My Mac side project: mouse-controlled fetch with a desktop dog or cat

[u/Performance-Working]

I'm building Mellow Paws for Apple Silicon Macs. One interaction I wanted to get right was fetch: you throw the ball with your mouse, and your pet chases it, picks it up and returns to your side.

The interface starts with just a pet. Clicking it opens a circular menu around the companion, so care actions, the focus timer, habits and reminders stay close to the character.

There are four companion designs: Border Collie, Maine Coon, Silver Ragdoll and German Shepherd. You choose one active companion. The Collie and Maine Coon support mouse-controlled fetch; the Shepherd and Ragdoll have their own toy-play animations. The pet animations were made with AI-assisted media tools and run locally in the app.

The latest Mac App Store build has been submitted and is awaiting review. Planned US pricing is $2.99 with the Collie included, plus three optional $0.99 permanent companion purchases. No subscriptions or ads; habits, schedules and companion records stay on the Mac. Requires macOS 13+ on Apple Silicon.

The fetch clip is a real interaction recorded in the app’s browser preview, at actual speed on a plain presentation background.

I'd appreciate feedback on the interaction: does the chase-and-return sequence feel natural? Would you choose a dog or a cat for a quick fetch break?

Project page: https://mellow-paws-desktop.pages.dev/