A team of University of Illinois researchers, including INHS wildlife veterinary epidemiologist Nohra Mateus-Pinilla and mammalogist Ed Heske, conducted a two-year radio telemetry and activity tracking project on 42 adult cats in Central Illinois to answer that question. They found that pet cats spent only 3 percent of their time engaged in highly active pursuits, such as running or stalking prey while un-owned (feral) cats were highly active 14 percent of the time. Even feral cats stayed near human structures, according to Mateus-Pinilla. The study, "Home range, habitat use, and activity patterns of free-roaming domestic cats" was published in The Journal of Wildlife Management.
