An app that reads your cat’s mood from a photo

How a read works

1. You take a photo. One clear picture of your cat, face and body if you can.
2. Cutie looks for signs. The photo is checked against 81 body-language signs that can be seen in a still image: ear position, eye shape and pupils, whiskers and mouth, posture, and tail.
3. The mood is scored by rules, not opinion. Each sign points toward some moods and away from others, with a weight taken from the research. The same signs always give the same mood.
4. You see why. The result names the mood and lists the signs behind it, so you can check its working.

What it is built on

The knowledge base behind Cutie has 108 signs drawn from 64 published sources: studies of cat facial expression, stress scoring in catteries, veterinary handling guidelines and pain research. Every sign records what to look for, which moods it points to, and how good the evidence is.

That is the difference from asking a general chatbot about a cat photo. The model is only allowed to tick signs from the list. It does not get to decide the mood, and health warnings come from a fixed list of red-flag signs, never from free-form guesses.

What a photo cannot tell you

• Anything that needs movement or sound. Ear flicks, tail swishing and purring do not show in a still. Purring is not always happiness anyway: cats also purr when unwell or in pain.
• A diagnosis. Cutie can point out signs that are worth a word with your vet. It never names a condition.
• What happened a minute ago. Wide pupils can be fear or play. If the photo does not show enough to tell, a good read says so.
• What is normal for your cat. That takes more than one photo, which is why Cutie learns your cat’s usual self over time and tells you when something is different.

Getting a good read

• Use normal light. A dark room or a flash changes the pupils.
• Get the ears and the tail in the frame if you can. Posture matters as much as the face.
• Do not wake them or pose them. The useful photo is the one of what they were already doing.
• Add a line of context if something just happened, such as a visitor or a trip in the carrier.

What else is in the app

• Noticing what is different. One-tap notes for things like being off food or drinking more, and a quiet heads-up when a pattern is worth a word with the vet.
• A handover sheet. One page for your vet or cat sitter, made on your phone.
• Is it safe? Photograph a plant or food and check it against a list of things that are toxic to cats. Cutie will never tell you something is safe.
• Ask Cutie. A chat that only talks about cats.

Your cats, photos and notes are private to your household. See the privacy policy.

Common questions

Is there an app that tells you how your cat is feeling?

Yes. Cutie reads a photo of your cat and tells you the mood and the signs behind it. It is coming soon to the App Store for iPhone.

How accurate is it?

It is as good as the signs visible in the photo. Body language research gives strong evidence for some signs, such as flattened ears, and weaker evidence for others, and Cutie shows which is which. We have not published an accuracy figure.

Can it tell if my cat is in pain?

It can notice facial and posture signs that researchers link with pain, and suggest you speak to your vet. It cannot tell you that your cat is or is not in pain.

Does it work on Android?

Not at the moment. Cutie is for iPhone.

Read the signs yourself

You do not need the app to start. The field guide to cat body language covers all five places to look, and what sideways or flat ears mean goes deeper on the ears.