Do cats have unique paw-prints like human finger-prints and unique meows?

Question

Due to a neighbour lying about me and my cat, I started to think how the things they say need a firm rebuttal.

The paw-print would need to be taken from nylon carpet in the hall of the building where I live. They have been accusing me of letting my cat roam around outside my flat and in the hall when my lease forbids this.

There is also the matter of my cat's meow, as all cats vary, just like humans, and there is a cat in the next building along who sounds nothing like mine.

Any advice on cat detection? Cheers.

Answer 1

No, cats' paw prints are not unique (fun fact: Their nose prints are, but that's not exactly practical in your situation) and anyway, getting a paw print off carpet is going to be very difficult.

A cat's meow is rather more individual, but it's going to be tricky to use for this situation. Similarly to babies' cries, the owner/parent grows used to identifying their particular cat/baby by ear. It's much less distinguishable for others, so short of getting into a full-on CSI:Cat situation with recordings and voice print analysis software and lots of earnest looking people barking "enhance!" at the poor tech working the keyboard, you aren't going to get anywhere with that either.

You actually might be better off proving where you cat was at the time of any alleged nefarious kitty antics. If your cat will tolerate a collar you could try a collar cam or a GPS tracker so you can show that your cat was wandering around your apartment at the time?