, unfinished version of Tibby. “The app will be a hub for everything for cats, both general information about cat ownership, but also personal recommendations for your particular cat,” he says.

You can choose to record weight and eating habits, for example, and the app will give you advice and alerts. You will be reminded about vaccinations and medication. With the help of artificial intelligence, you will be presented with concise summaries that are relevant to your cat. Emaciated cat? Tibby provides you with background articles and product recommendations from relevant partners.

“A lot of people think that cats are self-propelled animals and they take care of themselves: eating when they’re hungry and drinking water when they need it,” he says, mentioning one area where cats differ from dogs. “Cats are desert animals. They get 80 percent of their water intake from their food, so if you feed them dry food every day, that’s 80 percent less water. You need to make sure your cat has multiple drinking areas, not near the food, not near the toilet, not near noisy places. There’s a lot to consider when you have a cat,” says Andreas.

Some of the money from the feasibility study was used to travel to the International Cat Federation’s (FIFe) World Show, which was held outside Stokke last year. There, they came into contact with many stakeholders and breeders who could confirm that there was a need to offer more targeted information to cat owners.

Working together

The pet market, in the form of pet shops, veterinarians and others who offer goods and services for our pets, is growing rapidly. According to the insurance company Agria, for example, more than 40 percent of dog owners spend more than NOK 1,000 per month on their pet. Although cat owners spend somewhat less than dog owners, we can expect Norwegians to spend between 10 and 20 billion kroner annually on their pets.

Tibby has been in dialogue with feed manufacturer Royal Canin, the Association of Norwegian Ethologists (the study of animal behavior) and pet shops, among others. The idea is that the app will be free of charge for cat owners, while manufacturers and service providers can contribute information and offer relevant and tailored product recommendations.

The app is scheduled to be launched this summer, after the team behind Tibby has completed the 6AM Accelerator program, which helps entrepreneurs in the tech industry. The first version will focus on journaling symptoms and information, but in the long term they are considering adding integration with smart gadgets such as heart rate monitors and forum solutions. And maybe there will be room for other pets eventually.

“Our goal is to improve cat health and welfare, and in time also animal welfare in general,” says Elin.

Besides Elin and Andreas, Tibby consists of Simon Sandvik Lee, Einride Osland Brodahl, Charlotte Gereke and Alice Zheng. See more at tibby.pet.