The Cat Tracker project is coming to Tasmania.
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As a part of a national study, you may soon be able to discover whether ‘Snowy’ or ‘Simba’ have another family, a long-distance lover, or simply likes to nap in the backyard.
The Kingborough Council is helping support the project and is seeking participants within the municipality.
Cat Tracker is run by the University of South Australia to learn about the roaming behaviours of pet cats and aims to assist cat owners make decisions about their cat’s care and welfare.
Researchers are looking for cat owners to interview and for cats to track in Kingborough.
Dr Philip Roetman successfully trialed the pilot study which is being expanded to track 1400 pet cats nationally.
The median distance travelled by cats in the pilot was one hectre, the size of eight Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The most adventurous cat travelled about 30 hectares.
A light weight GPS tracker is attached to the cat’s collar or harness and their movements are recorded over a 24-hour period, which is then downloaded and displayed on a map.
More information about the project can be found on the Cat Tracker website and people can apply by completing the cat owner survey.
If you are interested in being involved and wish to discuss the project in more detail, you can contact the council’s cat management officer Kaylene Allan on 6211 8255 or email kallan@kingborough.tas.gov.au