Jan. 8 (UPI) — A pair of Swiss brothers at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas unveiled an unusual invention: a cat door that stops felines from bringing living and slain prey inside the house.
Twins Oliver and Denis Wilder, founders of startup Flappie, showed off the company’s eponymous product at the Swisstech Pavilion of CES 2024 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.
The brothers said the Flappie cat door was inspired by their mother’s struggles to keep the family cats from bringing mice inside the house.
“We want cat owners to finally breathe a sigh of relief — without fear of little, fluffy ‘surprises’ on their carpets,” Oliver Wilder, who heads the engineering efforts at Flappie, said on the company’s website.
The cat flap features an AI-powered detection system that refuses to allow a cat to enter the home if it is carrying a mouse, bird or other small animal in its mouth.
The door also features a manual locking system that can be operated by the homeowner, and a chip detection option that will ensure the flap only opens for the owner’s specific microchipped pet.
Flappie also includes Internet connectivity so the door can be operated and its camera footage can be reviewed via a smartphone app.
The invention is expected to retail for $399, or $199 if the buyer springs for a two-year $8.90 monthly subscription to the smartphone app.
