NutriCat
Nutrition Tracking Made
Easy for You and Your Cat
Project Type
Pet Health, App,
Web, Product
Tools
Figma
Role
UI/UX Designer
Timeline
6 months
Project Overview - Google Coursera
Problem
Cat owners often struggle to feel confident about their pet’s nutrition due to confusing information and a lack of reliable tools.
Design
NutriCat is a product designed to help cat owners confidently support their pet’s health through better nutrition. It offers personalized tools, trusted information, and convenient tracking features. Allowing healthy routines easier for anyone who wants to be more involved in their cat’s well-being.
Challenge

How might we help cat owners confidently manage their pet’s nutrition through accessible, reliable, and personalized tools?

Jump to process
Final Product
App Features
Screens
Prototype
Onboarding Experience
NutriCat makes it easy to get started with a friendly, guided onboarding flow. New users are welcomed with helpful intro screens, then asked a few quick questions about their cat’s health, dietary needs, and preferences. This setup personalizes the app experience from the start, ensuring the dashboard and food recommendations are tailored to each pet’s unique profile.
Customizable Meal Planning
Cat owners can explore recommended food options and build their own diet plans based on their pet’s goals, preferences, or special health concerns. For added convenience, a one-tap feature automatically generates a curated meal plan. Users can mix, save, or edit meals, giving them flexibility while still getting expert-informed suggestions.
Personalized Nutrition Tracker
Users can view detailed nutrition data about their cat’s daily and monthly food intake, including calories, protein, fiber and water. The tracker also includes a weekly weight log, hydration tracking, and nutrition tips. This helps cat owners stay informed and make healthier decisions over time, with everything clearly visualized and easy to access from the summary page.
Feeding Schedule & Reminders
The feeding schedule feature allows users to set up custom feeding times and reminders for each day. NutriCat helps you stay on track with alerts and routine planning. Users can also view their next feeding time right on the dashboard for extra convenience. Stay consistently connected with notifications that fit your busy lifestyle.
Educational & Community Content
Beyond tracking and planning, NutriCat supports users through expert-led videos, articles, and weekly health tips. A built-in chat feature and community space also enable users to share advice, ask questions, and learn from other cat owners, creating a more supportive and informed experience for all.
Smartwatch Experience
To support on-the-go care, NutriCat integrates with Apple Watch to send timely reminders, nutrition updates, and progress tracking via simple, glanceable screens. Users get alerts based on their feeding schedule, see daily health scores, and track nutrient intake with easy-to-read nutrition rings.
Onboarding Experience
Customizable Meal Planning
Personalized Nutrition Tracker
Feeding Schedule & Reminders
Educational & Community Content
Website Design
Homepage
Designed as both a promotional and educational hub, the NutriCat site supports users with additional resources and app insights.
Consultations
Users can book a free 15-minute consultation with a certified vet or pet nutritionist to receive expert guidance on their cat’s dietary needs.
Sample Meal Plan
Users can preview a professionally curated meal plan example, helping them understand how NutriCat structures balanced and tailored nutrition plans.
Process
How We Got There
Discover
Gathering insights and understanding the problem space.
Define
Synthesizing research to pinpoint core user needs and goals.
Ideate
Brainstorming and sketching multiple solutions and concepts.
Design
Crafting wireframes, High-fi mockups, and interactive prototypes.
Deliver
Finalizing assets, handing off designs, reflecting on learnings and next steps.
Discovery
Desk Research
Significant Portion of Obesity
Over 50% of U.S. cats are overweight, yet owners struggle with proper nutrition knowledge.  This condition is linked to serious health issues, including diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease.
Owner Awareness and Misperception
Many cat owners struggle to accurately assess their pet's weight. In fact, 28% of owners with overweight or obese cats perceive their pets as having a "normal" body condition. This misperception can delay necessary dietary and lifestyle interventions.​
Lack of Specialized Nutrition Tracking Tools
While there are general pet health apps available, there's a noticeable absence of tools specifically designed for tracking feline nutrition. Existing products, like automated feeders, focus on convenience rather than comprehensive nutritional monitoring.
*Source: Pet Obesity Prevention Survey, Cornell Vet School, Financial Times Article*
User Interviews
Conducted in-person and survey interviews. 5 cat owners that range from, new to experienced owners, busy owners, and stay at home owners.
“I would like to track her nutrition more closely as she’s picky with her foods.”
“I’m always super busy. I want to be have to do a lot in a small amount of time.”
“I'd like that (an app to track my cats’ nutrition) so that I would know if I'm feeding him too much or too little of something.”
“I only google what to feed/ not to feed my cat and groom him. Vet visits are expensive.”
Main Pain Points
Lack of Clear, Accessible Nutrition Knowledge
Users aren’t sure what the right food portions are, how to track nutrients.
Lack of Clear, Accessible Nutrition Knowledge
Users want to care for their cats’ health but have limited time and energy, so they need quick, guided tools to stay consistent.
Lack of Clear, Accessible Nutrition Knowledge
Cost barriers make it hard for some users to access health professionals or understand nutrition guidance.
Competitive Analysis
Furiend - Pet Health Tracker
Direct
Furiend is an all-in-one pet care app aimed at both dog and cat owners who want to centralize their pets’ health records, from vaccine schedules and medication reminders to training progress. Its strength lies in consolidating every major care task into one place, but it doesn’t dive deeply into nutritional guidance or personalized diet plans
Cornell Vet Purrfect Weight
Direct
Purrfect Weight™ targets cat owners seeking to help an overweight pet reach an optimal body condition. Backed by veterinarian-determined metrics, it generates custom weight-loss plans, feeding reminders, and health tips to guide users through a safe slimming journey. While excellent at weight management, it lacks broader nutrition insights (like macro breakdowns or hydration tracking)
MyFitnessPal: Calorie Counter
Indirect
MyFitnessPal is a widely adopted health app for people, offering calorie, water, and activity tracking alongside meal planning and progress coaching. Though its robust nutrition database and habit-building tools set a high bar, it’s designed for humans—not cats—so feline-specific needs
Define
Personas & Journey Map
Ideate
Theme Mapping & HMW
After researching and identifying the pain points, we begin generating ideas for solving the problems and meeting the goals for users by mapping out different themes and How might we.
User Flow & Wireframe Sketches
A user flow diagram helped to visually map the steps users will take to interact with this product. Then making it easy to sketch wireframes. I have different versions of the same screen and choosing which elements or overall designs that best reach the goal.
Design
Digital Wireframe & Lo-Fi Prototype Testing
Addressing the user needs, goals, and pain points researched, we included the ideation through the digital wireframes in more detail. Creating a more personalized, informational and efficient product.Here are findings from the user testing conducted to improve the user flow.
Deliver
Final Designs
Design System
Key Takeaways & Next Steps
Takeaways
Cross‐Platform Consistency: Creating a cohesive experience across mobile, smartwatch, and web interfaces taught me the value of maintaining a unified visual and interaction language so users feel at home no matter which device they use.
Empathy-Driven Design: Continuously Investing time in user research and interview insights ensured every design decision aligned with real cat owners’ needs, Resulting in owners reporting in testings feeling confident about their pet’s health—NutriCat’s clear color hierarchy and friendly typography struck the right balance between informative and approachable.
Next Steps
Smart Feeder Integration: Explore syncing with smart feeders to automate meal logging.
Broaden to Other Pets: Adapt NutriCat’s nutrition tracking engine for dogs (and eventually other pets), offering tailored food recommendations, portion guidance, and health insights to serve a wider audience.
Conduct Further Testing: Run A/B tests on notification timing, color contrasts, and localization for non-English users to refine accessibility.