How Far Does Kitty Roam? New Study Covers Cat Tracks
This article reports on a study in which researchers tracked the movements of both domestic and feral cats. Radio collars were placed on 18 “owned cats” and 24 feral cats, tracking their movements for 16 months. Feral cats were found to be much more active, roaming further, spending less time in leisure and more time in intense activity.
Veterinarians working with the Illinois Natural History Survey placed radio collars on domestic and wild (feral) cats in the Champaign, IL area. The study found that while domestic cats roam an average of 4.9 acres each day, wild cats roam around 388 acres or more. Further, while domestic cats slept up to 80% of the day, wild cats did so only 62% of the day. In their waking hours, wild cats were also more active, spending 14% of their time in high intensity activity; domestic cats engaged in high intensity activity for only 3% of the day.
More wild cats died during the study than did domestic cats. In a smaller sample of 12 domestic cats and 23 wild cats, one domestic cat was hit by a car and died, while three wild cats died (two by coyotes, one for an unknown reason) and three others disappeared.
According to the article’s author: “The study also supports arguments for neutering, feeding and providing shelter for feral feline populations… Those efforts shrink the animals’ ranges, which puts less pressure on prey animals and minimizes the risk of conflict with roaming house cats.”