The wanderers: Trackers reveal secrets of nation's roaming cats

BRITAIN'S outdoor cats are travelling the equivalent of going to the moon and back twice every single day, researchers say.

With more people returning to the office after the pandemic, attention has shifted to what their cats get up to when they are not around.

Kippy, the worldwide GPS collar brand, says that new data shows the UK’s outdoor cats are collectively travelling 1.3 million kilometres every day - the same as circling the earth 32 times or travelling to the moon and back nearly twice.

An outdoor cat wearing a Kippy tracker

Based on Kippy’s proprietary database of over 1,700 British cats, the average outdoor cat travels 1.5km a day, but some are in a league of their own.

In fact, the app - which offers comprehensive GPS tracking and a health monitor for pets - identified its ‘top mover’ as a British Shorthair that has travelled over 165km in one month alone. That is almost four marathons.

Its second and third most-travelled cats are Spock, a Savannah, who travels on average 35km every month and Olaf, a Maine Coone, who travels approximately 33km on a monthly basis - just shy of completing a marathon over the course of a month. 

Olaf’s owner, Alan, said: "We were very surprised to find out Olaf was one of Britain’s most travelled cats.

"Although when you look at his daily travels on the Kippy app, he does cover lot of ground.

"We live in a heavily forested area, Olaf tends to stay closer to home in the morning, but further afield in the afternoon and evening.

"He comes home to eat, and have a treat, at least four times a day. We know that he spends time with the rabbits and red squirrels that abound here.

"We call him in at around 7pm, and he always responds to our call.”

Data provided by Kippy on when cats are most active

Iacopo Buccarelli, brand reputation manager at Kippy, said: "It’s fascinating to see what our cats get up to. They’re out living their lives whilst we’re living ours.

"We love hearing stories from our community about the distances our feline friends are travelling, but more importantly, we pride ourselves on being able to provide reassurance to pet owners who can track their pets’ whereabouts when they’re not at home.

"It’s only natural that as more of us return to the office, we can feel anxious about leaving our pets, especially those that were adopted during lockdown.

"Real-time tracking can help curb some of that worry, knowing what adventures they’re enjoying whilst we’re not around and of course, when they arrive home safely."

Kippy’s data has also revealed our cats are most energetic in the evening - with average steps peaking at 7pm.

This generally begins to decline into the night-time, with the next rise in steps seen from around 4am, peaking at 8am. Lunchtime is where activity starts to dip.

Kippy’s latest cat GPS model offers fast, precise tracking and connectivity with a long-life battery.

As well as live tracking, where people can see their cat’s location in real time, the GPS monitors cats’ daily activities to keep them happy and healthy.

The full data set can be found here: https://www.kippy.eu/blog/en/how-far-do-british-outdoor-cats-travel-every-day/