Can design switch on a cat’s desire to play?

In the workshop with Charlie

With winter drawing in, we found a quiet corner to catch up with product engineer Charlie, who led the design team on the Switch. We’re pretty obsessed with our disco dancing cat scratcher – not just because we get to watch Olive trying to take it down like a ninja, but because it adds serious vibes to the office now it’s dark by 4pm. Perfect time to talk about how and why it came to be…

What exactly is the Switch? 

It’s a really sturdy, sustainable cat scratcher with an internal LED system. The system has 12 core patterns with 6 different colourways, and settings that let you adjust the brightness and speed. So, within each pattern, you can keep changing the program to make it randomized and less predictable. 

How would you say it differs from other products on the market?

I think it’s the merging of a laser pointer and a scratcher. There’s a whole thing with cats, that they won’t necessarily use the scratchers and toys you get them. Cats don’t always play ball. But the Switch is an enhancement – there’s an added incentive to scratch and to play.

You mentioned sustainable? Why so?

We made the scratchable materials removable. All scratchers will inevitably get destroyed, but replacing just the scratching sleeve means the base of the product is preserved.  The market norm is, something gets knackered, then just ends up in landfill. The Switch is different. 

The base itself is bamboo – as a material it’s fast growing, but it’s incredibly hard wearing and scratch resistant due to the density, so it stays looking good – it has a lovely natural aesthetic too. 

Why do you think aesthetic matters in a cat scratcher? 

A big part of Omlet design is designing pet products that you want to have in your garden or your home, rather than something that gets hidden, or kicked to the corner of a utility room. Because if we can create products your pet will enjoy and that you actually want in your living space, it brings you and your pet closer, enabling you to spend time together. 

What other materials did you use? 

We chose sisal for the sleeves. It’s a natural material made from the agave plant. You dry it out and mat the fibres together and it’s really hard wearing. It’s used quite a lot in carpets and rugs and ropes, so it’s a natural choice. The trims and thread are all cotton – so the sleeves are fully biodegradable. This was a big factor for us, as the sleeves are designed to be shredded by cats’ claws and replaced, so we needed to use a fabric that was sustainable. 

Another factor was finding a material that cats would enjoy scratching. In nature, cats would use tree bark, so we chose a heavy texture to provide extra sensory stimulation and replicate that deep groove. 

Yes, I suppose not many people have room for a tree in their living room…

No. But size is a really important factor for an effective cat scratcher. Because you want to ensure enough height to allow the cat to stretch to their full height. Part of the benefits of scratching are stretching and lengthening the muscles, which releases endorphins and helps the cat relax. The technical term is stropping. So then you have to consider stability, because a cat is not going to feel comfortable doing this if the post doesn’t feel sturdy enough to bear their weight as they lean in and scratch downwards. If they try, but end up knocking the post over, this could scare them and be a deterrent. 

So how did you tackle that? 

Well, it needs to be heavy, but shipping heavy items has a higher environmental cost. So we developed an anti topple design to lower the centre of gravity within the post itself, which can be filled with water or sand or gravel by the customer when they set it up. It’s better to add the weight at the end destination, because even though in terms of shipping, it wouldn’t cost us any more, it would burn more fuel in transport. 

What other practical design elements did you have to consider?

Because sisal’s a natural material, it has some stretch and is never perfectly uniform. So we created an expandable core to tension the sisal sleeve, which gives the cat a really satisfying scratch. The mechanism has two wedge features, at the top and bottom, that you can simply tighten, forcing the core outwards for a taut fit. 

Unlike the sleeves, the core and the base are both designed to last forever, which is why we looked at the best material for purpose. In the case of the base, that is bamboo, and the core it’s ABS, a durable thermoplastic polymer which is rigid and scratch resistant. 

Our methodology is a conscious use of plastic as part of good, lasting design. If it’s the best material for the job and is going to be long lasting, then it’s the sustainable choice. 

Tell me more about those disco lights.

So, we’ve got a silicon coating on the strips, which protects them. Then, they are recessed into the core and so are protected by not being in contact with the surface.

Connectors then thread through, and once they’re connected, they feed to the controller, where the PCB is housed.

The PC what now?

The electronic board. At one end the lights – which are LED, with a low power consumption – connect to the controller component, then infra red signals let the customer control the settings – so it works like a TV remote. 

Well that’s the technical bit. How about the disco bit? 

There are some really fun light modes. There’s the barbers pole design – that’s great. It’s instantly recognizable. The snake inspired gaming one is really nostalgic and retro. The pinpoint and the whackamole are great for cat engagement. The fade ones are nice for mood lighting. The rainbow setting is fun, it looks really cool. There’s actually a disco one, which is great for a party! The rain design is inspired by water droplets – it’s tranquil and sets a nice vibe. 

I think some are more appealing to cats, and some to humans, but all to both in greater or lesser part. And that’s important, because it’s essentially a piece of furniture – it’s a genuinely nice addition to your room that supports time together.  

How did you test it? 

We did lots of trials – funnily enough our customers with cats and dogs found their dogs liked it too! Then, as with all our products, we work with our in-house animal teams and spend lots of time observing their interactions with our designs. The Omlet cats have been around the Switch for ages, and they still play with it. Olive has a playful nature and really enjoys it. Fluffy will use it to scratch mostly, and is happiest looking down on us all from the Freestyle cat tree. Then there’s Nigel. He’s a real personality  – he lost an eye in a fight in his youth and has a crooked tail. Nowadays, he prefers to kick back and keep his remaining watchful eye on the boisterous youngsters.

How do you think the Switch reflects Omlet’s design philosophy? 

I’ve been at Omlet for almost 7 years, and I see various synergies with the way we designed the Switch and other products. For starters, as with all our products, the Switch has multiple user cases – so you’re always designing for the pet and the person who’s buying, who may not be the person who’s the end user. It’s multifaceted in terms of users, which makes it interesting. 

What do you enjoy most about that aspect? 

Probably the animals – they’re always fun. I’ve done a lot of work on our cat products, and I enjoy their contrariness. Then there’s the fact they move in a three dimensional space: they climb, so that’s really interesting. They’re not compliant, they’re a bit trickier to understand, which makes them a bit of a puzzle. It’s a challenge but we’ve risen to it! The Switch is as engaging a cat scratcher – and entertainment system – as we can engineer… Until we have our next big idea!

This entry was posted in Cats

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