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Enabling shelters to track and support feral cats.
Furmiliar is an application that was designed to collect input information from community members to assist shelters in keeping track of stray cats. As a cat owner and lover, how feral cats get by and what support that they get has always crossed my mind so this application was designed to address and support them. The project was originally designed before my third year but I decided to revisit it a two years later to improve user experience using what I learned in the informatics program.
V1 - Aug 2020 (2 weeks)
V2 - June 2022 (2 weeks)
UX Designer
UX Researcher
Individual
Figma
Marvel App
A stray cat is a cat who lived indoors and was socialized with people at some point in their life but has left or lost her home, or was abandoned, and no longer has regular human contact. Over time, stray cats become feral. Once a cat turns feral there is no guarantee that socialization can assist. Feral cats can cause a nuisance to neighbors and their pets.
The solution is an application that community members can use to report cats in their neighborhood that are familiar. If the neighborhood residents have seen it roaming outside for some time is most likely feral but could benefit from getting spayed or neutered. If a new cat is sighted in the neighborhood and is comfortable with being nearby humans, it is most likely a lost cat. The solution would benefit feral and stray cats in getting proper assistance.
The homepage shows a set of reports placed by community members based on the user's current location. Users can explore the identifiable characteristics of the cats. This would allow users to determine whether a specific cat is already reported.
To make a report users are prompted to; take and upload an image of a feral cat, map an approximate area of the location, and share any identifiable characteristics and information that may be helpful to shelters.
In my first sprint, there was a larger emphasis on designing an experience that met and addressed the pain points on a base level. In the second sprint, the focus transitioned to making the application more engaging.
The current approach that shelters push for is Trap Neuter Release (TNR). It is the least invasive option that both cats and neighbors can benefit from. TNR stabilizes cat colonies by reducing overpopulation. This allows cats to live longer and become better neighbors.
I conducted 5 interviews with shelters and neighbors in urban areas to understand their needs and frustrations.
Neighbors had concerns of illnesses spreading to their outdoor cats. Feral cats serve as a direct or indirect source of infectious diseases for outdoor pet cats.
Cat fights have become a nuisance to neighbors. The overpopulation leads to limited food, water, and shelter. Cats that are not spayed or neutered are more likely to be more violent
I defined the core capabilities of Furmiliar by creating a user flow.
Guided by the user flow I began developing the app.
Furmiliar prompts users to share entries about cats that they see around the neighborhood. The location, pictures, and notes allow shelters to gain a general grasp of which cats are new to the neighborhood.
During V1 I approached the design in terms of components that can be easily developed. There was huge emphasis on implementing the key features that addressed neighbor and shelter's needs.
After completing the informatics (HCI) degree, I found myself making more informed designs. I focused on making screens that are engaging and easy to use. I spent a lot of time thinking about interactions and splitting up content into more digestible pieces.
During testing users needed an explanation on how to use the app. In a future iteration I hope to design onboarding screens to give users a run down of the features.
The current solution is dependent on sending out updates and data out to shelters. In a future iteration I plan to create a separate portal for shelters have access to live updates added by the community.
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