Friskies Cat Food did a nation-wide search to find 50 in-door cats participate in a focus group. The selected cats will wear a tiny camera attached to their collar for one week and document their daily activities. An animal behaviorist will analyze the data these cats collect to determine what DO cats do during the day while their owners are away. The results will be published in an online newsletter, The Scratchington Post.
Ms Butterbean is one of the 50 participants.
For the next seven days, I'll attach the camera to Charlene's collar in the morning. Every fifteen minutes it will automatically shoot a picture. In the evening, the camera comes off and I'll upload ten of her best pics to the Cat Cam Flickr group.
We gave the "BeanCam" a try yesterday to see what she thought. She didn't seem to mind a bit and just went about her daily business.
She napped on her back for while upstairs and got some very boring shots of the ceiling. There were a handful of blurry shots taken of furniture. The best photos were taken while she roosted on the ledge of the living room window. She must of sat there and looked outside for at least an hour.
This should be an interesting experiment. I'm curious to see what the other cats capture with the camera.
I'm no animal behavior specialist,, but I have a few theories about what cats do during the day. What REALLY would be interesting would be to get some tiny infrared cameras to attach to their cameras and see what they do at night!
Here's one pic from the BeanCam. I'll be posting more in the Flickr group later tonight.
Oh, Miss Charlene!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations - You will be a great feline reporter! How can you not?
That is hilarious and awesome!
ReplyDeleteoh, WOW! congratulations, beanie! i can't wait to see your pictures!
ReplyDeleteThat is so cool! I do often wonder what my Daphne does during the day while I am at work. I'll be following Miss B's movements with great interest. :)
ReplyDeleteOh and yes, I would also love to see what she does at night, although I can tell you most of it consists of running around sounding like she weighs 2,476 pounds from the sound of her thundering footsteps. Silly kitteh. :p
ReplyDeleteOf course you were selected, Charlene. You are a super star and all your fans here know that already. I can't wait to view scenes from your day!
ReplyDeleteOooh, I just saw the official Butterbean Quarantine sign on the facebook page of the Humane Society. My computer must hate me because I can't get the link to copy here.
this may dispel the myth that cats "sleep" all day. it just looks like they do.
ReplyDeleteWay too cool. Congratulations to Charlene Butterbean!!
ReplyDeleteWow! This is *really* cool! I'm sure Ms. Butterbean will be an excellent reporter for "a day in a cat's life". And hopefully she's active enough that you have more than just ceiling to look at. :-)
ReplyDeleteWow, COOL, Butterbean! Can't wait to see what the roving reporter has to show us.
ReplyDeleteHow awesome for The Bean to be chosen for this honor! Neat. She'll do a good job for Friskies, I'm sure!
ReplyDeleteThat is such an excellent idea. Reminds of Cooper the Seattle kitty who had his own Photography exibit. http://www.photographercat.com
ReplyDeletelol. I can't wait to follow the "Bean Cam."
Butterbean, you sure look mighty snazzy with the BeanCam! Can't wait to see what you report.
ReplyDeleteHey Charlene, did any of your ceiling shots reveal the identity of the dark spot?
ReplyDeleteI agree with your mom about the idea of a nighttime cam.
That chin just begs for scratching! Good luck, CB! Roving reporter...capture some kitten time on the cam.
ReplyDeleteIt never ceases to amaze me what a good-natured kitty Charlene is. She seems to be up for anything and goes with the flow. I can't wait to see Ms. Butterbean's reports.
ReplyDeleteoh ms bean this is so purrfect for you! i am sure you will be taking tons of really cool pics congrats!
ReplyDeleteYou and Cooper should consult with each other! Congrats! So where can I get my own Bean-cam?
ReplyDeleteCongrats, Ms Butterbean, and thanks to you sharing this on Facebook, my Charlotte is going to be a participant as well. She's looking forward to sharing her pictures and hopes to be the next Jim Brandenburg.
ReplyDeleteWe can't wait to see Charlene's pictures!
Ooo! I want one of those cat cams! Do you know where you can buy one?
ReplyDeleteI'm one of the 50 lucky kitty parents to have my kitten selected to be a repurrter to!
ReplyDeleteYou can follow my kitty's adventures at -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/42641636@N03/
And I blogged about it here --
http://meaningfulrevisions.com/2009/09/22/my-cats-are-repurrters-for-friskies/
Much thanks to Charlene Butterbean for advertising the application in her Facebook status!
this is GREAT! i can't wait to see blurry furry pictures when she's giving the kits their baths! :)
ReplyDeletechristine
Who better to collect data than the ButterBean-Counter?
ReplyDeletehow did they choose the participants? I'm sure fabulosity must have been a factor if they were smart enough to choose Ms Butterbean. I would also like to know if you can buy those cat-cams. I would love to see how my bed looks in a close-up :)
ReplyDeleteI love it! This is such a great idea and way for us to peak into the exciting life of Ms. Butterbean. Oh, Miss Butterbean, I'd trade places with you any day. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteThat's so cool! I'd love to see what my two do while I'm away. I find evidence of all sorts of trouble when I get home in the afternoons...it'd be fun to see it in progress! :-)
ReplyDeleteShe looks very proud in her new collar. This should be very interesting. One of my cats will sit near the door when it's time for me to get home from work. I wonder how long he waits for me.
