2020-03-13, McDonald, Jenni L., Cole, Holly

Domestic cats (Felis catus) are a conservation concern because they kill billions of native prey each year, but without spatial context the ecological importance of pets as predators remains uncertain. We worked with citizen scientists to track 925 pet cats from six countries, finding remarkably small home ranges (3.6 ± 5.6 ha). Only three cats ranged > 1 km^2 and we found no relationship between home range size and the presence of larger native predators (i.e. coyotes, Canis latrans). Most (75%) cats used primarily (90%) disturbed habitats. Owners reported that their pets killed an average of 3.5 prey items/month, leading to an estimated ecological impact per cat of 14.2‐38.9 prey ha^−1 yr^−1. This is similar or higher than the per‐animal ecological impact of wild carnivores but the effect is amplified by the high density of cats in neighborhoods. As a result, pet cats around the world have an ecological impact greater than native predators but concentrated within ~100 m of their homes.

2020-03-13, Roetman, Philip, Tindle, Hayley

Domestic cats (Felis catus) are a conservation concern because they kill billions of native prey each year, but without spatial context the ecological importance of pets as predators remains uncertain. We worked with citizen scientists to track 925 pet cats from six countries, finding remarkably small home ranges (3.6 ± 5.6 ha). Only three cats ranged > 1 km^2 and we found no relationship between home range size and the presence of larger native predators (i.e. coyotes, Canis latrans). Most (75%) cats used primarily (90%) disturbed habitats. Owners reported that their pets killed an average of 3.5 prey items/month, leading to an estimated ecological impact per cat of 14.2‐38.9 prey ha^−1 yr^−1. This is similar or higher than the per‐animal ecological impact of wild carnivores but the effect is amplified by the high density of cats in neighborhoods. As a result, pet cats around the world have an ecological impact greater than native predators but concentrated within ~100 m of their homes.

2021-12-20, Roshier, David A., Carter, Andrew

Introduced mammalian predators are drivers of species decline and extinction globally. The successful management and control of introduced mammalian predators is dependent on some knowledge of space use and movements in order to target a population and monitor outcomes. In Australia, these tasks are made complex as there is more than one significant introduced mammalian predator, namely the European red fox Vulpes vulpes and feral cat Felis catus, the landscapes are vast, and individual-level interactions between predators are little studied. The impact of these two introduced predators is large and a significant factor in the extinction of many of the country’s small- to medium-sized mammals, either regionally or globally. In a three-year study, we used high-frequency location data, the deployment of the latest GPS tracking technologies, and recent advances in statistical modeling to examine how these two species distributed themselves in space, the degree to which individual distributions overlapped, intra- and interspecific interactions, and temporal patterns of activity in an arid landscape. In the absence of an apex predator, the two introduced mesopredators showed large differences in how they distribute themselves across the landscape and interact with conspecifics. The red fox mostly occupies defined territories, while most feral cats roam apparently independent of each other with occasional periods of frequent interaction with conspecifics of either sex. Intraspecific attraction was strongest in cats, while interspecific avoidance was observed in both directions. The home ranges of feral cats that were range-resident were 3–3.5 times larger than foxes in the same landscape. Notably, we observed long-distance movements in feral cats and some were displaced up to 164 km from their point of release. A greater portion of the feral cat population were non-sedentary and therefore likely less amenable to local control efforts than foxes. Given the different patterns of distribution in time and space, the reliable monitoring of population trends or estimates of abundance will necessarily differ in extent, intensity, or duration for the same level of precision and/or require a different method for monitoring each population.

