Mac developers keep finding new ways to make their laptops do things Apple never intended. Earlier this year, an app went viral for making MacBooks moan when slapped. Another unique app lets you feel a webpage’s buttons through the trackpad before you click them. Now, a developer has built one that makes the trackpad purr like a cat.
PurrPad makes use of the Taptic Engine built into MacBook trackpads, so instead of hearing a purr through your speakers, you feel one under your palm. Developer Francesco Pavanetto, who shared the app on Reddit, says he tuned the vibration to the actual measured pitch of a real cat purr and built it so the pattern never repeats exactly.
Six cats, all with different moods
The app features six different cats, each with a distinctive attitude. House Cat is included in the free version, and it usually purrs when you rest your hand on the trackpad. Sometimes it just sulks and snaps back if you poke it mid-sulk. It occasionally gets the zoomies without explanation and, unlike your real cat, knows not to disturb you when you’re on a call.
All of this is customizable in the app’s menu, which lets you adjust the vibration strength, dial in the affection from aloof to needy, and turn off zoomies altogether (why would you?). The paid version, which costs $4.99 for lifetime access, unlocks five more personalities, including Kitten, Old Tomcat, Nervous, Falling Asleep, and Making Biscuits, along with the option to record your own cat and let the trackpad do its best impression.
Not on the App Store, but transparent about it
You won’t find PurrPad on the App Store. Driving the trackpad’s haptic engine this way requires a private framework, according to Pavanetto, who distributes the app directly from his own website. If you’re worried about downloading an app outside the App Store, Pavanetto says PurrPad is signed and notarized, so you shouldn’t encounter Gatekeeper warnings.
On the privacy side, Pavanetto says the app makes exactly one network request, which is a check for new versions that you’re free to switch off entirely. It otherwise has no accounts, no analytics, and no cloud sync. Recordings of your cat are purrcessed on device and deleted afterward. He is also upfront that a future macOS update could close the private macOS interface that drives the trackpad, and he has promised refunds if that happens.
I tried the app, and it works surprisingly well. The vibrations are oddly realistic, though the purring doesn’t happen every time you rest your hand on the trackpad, which is intended. When it does kick in, it can sometimes run longer than expected, which can be a bit annoying at times. I wouldn’t keep it running all day, but for cat lovers who enjoy that soft, subtle vibration when their cat purrs, PurrPad is a surprisingly convincing stand-in.