The secret lives of wandering cats have been exposed as part of a Domestic Cat Tracking project organised by Central Tablelands Local Land Services (LLS).
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During the project GPS motion sensing devices were attached to 12 domestic cats in and around the Mudgee CBD to track their every movement for up to 10 days.
The citizen science project funded through the Commonwealth’s National Landcare Program was designed to educate cat owners and promote awareness of the surprisingly large distances domestic cats can roam if given free access to the outdoors.
Land Services Officer Julie Reynolds says the results shocked some owners.
"People will tell you their cat just lays around the house, that it doesn't go anywhere, however the tracking data has shown many cats are far more active than their owners realised,” Ms Reynolds said.
"Most of the cats regularly roamed up to two blocks from their homes and many wandered half a kilometre away on a daily basis.”
Mudgee cat, Mason, was recorded wandering up to two kilometres away from his home base, and staying out for several days.
Similar research was conducted in Orange, with results showing cats were wandering up to three kilometres away from their homes.
LLS is urging cat owners to restrict the movement of their pets to the house, backyard, or a cat enclosure.
Researchers estimate pet cats kill about 61 million birds a year and are likely to significantly increase the extinction risk faced by some Australian bird species.
The research also found records of cats killing more than 330 native bird species – about half of all Australia’s resident bird species. In natural and remote landscapes, 99 per cent of the cat-killed birds are native species. The results also show that cats are known to kill 71 of Australia’s 117 threatened bird species.
“Keeping your cat in at night can halve the number of wildlife killed by your pet. Other options include putting a bell on the collar and desexing to reduce roaming, and more importantly to stop unwanted kittens being born,” Julie said.
“We’re hoping this research will encourage more cat owners to keep their pets from roaming and reduce their impact on native wildlife.”
Controlling cat movement will also protect pets from traffic accidents and fights with other cats, while reducing exposure to infections such as feline AIDS. The project is supported by funding from the Australian Government through the National Landcare Program.
