Feeder
Feeders (猫屋, "Cat House"/"Kitty House") are the units that the cats eat in. As of February 2024, over 21,000 feeders had been distributed in China. They are connected to the Hello Street Cat apps and people are able to pay to feed the cats kibble or freeze-dried chicken snacks which are conserved using freshness packets. Each Feeder has at least one Caretaker who replenishes the food supply in the feeders, cleans the cat house floor, decorates it, etc.
A Feeder/Cat House is composed of four main parts: The Dispenser and food bowl, the food storage, the cameras, and the shell. There is also a gap next to the food bowl meant for the water dispenser, consisting of a plastic support and a plastic water bottle that may be added by the respective Caretaker. (Note: This only applies to the standard cat house model and may be different in other models).
Each cat house has its own variety of cats - unless the feeder is near another feeder, such as the Happy Canteen and Auspicious Restaurant where they can sometimes have the same cats visiting.
Every feeder has their own sequence of numbers called an ID. These are mainly how the English community can view the streams.
Cat House ID's
- Main article: Feeder/Cat House IDs
Feeder Models
There are two types of feeder models outside the standard one, this is without including snack-only variants.
Beta Feeders
"Beta Feeders" are believed to be a model previous to the current iteration, with their main characteristics being: the white outside and blue interior, most of them don’t have signs on the outside, and a unique Dispenser shape. Despite having a gap to add water bottles, they usually have their own water dispensers.
There weren't many of these produced, hence the lack of documented feeders. One of the few documented feeders using this model are 5A Scenic Cat Area and House of Compassion by the Strait
Prototype Feeders
As of around July 17, 2024, a new feeder model is being tested for 3 months in Big Man's Cat Houses. The goal is to introduce the model into more cat shelters so that cats may have a better chance of being adopted.
The model is a lot smaller and only has one camera attached. There is no back camera, and the top camera can be placed in any position by the shelter.