Cat Tracker Project Installed GPS Trackers On 900 Cats For a Week

The international Cat tracker project has finally published the results of a six-year study revealing the secret wanderings of 900 house cats. Their goal was simple - to find out where our furry friends go when they're outside.

Researchers have tried to answer that question before, either by following cats on foot or by attaching radio-transmitters on collars around cats' necks. But this massive research is different in scale- it followed nearly a thousand cats across four countries for a week!

Published in the journal Animal Conservation, the new report has one clear conclusion- for most cats, there's no place like home.

Check out the project's page for more info and introduction to some of the participant cats.

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More than half the cats stayed within about 2.5 acres or the area of two American football fields.

"I was surprised at how little these cats moved," says lead author Roland Kays of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences. "Most of them spent all their time within 100 meters [330 feet] of their yard." While it's good news that most cats aren't wandering into natural areas, the study reveals that cats can still put themselves in danger.

Via Cattracker
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That's not to say that all cats were lazy, however. 7% covered more than 25 acres, and several cats had enormous ranges.

The record-setter was Penny, a young female from New Zealand, who roamed over the hills behind her house, covering an area greater than three square miles.
Another standout was Max, a tomcat from England who walked the road from his village to a close town in a distance of more than a mile, and then turned around and walked back. He did this round-trip twice during the six days he was tracked. Nobody knows why.

Via Cattracker
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"Without the motivations of food and sex, most cats seem content to be homebodies," Kays says.

The study found that house cats walked less than feral or wild cats and the explanation is clear- House cats get fed at home and have no need to explore far and wide to find their next meal. Also, most house pets are neutered or spayed, so there's no urge to search for a mate.

Via Cattracker
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"Cats are universally lazy"

The researchers expected to discover differences in the journeys of cats in different countries but in fact, cats generally stayed close to home everywhere.

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Other findings were logical as well

Males travel more widely than females, intact cats more than neutered and spayed cats, younger cats more than senior cats, and country cats more than city slickers.

Via cattracker.org