A STORY OF CAT AND BIRD IN AOTEAROA
Search for a Home is an interactive, illustrated experience that followed the perspectives of a cat and a bird in the issues of cat management and bird conservation in Aotearoa New Zealand. The issue and consequences of outdoor cats was not new; the conversation around outdoor vs indoor cats can be conflicting and overwhelming. Here in Aotearoa New Zealand, many unique species were found nowhere else in the world. Where free-roaming cats pose a life-threatening danger to endemic species, they also face numerous such dangers outside – which include traffic, disease, fights, and more. Cats are not the only introduced species capable of devastating local wildlife, but as predator control efforts continue, both feral, stray, and free-roaming pet cats gather more of a spotlight in this space.
This project aimed to raise awareness and discussion around the issue through an interactive experience that brought users right to the heart of what was happening outside. It targeted a young audience yet to own pets and questions the culture and current norms around pet cat ownership.
