Many pet owners and people like Igor Purlantov wonder about the secret lives of household pets when owners aren't looking. Igor Purlantov explains that now, thanks to a new study performed by the University of Georgia, the secret world of household cars have been revealed in detail. "The project was part of the National Geographic Crittercam Program," says Igor Purlantov.

Igor Purlantov explains that the project was performed by scientists who mounted break-away collars on 60 housecats. The small video cameras mounted to the cats' collars recorded over a period of seven to ten days during which time the cats were usually outside for between four to six hours a day. "The date collected from the study is one of the first and most comprehensive studies to track the secret world of household cats in such detail," says Igor Purlantov.

Igor Purlantov explains that, after analyzing the data, scientists discovered that only 30% of the roaming housecats actually kill prey. "The cats kill on average of two animals per week. This is welcome news because there are an estimated 74 million housecats in the United States alone," says Igor Purlantov. In addition to their two-kills-a-week average, around 25% brought their prey home, while 30% ate their prey. "Around 49% left their capture prey behind," says Igor Purlantov.

In addition to finding out how often housecats hunted, Igor Purlantov learned that scientists were able to discover information about what species were the largest prey favored by hunting housecats. According to Igor Purlantov, “41% were frogs, snakes, and lizards; chipmunks and voles made up 25% of prey and insects and works comprise 20% of the total.” The numbers are interesting in contrast to most people’s perception of mice as the main prey. “Contrary to the usual conceptions, only 12% of the total prey were birds," says Igor Purlantov.

Igor Purlantov explains that the study recorded data on more than just the hunting habits of housecats, "The study also shed some light on the risky behavior of housecats, more than 45% of cats were tracked crossing roadways and a quarter ate and drank from random objects they found," says Igor Purlantov. "Unsurprisingly, male cats and younger cats were more likely to engage in risky behavior," Igor Purlantov explains.