Data-Driven Cat Parenting: Using Cameras, Logs, and Trackers to Understand Your Cats!
As a former photographer, capturing visual information has always been extremely important to me. Before I even went back to school to begin my graduate work in animal behavior, I was using motion sensor cameras in my home to see what our cats were getting up to - whether that was while we were out of town, checking on foster kittens in a holding space or just making sure everyone in my own clowder was healthy. One of the most powerful tools you can add to your cat-care toolkit isn’t a fancy toy or an expensive tower - it’s information.
Cats can be very subtle. They often hide pain, they avoid conflict when they can, and they may do their most important communicating when we’re not watching. That’s why I frequently recommend that clients use cameras, logs, and simple tracking tools to help uncover behavior patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed.
In a multi-cat household, it’s common for conflicts, stress, or resource competition to go unseen. Cats don’t always yowl or swat during an altercation—sometimes all you’ll notice is one cat avoiding a room, hesitating before eating, or eliminating just outside the box.
Behavioral data helps you:
Identify patterns you’d otherwise miss
Spot early warning signs of medical issues
Understand inter-cat relationships more clearly
Measure progress over time, rather than guessing
Give your vet or behaviorist real evidence, not just impressions. I can’t stress enough how much having visual information on aggression cases helps me identify what is going on!
Even a few minutes of objective information can completely change how we understand a situation!
As an ex-photographer, my favorite tool (as I mentioned) is motion sensor cameras. With 14 cats of our own (and a quarantine / holding room for fosters) we have cameras ALL over the house at cat level. In addition to monitoring all “public” areas of our home, cameras also point at each litter box station so that we are able to monitor restroom habits, know if a particular cat is entering a box too frequently or not enough (possible signs of a blockage or UTI), if there is letterbox bullying, etc.
Where to Place Cameras
In front of litter boxes to catch guarding, anxiety, or discomfort
At feeding stations to see resource competition
Near vertical space or cat trees to document who controls territory
In hallways where ambushes or blocking might occur
In any room where “mystery messes” happen
Cameras pick up behaviors we’d never catch in person, such as:
One cat silently blocking another from passing
Litter box avoidance due to intimidation
Overgrooming that only happens when humans aren’t home
Subtle stalking between cats
Nocturnal play that turns into conflict
A few days of footage can reveal more about your cats’ relationships than weeks of observation by eye.
Another form of data collection that we do in our home is monthly weight logging (a few of our cats are on a weight loss journey but we would do this even if they weren’t!). In households with multiple cats, it’s surprisingly easy for weight changes to go unnoticed—especially with long-haired or middle-aged cats, who tend to gain or lose gradually.
I recommend weighing each cat once a month, ideally on the same day. You can either purchase a simple pet scale, or weight yourself on a household scale and then hold your cat, weight yourself again and subtract your weight from the second number.
Why weight logs matter:
Weight loss is often the first sign of illness, especially in senior cats
Weight gain can signal stress eating, inactivity, or bullying at shared food stations
Tracking trends helps your vet intervene earlier
It’s essential for managing multi-cat diets, especially when some cats need weight loss and others don’t
A simple spreadsheet or notes app works beautifully. I keep a running weight history for my own cats along with notes about their last vaccinations, when their next vet visit is due, medications, etc — it’s invaluable during vet visits or behavior assessments.
Behavior logs are also super helpful. Many clients initially believe “my cats get along fine,” until they start writing down small incidents. Suddenly, a pattern emerges.
What to track:
Date and time
Which cats were involved
What happened right before and right after
Whether there was swatting, staring, blocking, or chasing
Whether food, litter boxes, or humans were involved
Duration and intensity of the incident
These notes help distinguish:
Play from predation-style chasing
Harmless scuffles from simmering tension
Resource guarding from general crankiness
Stress-related aggression from medical causes
Even brief notes like “Tubs blocked Elvi from the top of the stairs again” become meaningful when you see them happening twice a week.
You can also log health symptoms! Behavior and health are deeply intertwined in cats.
Logs help connect the dots between:
Vomiting
Overgrooming
Appetite changes
Nighttime restlessness
Litter box patterns
New household stresses (visitors, moves, changes in routine)
Often, clients are shocked when we discover that a behavior “outburst” correlates exactly with constipation, dental pain, or a change in feeding schedule.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that tracking data means micromanaging your cats’ lives. In reality, these tools make life easier, not more complicated.
Data helps you:
Stop guessing
Make clear decisions
Reduce conflict among cats
Provide better enrichment
Advocate effectively at the vet
Catch problems early, saving stress and money later
It’s not surveillance—it’s support. Cats communicate constantly, but much of that communication is subtle. Cameras, logs, and simple household tracking tools help you “listen” to what your cats are already telling you.
Whether you have two cats or a baker’s dozen, data-driven cat parenting gives you the kind of clarity that makes it easier to create a peaceful, harmonious home where every cat feels safe.