Expawriences

For cat cafés, shelters and the people who visit them

Not just a cat.
It's Biscuit.

Every cat and dog has their own story. Capture the life of your furry friends via fun, interactive ways. Make their expawriences your expawriences too.
Take photos when you visit, follow how each animal is doing between visits, and sponsor the ones you keep coming back for.

See how it works I run a shelter or café

Coming to iOS and Android. Free for visitors.

A white puppy with a black patch over one eye, looking at the camera
Patch, first day here
A black cat with green eyes sitting by a wire fence
Nox, top of the tree
A golden tabby cat lying on a yellow blanket, looking to the side
Biscuit, my 7th visitstill won't share the blanket
Recognised as Biscuit from 23 photos by 9 visitors
11 people sponsor Biscuit
You meet twenty cats in an afternoon. But they are not only cat; they have names and their own story and their silly moments (a lot). Record your encounter with "Expawriences", make your experience last.

Expawriences keeps each animal's story in one place, so the next visit picks up where the last one ended. The shelter or café posts updates, visitors add photos, and everyone who cares about the same cat or dog follows it together.

Cat cafés Animal shelters Dog cafés Rescues & foster homes

AI recognition

Snap a photo. The app knows exactly who it is.

Every cat and dog on Expawriences has a living record of its own: a digital stand-in for the real animal, built from every photo people have taken of it. Point your camera, and our AI picks out which one is in front of you and opens its story.

Tells look-alikes apart

Coat pattern, face shape and markings make each animal unique to the AI, so two black cats never end up sharing one profile.

Their story is already waiting

The moment a cat is recognised you see what others have shared: photos, little habits, staff updates. Your photo becomes part of that story too.

Gets better with every photo

You confirm the match with one tap. Each confirmed photo helps the AI know that animal a little better, and the staff can correct any mix-up.

A golden tabby cat on a yellow blanket, seen through the camera
Just now, Hazelpaw

It's Biscuit

96% match

Golden tabby · Hazelpaw Refuge · 23 photos from 9 visitors

Coat patternFace shapeEar markings

From Biscuit's story Example

Sleeps upside down whenever it rains.Léa, visit #4

Trades one head-bump for exactly one treat.Tom, visit #2

How it works

From one visit to a story you follow

  1. Visit

    Drop by a partner café or shelter, a just randomly walk around your corner, you encounter a cat or a a dog.

  2. Take photos

    Photograph a cat or dog and our AI recognises exactly which one it is, with story behind and photos. You can add your own encounter and that goes straight into that animal's album, not your camera roll.

  3. Follow the story

    Your photos join those of other visitors and the staff's updates to form a timeline: first day, favourite spot, vet visits, adoption day.

  4. Sponsor

    Chip in monthly or toward a specific goal. You get the animal as your own animated companion, interact, and talk to the pet (powered by AI). Ultimately you get a vote/ suggestions to the shelters that take care of the cat too.

Albums & storylines

Every animal gets its own story, told by everyone who meets it

Staff write the chapters. Visitors add the photos. Sponsors see what their support changed. Example storyline

  1. Day 12 March

    Arrived from a garden colony

    Brought in by a neighbour who had fed her for two winters. Spent the first week behind the driftwood log and only came out at night.

    Posted by Hazelpaw staff

  2. Day 4717 April

    Claimed the big sofa in the visitors' room

    Pepper asleep on the sofa, curled up with her tail over her paws
    Out cold on the sofa. Visit #3

    Photo by Léa, one of 4 visitors who found her there that afternoon

  3. Day 17220 August

    Dental check, paid for by her sponsors

    Two teeth removed, eating normally again by the weekend. Nine sponsors covered the €90 bill in eleven days.

    Posted by Hazelpaw staff · sent to all 9 sponsors

Noxyour companion
knows your voice

Mrrp? You're back!

Tuesday · voice note 0:42

Long day at work. Went to see the real Nox after, and she fell asleep on my bag again.

Turned into text on your phone. Only you can read it.

Your companion

The real Nox is shared. Your Nox is yours.

Every sponsor gets an animated companion of the cat or dog they support. It lives on your phone, reacts when you poke it, talks back, and keeps a diary of your days with you.

Poke it, play with it, talk to it

Your companion purrs, startles, sulks and asks how your day went. Try it on the phone here.

A diary you speak

Tell your companion about your day. Your voice is turned into text right on your phone, so your diary stays private.

It learns your voice

Over time your companion recognises you and greets you like an old friend, not like a stranger.

It stays with you

Your companion and your diary are yours to keep, even after the real Nox finds a home.

For shelters & cafés

Turn one-time visitors into regulars

Manage your animals in the app, post their updates once, and let sponsors and returning visitors do the rest.

  • Profiles for every resident

    Name, personality, intake date, adoption status and private health notes your team keeps to itself.

  • Post a chapter, reach everyone

    One update goes to every sponsor and every visitor who has photographed that animal.

  • Sponsorships and goals

    Monthly sponsors per animal plus one-off goals, paid out to you with a clear record of what each euro was for.

  • See who comes back

    Returning visitors, which animals draw people in, and which updates bring them back through the door.

  • On the map

    Your café or shelter appears on the visitor map, and you can feature events like an adoption Saturday.

Hazelpaw · September

Example dashboard
Visits31241% returning
Sponsored€1,24086 sponsors
Photos added1,057by 174 visitors
Adopted32 met here first
RustyArrived 4 days ago · 0 sponsors
New
Pepper9 sponsors · last update 3 weeks ago
Post update
DominoAdoption visit on Saturday
Reserved
Partnering opens soon

The map

And on your walks

The map shows partner cafés and shelters near you, their events, and who lives there. Neighbourhood street cats appear too, but only as a soft cloud over the area they roam. Their exact spot is never shown, to keep them safe.

Cat and dog cafés. Opening hours, residents, featured events.

Shelters and rescues. Visiting times, who's new, open goals.

Street cats. An approximate area, never a pin.

Café Velours Hazelpaw Refuge Miette roams here you SATURDAY Adoption afternoon

Questions

Good to know

Is it only for cats?

No. Dogs get the same albums, storylines and sponsorships. The app works anywhere animals live and wait: cat cafés, dog cafés, shelters and foster networks.

If I sponsor a cat, is it mine?

Not on paper. Many people can sponsor the same animal, and the shelter or café still cares for it and decides on adoption. What you get is a place in its story: updates first, your name on the chapters you helped fund, and its animated companion, which is yours alone and stays with you.

Where does the money go?

To the shelter or café that cares for the animal. Goals are posted by the partner, and when one is met, the result is posted back to the storyline so sponsors can see it.

How does the app know which cat is in my photo?

Every animal has a record built from all the photos people have confirmed of it. Our AI compares your photo with the animals at the place you're visiting, looking at coat pattern, face and markings, and suggests a match. You confirm it with one tap, and the staff can correct it if needed. Photos you keep private stay out of the public album.

Who can hear my voice notes?

No one but you. Your voice is turned into text on your phone, and your diary stays private unless you choose to share an entry.

Do I have to walk around looking for cats?

No. The app is built around the places where you know you'll meet animals. The map is there if you like to wander, and it never reveals where a street cat sleeps.

Be there for the first chapter

We'll start with a small group of cafés and shelters, then open to everyone nearby.

Not taking sign-ups yet

Expawriences is still in development, so we aren't collecting any details for now. Check back here: this is where early access will open.