Innovative device that will stop your cat bringing in ‘unwanted gifts’

It’s a familiar scenario for many a cat owner: coming down the stairs in the morning to find Felix has brought home a mouse or a bird.

Now engineers have created an innovative cat flap that aims to keep out these unwanted “gifts”.

The flap uses technology which scans the cat’s mouth as it tries to enter the house and keeps the flap shut if there’s something there.

“The Pawly Door is equipped with a wide angle, night-vision camera and is linked to an artificial intelligence and computer vision algorithm that scans the environment for a cat,” said Frank Carlson, co-founder and CEO of the company behind the invention.

Once a cat is detected, the technology analyses the cat’s face to find out if it is carrying something in its mouth.

“This process happens multiple times per second to allow accurate detection [even] when a cat is approaching the Pawly Door very fast,” said Mr Carlson.

If there’s something in the mouth, the flap remains shut.

If the mouth is clear, the cat’s microchip - on its collar, or implanted - is then scanned to determine if it’s the owner’s pet that wants to get in. If it’s a match, the flap, which costs £230 plus a £4-a-month subscription, opens.

The cat flap’s technology is connected to an app which notifies the owner if their cat has tried to bring home prey, or if a neighbour’s moggy or other animal has tried to get in.

Research published last year by the University of Reading and Royal Holloway, University of London, suggests pet cats in Britain’s suburbs may be killing 270 million animals a year.

Suburban cats living on the edge of natural areas kill an average of 34 animals each per year, according to the research.

Those living in suburbs but surrounded by other houses and further from natural habitats killed an average of 15 a year.