2023-10-25, Palomares, Francisco, Sanglas, Ariadna

[EN] This dataset describes the home range size of 64 domestic cats living in different sites in Spain during the years 2021, 2022 and 2023. Cats were tracked with three different types of devices during periods ranging from 8 and 82 days, and they were owned cats living associated with a house (50 individuals), colony unattended cats (13 individuals), and one isolated unattended cats living in a natural area. Four estimates of home range size are presented: Minimum convex polygon method using 100% and 95% of valid fixes, and kernel estimates using 95% and 50% of valid fixes. Additional information on the number of tracking days, date of tracking, number of fixes, or details on cat individuals are also provided. [ES] Este conjunto de datos describe el tamaño del área de campeo de 64 gatos domésticos que vivieron en diferentes lugares de España durante los años 2021, 2022 y 2023. Los gatos fueron rastreados con tres tipos diferentes de dispositivos durante períodos que oscilaron entre 8 y 82 días, y eran gatos con dueño, viviendo asociado a una casa (50 individuos), de una colonia de gatos desatendida (13 individuos) y un gato desatendido que vivía en un área natural. Se presentan cuatro estimas del tamaño del área de campeo: método del polígono convexo mínimo utilizando el 100 % y el 95 % de las localizaciones válidas, y el método de kernel usando el 95% y el 50 % de las localizaciones válidas. También se proporciona información adicional sobre el número de días de seguimiento, las fechas de seguimiento, el número de localizaciones o detalles sobre los gatos.

2020-03-13, Kays, Roland, Dunn, Robert R., Parsons, Arielle, Mcdonald, Brandon, Perkins, Troi, Powers, Shelby, Shell, Leonora

Domestic cats (Felis catus) are a conservation concern because they kill billions of native prey each year, but without spatial context the ecological importance of pets as predators remains uncertain. We worked with citizen scientists to track 925 pet cats from six countries, finding remarkably small home ranges (3.6 ± 5.6 ha). Only three cats ranged > 1 km^2 and we found no relationship between home range size and the presence of larger native predators (i.e. coyotes, Canis latrans). Most (75%) cats used primarily (90%) disturbed habitats. Owners reported that their pets killed an average of 3.5 prey items/month, leading to an estimated ecological impact per cat of 14.2‐38.9 prey ha^−1 yr^−1. This is similar or higher than the per‐animal ecological impact of wild carnivores but the effect is amplified by the high density of cats in neighborhoods. As a result, pet cats around the world have an ecological impact greater than native predators but concentrated within ~100 m of their homes.

2020-07-02, Kays, Roland, DeWan, Amielle A.

While subsidised populations of feral cats are known to impact their prey populations, little is known about the ecological impact of inside/outside hunting cats (IOHC). We studied IOHC around a suburban nature preserve. Mail surveys indicated an average of 0.275 IOHC/house, leading to a regional density estimate of 0.32 IOHC/ha. A geographical model of cat density was created based on local house density and distance from forest/neighbourhood edge. IOHC hunted mostly small mammals, averaging 1.67 prey brought home/cat/month and a kill rate of 13%. Predation rates based on kills brought home was lower than the estimate from observing hunting cats (5.54 kills/cat/month). IOHC spent most outside time in their or their immediate neighbours' garden/yard, or in the nearby forest edge; 80% of observed hunts occurred in a garden/yard or in the first 10 m of forest. Radio‐tracked IOHC averaged 0.24 ha in home‐range size (95% minimum convex polygon (MCP)) and rarely entered forest. Confirming this, scent stations detected cats more often near the edge and more cats were detected in smaller forest fragments. There was no relationship between the number of cats detected in an area and the local small mammal abundance or rodent seed predation rates. Cold weather and healthy cat predator populations are speculated to minimise the ecological impact of IOHC on this area.

2020-03-12, Kikillus, Heidy, Woods, Lisa

Domestic cats (Felis catus) are a conservation concern because they kill billions of native prey each year, but without spatial context the ecological importance of pets as predators remains uncertain. We worked with citizen scientists to track 925 pet cats from six countries, finding remarkably small home ranges (3.6 ± 5.6 ha). Only three cats ranged > 1 km^2 and we found no relationship between home range size and the presence of larger native predators (i.e. coyotes, Canis latrans). Most (75%) cats used primarily (90%) disturbed habitats. Owners reported that their pets killed an average of 3.5 prey items/month, leading to an estimated ecological impact per cat of 14.2‐38.9 prey ha^−1 yr^−1. This is similar or higher than the per‐animal ecological impact of wild carnivores but the effect is amplified by the high density of cats in neighborhoods. As a result, pet cats around the world have an ecological impact greater than native predators but concentrated within ~100 m of their homes.