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September 14, 2007 1:19 PM PDT

'Meowlingual' claims to translate cat-speak

by Mike Yamamoto
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(Credit: Inventor Spot)

There are a fair number of gadgets on the market that are aimed at controlling dogs, perhaps owing to that best friend's reputation for occasional unruliness. Yet there are relatively few technologies designed specifically for their feline counterparts (with one notable exception, of course),

In an effort to rectify that disparity, Japan's Takara Tomy has developed what it calls a "Meowlingual Cat Translation Device," which, as its name implies, is designed to decipher what kitty is trying to convey when destroying the living room furniture. It sounds too kooky to be true, but Inventor Spot says it's supposed to work by just hearing the cat's sounds and then providing a human translation. The $75 Meolingual device is a successor to a "Bowlingual" version for dogs, according to the BBC.

Not everyone here at Crave is a pet owner, but some of us are anxiously awaiting the development of one of these for teenage children.

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Is this in 2007, or 2003?
by Sparky Chicken September 17, 2007 8:31 PM PDT
Is there some public sign that this is available now? There are lots of web links suggesting it was going to be released in Nov. 2003, including one confused blogger who read the BBC story from 2003 and thought it was this year, but I don't see anything anywhere suggesting it's around now. I have four cats, and this is disturbingly important to me.
Reply to this comment
Is this in 2007, or 2003?
by Sparky Chicken September 17, 2007 8:31 PM PDT
Is there some public sign that this is available now? There are lots of web links suggesting it was going to be released in Nov. 2003, including one confused blogger who read the BBC story from 2003 and thought it was this year, but I don't see anything anywhere suggesting it's around now. I have four cats, and this is disturbingly important to me.
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