Catinder is a unique adoption web-app designed to help homeless cats find their forever homes. Built using Petfinder's API and p5.js. This Creative Coding Midterm Project offers a fresh and fun approach to pet adoption, inspired by the popular dating app Tinder. The app features a simple, intuitive interface that allows users to swipe through a selection of adorable cats and kittens, each with their own unique profiles. With built-in buttons, users can easily browse through the cats, open the adoption link, or archive a cat for later. Whether you're a cat lover looking for a new furry friend or simply seeking a fun and engaging app experience, Catinder is the perfect choice.
The project was completed in 2 weeks.
Note: Due to the filter that excludes cats without photos, sometimes no cat will show, and the application may run into an error. This is because occasionally the API fetches cats that all have no photo uploaded.
Initially, the concept was to create an app with user inputs for pet type and location, and random pet information fetched from the API. However, due to complexities with the Petfinder API's authentication process, the focus shifted to a more streamlined display of cat information with a Tinder-like user interface.
The app was prototyped and iterated upon, with the addition of various features including:
- Buttons for "liking" a cat (opening the adoption link) and for skipping to the next cat
- Display of key cat information such as name, age, location, and more
- An "archive" feature allowing users to save a cat's information for later reference
- The Petfinder API's developer Github proved invaluable for understanding how to fetch and filter the required data. The finished app features a clean, functional user interface that makes it easy for users to interact with.
Creating Catinder was an exciting challenge, particularly with respect to working with an external API. Debugging and problem-solving were significant parts of the process, and it was a valuable learning experience to step back from the problem and approach it with fresh eyes. Sharing the code and logic with others was also beneficial in identifying issues and finding solutions.
Through this project, I hope to have made a small but meaningful contribution to helping homeless cats find their forever homes. As a cat person and creative coder, it was rewarding to bring these two passions together in a single project.
Feel free to explore the app, and perhaps help a cat find a new home!