26 Apr 2012

Live webcam stream of kittens playing at Cat Haven, Perth.

A personal FedEx Day project at iiNet. Popularised via #kittycam and #fedexday hashtags on Twitter.

Featured in the iiNet Freezone. Camera and Freezone setup by @bowtonos and @calebcheng.

Media coverage

Kittycam is live!
(sanlive.com, 26 Apr 2012)

iiNet's KittyCam Combines Cat Rescue And Cute, But Kills My Desire To Actually Do Any Work
(Gizmodo, 27 April 2012)

#KittyCam Led To Surge In Kitten Adoptions
(Gizmodo, 1 May 2012)

Cat adoptions "surge" as KittyCam captures hearts and wallets
(Daily Telegraph, 1 May 2012)

No pussy-footing around as Kittycam goes viral
(WA Today, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 April 2012)

'Kitty Cam' an internet sensation
(Saving Pets, 27 April 2012)

The story behind the iiNet #kittycam: Oh hai! I upgraded ur camz
(iiNet blog, 8 May 2012)

Cat Haven kittens go viral
(Cat Haven, 27 April 2012)

Kittycam sets new adoption records at Cat Haven
(Cat Haven, 1 May 2012)

Happy Birthday Kittycam!
(iiNet blog, 8 July 2013)

Archived blog 2012-04-26: Kittycam is live!

Our iiNet "FedEx Day" project

Macca organised a FedEx Day for everyone at work. It’s where staff get a day to complete personal projects on company time – the catch being that it has to be delivered by the next day. For my project, I went to the Cat Haven to set up a live kitten video feed. Cos work is stressful and I always miss my cats. Nothing’s nicer than having a cat nap next to you while you get stuff done.

Lucky for me, my workplace does lots of video feed stuff, and one of my good mates works in the team that does the setup. So we spent a couple hours before lunch getting the cat run ready and duct taping things to other things. And now we have a video. :)

KittyCam in the iiNet Freezone

Available during daylight hours, Perth time. Kittens go to bed before Fatcat. :)

KittyCam is only gonna be up for a couple days – it’s all coming down after the FedEx Day presentations tomorrow. I’m hoping the company will see how much people love having a kittycam around and sponsor something more permanent. These guys are so cute, and it feels so good to hear people in the office giggling at kitten stuff.

My wish for KittyCam was to have something nice for people in stressful jobs – it borrows from the Japanese approach of integrating nice, cute things into the everyday to help combat the anxiety of working life. It’s also a big boost for the Cat Haven, who take care of abandoned kittens and cats that need rehoming – else do the heartbreaking task if no homes are found. Anyway, on a more cheerful note – cats are awesome. Watch them, adopt them, live a happier life. :)