In less than a month some Albury and Thrugoona residents will have the answers to a century-old question – where does my cat disappear to?
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South Australian professor Philip Roetman is currently preparing to send about 46 GPS devices to cats (or owners) who registered for his Australia-wide cat tracking study.
The Albury Conservation Company’s Sam Neirda said the company has funding, through NSW Department of Industries - land and Murray Local Land Services, for 80 cats to participate.
Mr Neirda said he had been pleased with the community’s enthusiasm and uptake since applications opened in December.
Dr Roetman said the survey results could help owners mitigate risks, keep their cat safe – and occasionally uncover their duplicitous nature.
An initial trial of the project has already been conducted by the University of South Australia and Discovery Circle.
“We had one cat that stayed home during the day and was out roaming at night and when it was tracked we realised it just popped over the back fence,” Dr Roetman said.
“The owner spoke to the neighbour over the fence and found out the neighbour thought it was their cat who roamed during the day and was home at night.
“The cat had two different names so the owners actually just renamed the cat and now it has a double-barreled name with both included.”
Dr Roetman said as the trial kicks off in Albury and Thurgoona there were still places for cats, and he encouraged people to register their interest online so the team could pick the best suited animals.
He said they were particularly interested in un-desexed males as the South Australian study appeared to show they roamed further than their desex counterparts, but more data was needed.
Dr Roetman said initial studies also showed the amount of interaction a pet had with its owner could play a role in how far the animal travelled.
The initial success of the trial has also led to a side project to better understand cat psychology – an online cat personality test.
Dr Roetman said the study found there were five major factors in cat personalities, their level of; skittishness, outgoing, dominance, spontaneity and friendliness.
He said within a week more than 2000 people had done the test.
Digital journalists with The Border Mail.
Digital journalists with The Border Mail.
