Look What the Cat Tapped In: Exploring Digital Interactive Systems Designed for the Cat Cafe Experience

Cat cafés are environments where visitor experiences centre on human–animal interactions. At the same time, the animals’ side of the experience has led to widespread ethics concerns, connected with the overstimulation potential of direct, intense animal–human interaction, with concomitant effects on animal welfare. Investigating how technology could bring balance to this relationship, the paper presents MewTube, a tablet-based application designed to engage cats through curated videos while allowing humans to adjust playback speed in response to feline behaviour. From a five-month study with 28 human and 16 feline participants that compared tablet-based play at a cat café with traditional toys’ use there, analysis revealed that overall enjoyment stayed constant between the two conditions yet toy-focused interactions led to a stronger sense of connection with the cats. Reflecting on our findings – e.g., in the absence of clear responsiveness from the cats, humans in the MewTube condition felt less confident that the animals enjoyed the interaction – reveals gaps in technology for supporting interaction in human–animal relationships. The paper offers recommendations for tackling the challenges of designing systems that respect feline autonomy and sensory preferences.