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, 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.

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.

2020-03-12, 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.

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.