A recently-funded device aims to be the world’s first mind reader for pets.

My cat Runa comes when I call her name, responds with a “mew” when I ask if she’s hungry, and always hides under the dining room table when my partner fires up the vacuum.

Although we “communicate” it always makes me sad to realize that my cat and I will never have a conversation. I’m no mind reader, and though I infer many things from her purrs and meows, she’ll never be able to tell me what she’s thinking in a way I can understand. Or will she?

A small Scandinavian research lab called the Nordic Society for Invention and Discovery (NSID) recently unveiled the world’s first mind reader device for pets. Called “No More Woof” the gadget uses the latest in micro computing and electroencephalography (EEG) technology to analyze animal thought patterns. The idea is that when worn on your pet’s head, the mind reader gadget could translate animal thoughts into human language, projecting them through a speaker attached to the pet’s collar.

While two way communication is the ultimate goal, the early No More Woof mind reader will allow our pets to verbalize simple thoughts, like “I’m tired,” “I’m excited,” or “Who are you?” NSID developers say that for now, the mind reader device speaks only English, but Mandarin, French and Spanish versions are coming soon. Likewise, future iterations may include options for different dog voices/personalities, as well as new phrases like “Why are you leaving?” and “Leave me alone.”

Yes, the NSID’s pet mind reader is very much in the conceptual stages, and no there’s no guarantee that it will work. But if I said I wasn’t completely thrilled at the possibility, I’d be lying. Apparently, there are lots of pet owners like me out there, because No More Woof recently blasted through its fundraising $10,000 fundraising goal with 44 days to spare. Although the concept itself is unproven, NSID has a well-documented reputation for developing potentially world-changing technologies (see the iRock, a power-generating rocking chair, and the Nebula 12, a light fixture that can bring outdoor weather into your home or office).

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Image: No More Woof

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If you have ever lived with both cats and dogs, you know how different they can be; and for some reason, dogs are often more afraid of cats than vice versa—especially when it comes to the comfiest places to sleep, as this video proves. Who is winning: cats or dogs? I would say the human beings who can’t help but be amused by this ongoing detente between canines and felines perfectly illustrated below, in this video where cats steal dog beds.  

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According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, approximately five to seven million companion animals enter U.S. shelters each year. Of those, between three and four million are euthanized. Instead of purchasing a dog or cat from a breeder or pet store, consider recycling a pet by adopting a shelter animal!

Visiting an overcrowded shelter can be incredibly overwhelming. So when you visit a shelter, how do you decide which pooch is right for you? First, before you adopt, you should assess your lifestyle. If you travel, do you have someone to watch the dog? If you love after-work happy hours and spontaneous weekend getaways, are you willing to build in contingencies for your pup? Once you’re ready to bring home that barking bundle of joy, here are five things to consider:

Take Rover for a Test Drive

Before making a visit to the animal shelter, borrow a friend’s pooch for a spin around the block. Spend an afternoon on a romp with Rover, meeting other dogs, and of course, scooping some poop. Better yet, invite a friendly pup for a sleepover. Run through the dog’s full routine from breakfast to bed to get a feel for having a dog around your house and as part of your routine.

It’s Kinda Like Dating

The cutest one may not be your best match. When you visit the shelter seeking your slobbery soul-mate, spend one-on-one time with the potential pup to determine if personalities mesh.

Think Fitness

All dogs need exercise, but the amount and intensity varies. If your Saturdays are spent outdoors, opt for an energetic breed like a Weimaraner or a Labrador. If your ideal weekend involves flipping between Lifetime and TLC, a toy breed is a better bet because their tiny bodies can’t handle much exercise.

Check Your Bottom Line

According to the ASPCA, it costs about $620 per year to care for a medium-sized dog. And that’s without any unforeseen emergencies. Ensure you have a little wiggle room in your budget to accommodate a pup’s needs.

Do Your Homework

A shelter provides an array of breeds, ages and personality types. It’s all about selecting the right animal for you. The key: Research! Attack this like you would a work assignment. Check references. Ask questions. Make sure you feel comfortable with the facility and the dogs.

Images: jeffreyw

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Is this a meat destined for the dinner tables of the 21st Century? Eaten in parts of Italy, Korea, Madagascar, Spain and China, it’s allegedly tastier than chicken, rabbit or pigeon…and it’s available worldwide in vast quantities. The name of this super-food? Brace yourself. It’s cat.

