Cat trackers to be sent out as part of Australian study

GPS trackers will be strapped to pet cats in a study that aims to reveal where the felines roam when let out of the house. 

The tracking devices will be sent out to 46 cat owners in Albury and Thurgoona, southern New South Wales, who have registered for an Australia-wide study.

Results will be recorded by professor Philip Roetman at the University of South Australia, who is hoping to learn more about cat behaviour and their relationships with their owners.

Dr Roetman said the results could help owners keep their cats safe and mitigate risks, The Border Mail reported. 

But an initial trial – conducted by the university and Discovery Circle – also proved disloyalty among some cats.

‘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 told the publication.

‘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 tracking devices will be sent out to 46 cat owners in Albury and Thurgoona, southern New South Wales, who have registered for an Australia-wide study (stock image)

‘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 researchers are particularly interested in tracking un-desexed males after the initial trial showed they roamed the furthest. 

The amount of interaction cats had with their owners also played a role in how far they travelled, initial studies showed.  

The Albury Conservation Company has funding from the New South Wales Department of Industries for 80 cats to participate in the study.