Accelerometers have been used as adjunct tools to assess the clinical efficacy of analgesic drugs in cats. The HOBO Pendant® G accelerometer (HOBO) has been used in poultry, lobsters, and dairy cows. We hypothesized the HOBO output would correlate with distance traveled and identify jumping behaviors in cats.
Methods: Seven healthy cats (5.6 ± 2.4 years, 6.4 ± 2.7 kg) without orthopedic abnormalities were acclimated to the harness and accelerometer for 10 days. The study room had ceiling and tripod-mounted floor cameras which were connected to BehaviorCloud® software for recording, distance, and behavioral analysis. Accelerometers recorded acceleration (g forces) every 30 seconds in the x- (horizontal) and z- (vertical) axes. Each cat spent 31-40 hours in the room over 2 weeks, for a total of 229 hours. Jumping and sleeping behaviors were identified by visual analysis of the recordings. Pearson correlation of hourly mean acceleration (g forces) and total distance traveled (cm) for the x-axis was completed. Mean z-acceleration (g forces) for jumping and sleeping were compared using a two-sample t-test.
