The invention of ultraportable cameras gave scientists plenty of options to strap them onto the backs of different animals to see how they view the world. From sharks to dogs and various birds, the results have been amazing. However, no one thought of strapping one such camera on the back of a cat. Until now.
Cats are notoriously hard to work with. They aren’t cooperative like dogs and are pretty stubborn as well. One scientist is trying to change that. Mark Huck recently published a study done on 16 cats who he followed for 4 years in their respective neighborhoods. The study didn’t focus on cats. It was conducted in order to check the accuracy of the device, but in the end, Huck and his colleague Samantha Watson came to interesting conclusions.
What Made Him Try It?
According to Huck, he got the idea when his cat Treacle brought home a merlin. The bird was as big as he was and Huck had no idea how the cat brought it home. He got to an idea of keeping a video diary of the cat so he bought a tiny camera online and clipped it onto his collar.
Treacle only caught wood mice, though, so Mark decided to try the same with a larger group of cats. A total of twenty one cats were initially planned to “participate”, but in the end, only 16 had no problems with the cameras. The study revealed interesting things. Although cats are quite lazy when inside, they get super-alert when at home. They are aware of their surroundings and size other cats up when they enter their territory. Sometimes, they engaged physically but never fought.
Back home, all cats seem to follow their humans around. They’re quite attached to their owners.
In the future, Mark hopes to expand the research so we can learn if we should keep cats inside all the time or give them some time outside. From what the study uncovered, it seems that a combination of both works best for felines.