Midway through an episode of Italian cooking show La Prova del Cuoco, celebrity chef Beppe Bigazzi began waxing lyrical about the joys of a nice big bowl of casseroled cat. Describing the dish as “quite tender” he gave tips on preparation (soak in springwater for 3 days) before predicting “now we’ll get letters from nature lovers”.

No kidding. One white-hot telephone switchboard later, Bigazzi has been indefinitely suspended from the show (despite claiming it was all a prank), and Italy’s Deputy Health Minister is calling for a criminal investigation. Is Bigazzi suitably contrite? Well, not so much. “In the 1930s and 1940s, when I was a boy, people certainly did eat cat in the countryside around Arezzo,” he explains.

Fighting a churning stomach and a rising sense of outrage? Me, too – but there’s an interesting, and valid, question here. In the blossoming world culture of the 21st Century, where will food taboos fit in?

Take cats. Our horror at popping puss in a pot is because for us, cats have crossed that invisible cultural line between wild animals and domestic companions. They’re part of our lives in a way that lifts them out of our food chain. Consequently, while it’s often technically legal to consume cat meat, doing so breaches a number of animal cruelty laws and lands the chef in prison (the challenge facing Bigazzi right now). And that’s mild compared to the public reaction to stories like this.

It’s clearly, obviously wrong to eat cats, right? But a Hindu would say exactly the same thing about beef, as they regard the cow as a sacred animal. The Somali (recently famous for their piracy) don’t eat fish. Even staunchly meat-eating England, Australia and the U.S. have a mild taboo against eating offal. How about escargot, anyone? Wherever you look, we flinch at different things.

Across the world as a whole, “wrong” is anything but obvious. And this allows shock-jock TV chefs to go in search of dishes that will thrill their audiences with ratings-winning revulsion.

Sometimes food taboos make perfect sense, and sometimes they’re no-nos laced with hypocrisy. We’re inconsistent. That’s often the way we roll. But when the world needs feeding, should we be trying to put a lid on our indignation – or is it about time we turned up the heat on the culinary wrongdoers?

Image: avlxyz

The post Cat Casserole, Food Taboos and the Global Food Challenge appeared first on EcoSalon.

“Honey, the dog’s wine crate is empty – can you refill it for him?”

Banish thoughts of pooch-pampering gone mad. Fido isn’t polishing off that bottle of cheap Beaujolais deemed unfit for the dinner table – and that’s a relief because if he was doing so, you’d be poisoning him. What your dog really needs is a bowl of water, and a recycled wine crate is what’s on tap.

Wine crates used to be invisible and unloved – nothing but cheaply-made (read “virgin wood”) boxes to lug bottles of plonk around in. Now we’re wising up. They’re tough, they polish up gorgeously, there’s a huge supply of them (less so since they became recycle-hot, so nowadays you have to look around), and there are a million and one things to do with them. Free-standing wine cart? Light box? You name it.

Not that Fido gives two shakes of his tail for anything right now. He’s happily got his nose jammed in one of Whiner & Diner‘s range of recycled wine crate pet feeders. Pick a height, pick a color to match your room (or Fido’s coat), pick a style and your order is ready, completed with recessed, removable stainless steel silver bowls.

Or of course you could try making your own – but just think of the terrible trial of having to drink all that wine. Appalling. Still, Fido’s depending on you and you can’t let him down. Corkscrew at the ready!

Images: trentroche and Whiner and Diner

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Cats and dogs are the latest animals to fall under the microscope of green living with a new book called “Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living.” Written by two New Zealand architects specializing in sustainable living, this provocative book is bound to stir people up.

The authors, Robert and Brenda Vale, claim that these popular house pets use up more energy resources a year than driving a car. According to their calculations, published in New Scientist, a medium size dog has twice the carbon footprint of a 4.6 litre Land Cruiser that’s driven 10,000 kilometres a year.

Cats, on the other hand, have an eco footprint slightly less than a Volkswagen Golf, while a pair of hamsters leave a mark equivalent to that of a plasma TV.

Why do our beloved cats and dogs have such a high carbon footprint? Apparently it’s because they’re meat eaters, and trying to turn them into vegetarians might reduce their footprint, but could ultimately ruin their health.

So what’s the solution?

The Vales – who, by the way, don’t have any cats or dogs – suggest that people start keeping “˜greener’ and smaller pets, such as goldfish, hamsters, chickens or rabbits. These pets, in turn, can be recycled and used as food when they die.

Interesting concept, but my cat is not amused.

If you’re ready to read Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, get a copy here. Or you might just want to read about how to raise a healthy, greener pet here, here and here.

Image: a tai

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