ReplyDeleteButterbean, how exciting!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see what you come up with on your daily adventures :)
hmm. of course, we wont be getting Butterbeans 'true' point of view. (unless they have a 'little-bit-cross-eyed') kitteh cam- ha! Look at her sweet little face...
ReplyDeleteHow fun! cant wait for the pics!
does anyone know if i have to join anything to look at the Flickr group photos? i havent tried that before.
This is fantastic... the world from the perspective of Charlene. Congrats Bean and Laurie!
ReplyDeleteI love it, I love it. Beanshots ahoy! =D
ReplyDeleteWay cool!! Can't wait! The world, in pics, according to Butterbean!
ReplyDeleteA German guy did this years ago because he wondered what his cat did all day... being a pioneer of the genre, he scabbed together a camera and rigged it for interval shooting. Most of the shots were boooooring! But, being an outdoor cat, some were downright scary... you went where??? Why is there a snake looking right into the camera???
Charlene, you're not just one in 50; you're one in infinity squillion!
ReplyDeleteThe "cat cams" are called "Pet's Eye View" and Target has sold them ... at least at Christmastime. I think thinkgeek.com has had them too.
ReplyDelete(warning: we bought one last year and the first one didn't work at all (wouldn't hold a charge) and on the second one, the display broke after about a month, rendering it near-impossible to use) We may just have had a streak of bad luck. I hope so, the pictures are so neat.
this is SO SO SO COOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love that the Bean is in a focus group! it's so awesome! I can't wait to keep watch on that flickr site. Should be interesting!
ReplyDeleteMiss Butterbean looks so snazzy with her new collar...can't wait to see more of her photos...
ReplyDeleteWow! Who better than The Bean to show us the ways of catdom? She'll be an ace reporter - I am really looking forward to seeing her world. I trust there will be a few IBKs - and maybe even The Drewster - making cameos!
ReplyDeleteShe's so cute! This will be interesting. Although I know what my cat does during the day: sleep, look outside, eat, bathroom, sleep (in new spot) repeat.
ReplyDeleteAt night it's pretty much sleep with a snack and bathroom break at around 11 pm or midnight. ;)
Ms. B, what an honor. We are excited to see what you see :)
ReplyDeleteHow exciting. I can't wait to see what sort of hijinks Charlene gets up to :D
ReplyDeletethat is so cool, I wish one of my cats could have been chosen! This is the first I have heard of it. I guess you have to be famous like the Bean to know about these things.
ReplyDeleteOoh that is cool! Don't mind us Charlene, just go about your business!
ReplyDeletei wonder how many inappropriate photos of humans will be posted :snicker:
ReplyDeleteplease pray for my beloved 'Steven' fab 10 yr old tuxedo Kat.
ReplyDeletehad to take him to emergency tonight for possible urinary blockage and/or liver failure issue problems. THEY WOULD NOT LET ME BRING HIM HOME... dammit. (insert walls of tears here) no more words.... ,,,,,,,);
please do not feed your kitties any 'Halo' kitty snacks. be cautious.
sorry, i hope i did not offend anyone with my previous post.
ReplyDeleteLaurie please feel free to delete it if it is not appropriate. sorry about that (emotional outburst).
Scoot- );
Aww Scooterpants I'm thinking good thoughts for you (I personally didn't find your post innappropriate). It means your a carrying and responsible pet owner that you are so concerned.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Ms. Bean! I remember seeing a documentary like this a few years ago and hilarity ensued when it turned out that most of the shots were of fish swimming in the bowl :)
ReplyDeleteI see Charlene is checking out your changing autumn trees!
What a cool idea! We look forward to seeing your pictures, Charlene:)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait. Those cat cam images are art.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a kitty cam!
ReplyDeleteWhat a clever project! I loved the Flickr photos.
ReplyDeletethis is a great project; I love the Beans's first photos... the one on the Flickr group thru her whiskers is priceless!
ReplyDelete(question: is it hard to figure out what she was doing when the pictures get snapped?? some of the photos have to be kind of cryptic...)
lynda,, the spot disappeared in day light. must of just been a shadow.
ReplyDeleteno, you don't have to be a member of flickr to veiw the pics.
melissa, i completed an online survey, then they called and asked a few questions.
scooter, i hope steven is doing better now. thinking good thoughts for him....xo
crimpsoncat05, they're not too hard to figure out. charlene is pretty predictable.
This is going to be very interesting. I wish my kitties were doing it (although since they are collarless I don't know if they would want to participate). I can't wait to see what the Butterbean sees!
ReplyDeleteDo you get to keep the camera or do you have to give it back? If you are allowed to keep it you should put it on Dewey for the same amount of time to see how different her daily route is from the Beans.
ReplyDelete~Illisse
Love the pic with her whiskers spiking through it. She is a true artiste.
ReplyDeleteThis is a brilliant idea, love it and might get my cat one.
ReplyDelete