From the This Gadget May Well Tell More Than I Really Want To Know About My Pet Dept, a Japanese company that produced the world’s first dog translator is working on a similar device for cats. An article at ComputerWorld’s website says that Japan’s Takara Co. Ltd. is working on a the Meowlingual, that “will have some of the same functions as the company’s Bowlingual translator including the ability to “translate” cat calls into one of around 200 phrases that are displayed on a built-in LCD”.
There will also be body-language analysis and medical-analysis functions, a new feline fortune telling function and other features that are still under development, said Takara on Wednesday. It is due to go on sale in November this year and will cost ¥8,800 (US$75). Bowlingual, which went on sale in Japan in September 2002, has sold around 300,000 units and an English version is due out in the U.S. in August. Here’s a company that’s already selling it.