Is isnigelpeeing.com real?

Yes. Nigel is a real cat who nearly died of a urinary blockage. The live feed is an infrared camera on his litter box, and the emails are sent by a small program when the camera sees him enter it.

Yes. He has FLUTD, which can recur, so he eats wet food, has extra water bowls, and the camera keeps running.

Why is the live feed dark?

The camera runs through a laptop, and laptops update, lose Wi-Fi and get unplugged. A dark feed says nothing about the cat. It comes back.

How often do the alert emails come?

One each time the camera sees him enter the box, day or night, with repeat triggers within a few minutes ignored. There is no newsletter.

How do I stop the emails?

Every email has a one-click unsubscribe link. If it fails, write to the site and you will be removed by hand.

Can a video of my cat be checked to see if he is blocked?

No. If your cat is straining and producing little or nothing, call a vet or 24-hour emergency clinic now and say “I think my cat is blocked.”

Do female cats get FLUTD?

Yes. Blockage is much less common in females because their urethra is shorter and wider, but not impossible. Any cat straining and producing nothing needs a vet urgently.

FAQ: Nigel, the litter box camera and the email alerts

Interviewer: Is this real?; Yes. A cat called Nigel nearly died of a urinary blockage. An infrared camera watches his litter box. The feed is that camera. The emails are real, sent when the camera sees him go in.
Interviewer: Is it a joke?; The name is. The domain was available, and not registering it seemed negligent. The rest is not. House rule: the apparatus may be absurd; the disease is not.
Interviewer: Is Nigel okay?; Yes. Wet food. Additional water bowls. FLUTD can recur, so the camera keeps running.
Interviewer: The feed is dark. Is something wrong with him?; Almost certainly not. The camera runs through a laptop. Laptops update, lose Wi-Fi, get unplugged. A dark feed concerns the laptop, not the cat. It comes back.
Interviewer: The eyes. Why do they glow?; Infrared. The camera lights the room with light nobody can see, and a cat’s eyes reflect it from a mirrored layer behind the retina. The marigold in the drawing is that.
Interviewer: Sound?; None. There is nothing useful to hear. The frame is on the box and nothing else.
Interviewer: On my phone?; Any current browser. You may need to tap to start it.
Interviewer: How often do the emails come?; Once per visit, day or night. Repeat triggers within a few minutes are ignored. More often than you’d think, which is the lesson. No newsletter, no digest. If you want fewer, the only setting is none.
Interviewer: Why do I have to confirm?; So nobody can sign up an address that isn’t theirs. One click in the first email and you’re on the list.
Interviewer: How do I stop them?; The unsubscribe link at the bottom of every email. One click. If it fails, write, and you’ll be removed by hand.
Interviewer: And my address?; Used to send the alerts. Nothing else. Not sold, rented or shared. Privacy policy.
Interviewer: Does the email say whether he’s sick?; No. It says something moved at the box, and when. A timestamp, not a diagnosis. But a record sends people to look.
Interviewer: Can I get alerts for my own cat?; Not from here; one camera, one box. But the simple version is simple: a cheap indoor camera with night vision, pointed at the box, and you check it. The apparatus has the full build; reading a litter box says what to look for.
Interviewer: Can you look at a video of my cat and tell me if he’s blocked?; No. Please don’t wait for anyone to. If your cat is straining and producing little or nothing, call a vet or 24-hour emergency clinic now and say, “I think my cat is blocked.” Email is far too slow for this. What to do.
Interviewer: Are you a vet?; No. The owner of one cat who was very unlucky, then very lucky, then read the literature. Every guide cites its sources. Editorial and medical policy.
Interviewer: Do female cats get this?; FLUTD, yes — cystitis, stones, infection, same signs. Blockage is much rarer in females (shorter, wider urethra), but not never. Any cat straining and producing nothing needs a vet urgently.
Interviewer: Why is it written like this?; Health pages in the usual voice get closed in seconds. A deadpan one keeps people reading to the paragraph about straining. One rule: the voice stops where the danger starts. The manifesto.
Interviewer: And the purple?; Ditto violet: the ink of the spirit duplicator, which printed a generation’s worksheets and a few fanzines. Its cousin the mimeograph printed the underground poetry. The yellow is infrared eyeshine.
Interviewer: The typewriter? The index cards?; A manuscript, not an app. Some novelists drafted on index cards; one typed his most famous book on a single continuous roll. Borrowed from both.
Interviewer: Ads?; If they appear, they pay for hosting. Advertisers get no say. Ads are labeled. Where the law requires it, you’ll be asked first. The rules.
Interviewer: Can I write about this, or use the logo?; Usually. The Kit has logos and a description; Correspondence reaches the author.
Interviewer: Anything to add?; If you have a male cat, go look at him. Know what straining looks like. It isn’t constipation until a vet says so. That is the whole website.