The big tabby is one of many cats around the city which are being fitted with cameras and GPS trackers over the next few months, in a bid to record everything the cat sees and does.
It is part of University of Otago master of science student Ange Knight’s Kittizen Science project.
She is working with staff at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research to see how City Sanctuary’s rat and possum control programme affects the local wildlife and landscapes in the city’s green areas.
She is still looking for more cats in the Brockville, Belleknowes, Kenmure, Green Island, Abbotsford and Fairfield areas to help with the project.
She said the cats would record what happened before and after City Sanctuary started its trapping programme next year.
There would also be some cats operating in areas where no trapping would take place, so differences between the two could be measured.
Kevin has been known to wander as far away as the Octagon, Queens Garden, Dunedin Railway Station and Emerson’s Brewery.
Kevin also got himself stuck inside the Old Tai Pei restaurant in Rattray St that was condemned and boarded up, and his owner had to call police to help get him out.
"Kevin’s great for the study because he gets out and about and he likes to catch things.
"His owner has been having a few giggles at some of the footage he’s been capturing.
"He’s a bit of a ‘lurker’. It’s interesting, because you don’t really know where they are, but often they’re actually quite close by."
It would be great to see what differences the rat trapping would make, Ms Knight said.
"One of the things that often happens when you remove rats from an area is the mouse population increases.
"They may not prey on mice but they certainly suppress their numbers, so we’re really interested to see if the cats start catching more mice.
"There is also a possibility there might be more birds — native or otherwise — for the cats to catch.
"It’s just trying to answer that question: what will happen when we have less rats and more birds, and will the cats help us out by catching more mice?"
People who are interested in offering their cat’s services can contact kittizenscience@gmail.com.
