Category: Fall 2016

Last week we met with our project partners and discussed our current prototype ideas. Our partner’s feedback threw an unexpected curve ball. Rather than focusing our design on the care of neonatal kittens, our partners prefer we focus on kittens ages three weeks and above. After feeding a ten-day-old kitten, the decision was made to shift the focus of the age range. The ten-day-old kitten struggled to find the nipple that was attached to a syringe. Feeding the kitten required close monitoring. Although the age range of our design has shifted, we still plan to design a device with the intent of neonatal kitten care in mind.

Repurposing our design was unexpected. Shifting the focus from neonatal to three weeks and older changed the feeding requirements of our device. Rather than a strictly formula diet, the kittens will now drink formula until the age of four weeks and then begin to wean off of a liquid diet. Weaning the kittens off of formula means that our device needs to distribute a combination of formula mixed with dry food. We intend to serve the formula-kibble combination in a paste like substance and distribute it the same way as the formula.

Our original design idea was to create a mama cat inside of a container for the kittens to live in. The mama cat would have an automated feeding system that distributed the formula every few hours, as needed. After the kittens fed, the system would alert the volunteers. The ideas and options that we presented to the partner regarded the heating system, container type, feeding mechanism, waste management, and portability requirements.

Other than the shift in age rage, our meeting finalized other design concepts. The partners decided that they would like the heat source to come from the bottom of the container on one side, rather than from the mama cat. The partners also preferred that the mama cat be removable rather than attached to the container. A removable mama cat allows the partners to remove the fake cat once the kittens are entirely weaned off of formula and replace it with a kibble bowl. However, the partners still put a high priority on the mama cat being an autonomous feeding system. This means that our feeding system is responsible for mixing, heating, and distributing the food to the kittens. The partners requested that any leftover formula or formula-kibble-mix be saved rather than disposed of. Lastly, the partners determined that once the device has been finalized and tested, it would typically stay put in the shelter. This means that portability is a lower priority.

Looking forward, this week we begin building our prototype. During our meeting we will experiment with different household items in an attempt to create a rough prototype.

On October 26th our group presented our current progress and our plans moving forward. We began the presentation by discussing the amount of care kittens require.

Kittens need to be hand fed multiple times throughout the day, which can be quite time consuming for the volunteers and staff. In addition to feeding, neonatal kittens cannot constrict their skin blood vessels. This means they cannot maintain their body temperature. Kittens can also suffer from fading kitten syndrome as a result of maternal neglect, which can lead to death.

Although we seek to create a device capable of providing all of the necessary care to the kittens, the requirements of the users must also be taken into consideration. Regardless of our device’s capabilities, the kittens will still require around the clock care. In order to simplify the task of caring for the kittens at night, the device must be easily portable. The device also needs to be durable enough to handle litters of kittens clawing at the interior while still providing a soft, comfortable environment. In addition to durable, our device needs to be easily cleanable. Our device also needs to alert the volunteers after kitten feedings.

Our group then created a use flow diagram to help guide our brain storming.

Looking forward, we will be meeting to further discuss final prototype decisions. We will then be meeting with our project partners at the Richardson Animal Shelter to narrow down our selections and come up with a few possible designs.