Cooper the Cat is a Catumentarian
If you watched Cats 101 on Animal Planet last night, you might have seen the segment on Seattle-based tabby Cooper Cross, who photographs his neighborhood from a mini-cam on his collar.
It’s not a new concept. The pioneer of the cat-cam process is Mr Lee, a German cat whose sets of photos are enlightening as well as a bit scary — at one point Mr Lee encounters a ginormous snake (right). Mr Lee’s guardian has been selling these mini-cams for several years, and I was so in love with the concept that I purchased one for our adventuresome feral, Tripper. (Alas, still waiting for hubby to hook it up.) You can see some of Mr Lee’s photos here.
Here are a few photos from Cooper’s gallery (with Michael’s comments):
Cooper’s is a rags-to-riches story. Formerly a stray, his photographic exploits landed him on TV. I’m hoping he gets a show at MOMA.
Check out Cooper’s flickr stream here.
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What an awesome story! Mom wishes she could get one for Shadow and see what he really does during the day!
Technology is so much fun!
Hi Skeezy, That was a very interesting article. Are they expensive? Bosco your good pal
I don’t think cats should wander without supervision. The technology is nice, but will it keep Cooper from getting hit by a car? Will it save songbirds from being killed by outdoor cats? Will it prevent Cooper’s neighbors gardens from being pooped in?
Give me a story about a cat in a stroller (preferably pink) or being walked on a leash by his loving guardian, or driving a big Cadillac car to Bakersfield any day.
What an interesting idea. I think it would be interesting for a study to see where the cat goes but I do think that cats should be inside…
Happy & Indoors – and how would you deal with the Feral Cats? Not all cats can live indoors – wish they could!
First, thanks Skeezix for telling us about Cats 101 in your blog. Great show!! I think this camera on the cat is a really cool story. I do hope he stays safe too.
Ooooooh, this would be so much fun for when I go out and about!!!!
Ahoy Morgan! I know all cats don’t have the luxury of being indoors, and as long as people don’t spay or neuter their pets, and as long as silly people dump their unwanted cats, there will be ferals. I don’t think they are putting camera collars on feral cats…As for “dealing” with feral cats, I think as many as possible should be trapped and spayed or neutered and released back into their territory. I just believe that housecats should be in the house, where they are safe. (unless they are with their humans and being supervised)
[...] Cooper the Cat is a Catumentarian [...]
Wonderful idea for spying on fellow “Copycats”?
Me and myself just sent Cooper the foto cat an email – everyona ofa youa shuda doa the same. GO to his website and tell him to join Catster!
I like that idea. What I don’t like is this guy is allowing his cat to roam freely, which is dangerous.