Two layers of protection

Keep paws in the play.

Cat Lock protects Pounce Play’s menus. Apple Guided Access restricts the iPad or iPhone to one app. For supervised cat play, use both.

Cat Lock

Built into Pounce Play. It removes buttons and menus from the play scene and requires a deliberate two-part human gesture to exit. It cannot block every system gesture or hardware button.

Guided Access

Built into iOS and iPadOS. It can keep the device in Pounce Play and control access to hardware buttons. Touch must remain enabled so your cat can interact.

Set up Guided Access once

  1. Open Settings, then choose Accessibility.
  2. Select Guided Access and turn it on.
  3. Open Passcode Settings and set a Guided Access passcode. On supported devices, you may also enable Face ID or Touch ID.
  4. Optionally enable the Accessibility Shortcut so you can start Guided Access with a triple-click of the top or side button.
Remember your Guided Access passcode. It is controlled by the device, not by Pounce Play, and it can be different from the device passcode.

Start a play session

  1. Open Pounce Play and configure the session.
  2. Before play starts, use your configured Guided Access method—typically triple-click the top or side button, or ask Siri to start Guided Access.
  3. Review Options. Keep Touch on. You may turn off the top/side button, volume buttons, keyboard, and motion if those controls are not needed.
  4. Start Guided Access, then return to Pounce Play’s lock check and begin the session.

Available labels and options can differ by device and OS version. Apple may update these steps. See the current iPad Guided Access guide or iPhone Guided Access guide if your screen differs.

Exit Cat Lock

  1. Touch and hold the upper-left and upper-right corners of the play scene simultaneously for three seconds.
  2. When the human confirmation panel appears, begin on the slider handle, hold for at least 0.75 seconds, and drag it fully across.
  3. Pounce Play shows the owner-facing summary instead of placing controls under an active paw.

End Guided Access

Use the same device method you configured to exit—typically triple-click the top or side button—then authenticate with the Guided Access passcode, Face ID, or Touch ID and choose End. Cat Lock and Guided Access use separate authentication.

If the app was interrupted

When Pounce Play returns from the background, it does not immediately resume active play. A human unlock screen appears first. Confirm the device is stable and Guided Access is still in the state you expect before resuming.