The University of Georgia conducted a fascinating study, dubbed the Kittycam Project, which used small, cat-mounted cameras to investigate cats’ hunting behaviour. Sixty pet cats in Georgia were fitted with the tiny motion-activated cameras and the footage was analyzed. Previous studies all relied on cat owners’ reporting of prey brought home.

It turns out that the cats in the study brought home less than a quarter of the prey they killed. Forty-nine percent of prey was left at the capture site, and twenty-eight percent was eaten. The average rate was 2.4 items per hunting cat per week of footage. Interestingly, the study results found no significant influence of age, sex or habitat on hunting behaviour.

The study’s analysis of what type of prey the cats caught isn’t particularly applicable in Canada, but the hunting behaviours are likely to be very similar.

One of the most surprising results was that four of the project’s kitties were discovered to be entering another household for food and/or affection! Only four?

See also our blog about the studies analysis of outdoor cats’ exposure to risk factors.

Read more about the KittyCam Project.