ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Research → Studies

Your cat’s secret life

Tibi PuiubyTibi Puiu
May 30, 2011
in Research, Studies
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

Road Cat Cats are surprisingly independent pets, which I’m sure most of you who own one already know, and as I’m steadily leaning about this myself in the past few weeks since I adopted a little feline devil. Do you really know, however, how independent your cat is? Well, although house cats can be fairly lazy and spend all their day sleeping or eating, in alternating order, you’d be surprised how far in the neighborhood a cat can stray.

Researchers curious to see how far a cat’s territory ranges have embarked on a study which took two years to complete, in which they tracked both owned and stray cats using telemetry and an activity-tracking device to capture their habits and every move 24/7. The study was made around the southern edge of Champaign and Urbana, neighboring cities in Central Illinois.

What they found was quite extraordinary, at least from my perspective as a cat novice – the mean home range for pet cats in the study was about 4.9 acres. “Still, some of the cat owners were very surprised to learn that their cats were going that far,” researcher Jeff Horn said. “That’s a lot of backyards.”

If you think that’s a lot, consider that that’s a figure for pets, stray cats move a lot more around their block than owned ones. One of the feral cats used in the study, a mixed breed male, had a home range of 1,351 acres, the largest range of those tracked.

Strikingly enough or not, researchers have found evidence of the cats laziness, as they found that 97 percent of a pet cat’s time was spent while being asleep or in low activity. All those acres apparently are paved during the remainder 3 percent of their time engaged in highly active pursuits, such as running or stalking prey. The un-owned cats were highly active 14 percent of the time.

Study co-author Nohra Mateus-Pinilla confirmed that most of the cats in the study stayed within about 300 meters of human structures. “Even feral cats were always within range of a building,” she said. “That shows that even though they’re feral, they still have a level of dependency on us.”

Study published by the University of Illinois. [via scienceagogo]

RelatedPosts

Homing pigeons can improve and pass on knowledge across generations, the only non-primate to do so
Asheville officially issues the first city-wide vegan challenge in the US
Experimental archeology shows how hafted tools allowed humans to get a grasp on civilization
The quartz crystal — what’s so special about it?

ShareTweetShare
Tibi Puiu

Tibi Puiu

Tibi is a science journalist and co-founder of ZME Science. He writes mainly about emerging tech, physics, climate, and space. In his spare time, Tibi likes to make weird music on his computer and groom felines. He has a B.Sc in mechanical engineering and an M.Sc in renewable energy systems.

Related Posts

Science

New Nanoparticle Vaccine Clears Pancreatic Cancer in Over Half of Preclinical Models

byMihai Andrei
2 hours ago
Future

Your Brain Could Reveal a Deadly Heart Risk. AI Is Learning to Read the Signs

byMihai Andrei
2 hours ago
Astronomy

A NASA Spacecraft Just Spotted a Volcano on Mars Like We Have Never Seen Before

byTudor Tarita
5 hours ago
Serotine bat. Image credits: Alona Shulenko.
Animals

Why Bats Don’t Get Cancer—And What That Could Mean for Us

byTudor Tarita
8 hours ago

Recent news

New Nanoparticle Vaccine Clears Pancreatic Cancer in Over Half of Preclinical Models

June 20, 2025

Your Brain Could Reveal a Deadly Heart Risk. AI Is Learning to Read the Signs

June 20, 2025

A NASA Spacecraft Just Spotted a Volcano on Mars Like We Have Never Seen Before

June 20, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.