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Third Grade Science Fair Projects on Cats

The best school science projects are those that tap into a child's existing interests. Third-graders who love cats will find them a rich source of education in biology and the scientific method. By choosing a science fair project related to cat health and behavior, parents can help their children learn more about these interesting pets.

Color Perception
- Test a cat's ability to distinguish color by placing three identically shaped food bowls of different colors on three boxes in a room. Place a cat treat in one bowl and allow the cat into the room. Observe the cat's behavior as it searches out the treat. Repeat the test every day, placing the treat in the same color bowl each time, but moving the bowls to different boxes so the treat is not in the same position. Determine if the cat learns to seek out the colored bowl containing the treat without checking the other bowls.
Food Choice
- Explore how a cat uses its sense of taste by placing three different brands of cat treat in three identical bowls. Let the cat into the room and record which treat it eats first. Repeat the test for 10 days, switching the positions of the treats every day and recording which treat the cat consumes first. Use the data to discover whether the cat always chooses the same brand of treat, always chooses the same bowl regardless of treat, or chooses different treats at random.
Right or Left Paw
- Test whether cats exhibit handedness in the same way that people and some other primates do by dangling a cat toy in front of your cat and recording which paw the animal uses to bat at the object. Repeat the experiment several times to see if the cat prefers to use its right or left paw. Ask friends and neighbors with cats to allow you to perform the same experience with their animals. Use the data to discover if cats tend to use one paw over the other, and if this varies from one cat to the next.
Feline Obesity
- Research the incidence of overweight cats within a given population by visiting a local veterinarian for a day. Make a chart describing the age, sex and breed of each cat that comes into the clinic, along with the cat's actual weight and the ideal weight for a cat of that type. The veterinarian can give you a healthy weight range to use as a reference. Determine what percentage of cats visiting the clinic are overweight and what percentage are within a normal weight range.

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