Temple Cats

[KarlSchaller]

Project Abstract

The Temple Cats mobile app is for people in the Temple University area who want to help local stray cats. The Temple Cats organization tracks its own feral cat colony, but the Temple University area also has an extremely high population of stray cats who were abandoned by their owners and are in need of care or a home. The mobile app aims mainly to address this problem by providing a lost & found type of service for reporting cats, as well as by connecting users with extensive resources and information specific to the Temple University area for all different types of cat related situations users might encounter.

High Level Requirement

Users will be able to report cats that they have seen outside so that they appear to other users on a map. Additional information will be collected about the cats appearance, estimated age, behavior, etc. The app aims to be integrated with Facebook to allow users to contact each other and connect with the Temple Cats organization's official Facebook page. Temple Cats also aims to provide resources and information in the event that a stray cat is found that needs help, including nearby shelters, spay/neuter programs, vets who can scan for microchips, etc.

Conceptual Design

The app should be available for both Android and iOS. Most development will probably be completed with something like React Native, and we will be using APIs like Facebook and a map API. For storing data of reported cats, database hosting may be necessary as well (SQL).

Background

Most popular existing lost & found services are websites like petfinder.com, pawboost.com, and lostmykitty.com. Unlike these services, the Temple Cats app strives to have an extremely intuitive and convenient user interface by showing cats on an interactive map, while being easier to use on-the-go since users will come across stray cats suddenly and unexpectedly outside, where they can then quickly capture and upload an image. The app also will provide much more extensive resources and information to help users through cat related situations.

Required Resources

Background Info: Cat Resources & Info (some stuff that will be figured out in detail during development)

• where to look for assistance for pet cat care, what to do when taking-in friendly stray cats (flea prevention, "low cost" or "free" vaccinations & spay/neuter surgeries, etc.)
• what to do when feeding stray cats outside (flea prevention, available assistance for free vaccinations & spay/neuter surgeries, providing winter shelter boxes, etc.)
• what to do when encountering a "lost or found" cat or an injured cat (how to report, what public shelter to bring the animal to, emergency medical care, etc.)
• where to look for volunteer or internship opportunities working with cats (local organizations, shelters, agencies, etc)
• what the "commitment" of adopting a pet is (graduating/relocating a pet, re-homing a pet, etc.)

  Software

• Firebase
• React Native
• Facebook API
• Some Map API
• Firebase Realtime Database

  Hardware

• Possible an Android phone or IPhone for testing (can really just use an emulator instead)

[rebeccarobb]

I love this proposal because cats and every animal in general are amazing. I think it would be cool and interesting to make a mobile app especially one that involves Temple. Working with the map aspect is a really awesome visualization tool. I enjoy the idea of sharing helpful resources to ensure of the animal well being.

I never took android development but I can code in java and implement APIS so I can help contribute to this project in those ways. I will work hard to make this successful for the sake of those cats out there. If I had to add something to the app maybe like a counter with the amount of cats returned to owners or rescued out there would be a cool additional feature.

[tuj39467]

As a cat person, this speaks to me. Cats endure much more suffering than we imagine and I can definitely see that in North Philly. I would love to contribute to this project not only for rescuing these cats but because I find GPS/map programming to be interesting. I can definitely see how this could become popular among Temple students. It’s almost like the Citizen app but for cats.

I’ve done some mobile app development in the past with Android Studio and I have also developed using other APIs in the past so I think my experience in those areas could help. I was thinking of adding a feature where users can post updates of a specific cat’s health with not only text but with other media including videos to make it look like its own social media. I also think we could label each cat by a nickname instead of only relying on where it was last seen because there could be more than one cat in that area.

[Phaceial]

I don't live on campus, so hearing you guys have a cat problem was news to me. I'd love to help in anyway I can. One of the things that interest me about the project is the API. I'd be interested in developing with it. I've used the google api, so that you can sign in with twitter, Facebook, google, etc... but I've never worked with Facebook. I'm interested to see what that API contains and how it can be used.

One thing I can already suggest it to take the cats to the PAWs in South Philly, I believe they still have a free catch and release program. Programming wise, I would actually say I spend most of my time developing mobile apps. I'm currently focused on android apps written in java. I do have database knowledge. I was working on an app that used a headless CMS stored into a Postgres SQL database. I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but I do have experience creating APIs, which sounds pretty beneficial so this app won't have to include hardcoded databases. If you need a map API I would suggest using google maps. I'm pretty sure it's really cheap and the free 25 or 50 dollar credit you get for being a student should be enough to build the app this semester. I love the idea, hoping you get selected and then I could assist with ironing out some of the details for the app.

[AidanCodes]

I lived near 17th and Berks for three years, so I am no stranger to Temple Cats (and their Facebook page)! I agree that a well-thought-out app would help bring more volunteers and awareness to the issue and help more off-campus students with getting information when car-rescue is needed. I'm eager to get back into mobile development as well and would be very interested in connecting the app with Facebook somehow.

I've done some mobile development before, but mostly just on Android. I am usually more of a web-dev, but I am no stranger to Java and API implementation. I'd be interesting in collaborating with other members of Temple Cats as well to get their input on what they think the app needs. I'm sure Cathy would be more than happy to offer feedback in exchange for a helpful app. Perhaps we could even add push notifications for new users to call for help feeding their local colonies (when their usual feeders might not be near campus). I often see that they need help in the summer and over breaks.