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Domestic Cat Predation on Birds and Other Wildlife

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Domestic Cat Predation on Birds and Other Wildlife DOMESTIC CAT PREDATION ON BIRDS AND OTHER WILDLIFE How many birds and other wildlife do domestic cats Cats Compete With Native Predators kill each year in the U.S.? Owned cats have huge advantages over native predators. They Exact numbers are unknown, but scientists estimate that nationwide, receive protection from disease, predation, competition, and cats kill hundreds of millions of birds, and more than a billion starvation—factors which control native predators such as small mammals, such as rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks, each owls, bobcats, and foxes. Cats with dependable food sources year. Cats kill common species such as Cardinal, Blue Jay, and House are not as vulnerable to changes in prey populations. Unlike Wren, as well as rare and endangered species such as Piping Plover, many native predators, cats are not strictly territorial. As a Florida Scrub-Jay, and California Least Tern. result, cats can exist at much higher densities and may out- compete native predators for food. Unaltered cats are also There are more than 77 million pet cats in the United States. A prolific breeders. In warmer climates, a female cat can have 3 1997 nationwide poll showed that only 35% are kept exclusively litters per year, with 4 to 6 kittens per litter. indoors, leaving the majority of owned cats free to kill birds and other wildlife at least some of the time. In addition, millions of stray Cats Transmit Disease to Wildlife and feral cats roam our cities, suburbs, farmlands and natural areas. Unvaccinated cats can transmit diseases, such as rabies, to other Abandoned by their owners or lost (stray), or descendants of strays cats, native wildlife and humans. Cats are the domestic animal and living in the wild (feral), these cats are victims of human most frequently reported to be rabid to the Centers for Disease irresponsibility due to abandonment and failure to spay or neuter Control and Prevention. Cats are also suspected of spreading pets. No one knows how many homeless cats there are in the U.S., fatal feline diseases to native wild cats such as mountain lion, but estimates range from 60 to 100 million. These cats lead short, the endangered Florida panther, and bobcat. For more miserable lives. information, see the fact sheet, The Great Outdoors Is No Loss of wildlife habitat Place For Cats at www.abcbirds.org/cats. and fragmentation due to human development Cat Predation Studies are the leading causes Extensive studies of the feeding habits of free-roaming of declining bird domestic cats have been conducted over the last 55 years in populations. However, Europe, North America, Australia, Africa, and on many islands. scientists now list These studies show that the number and types of animals invasive species, killed by cats varies greatly, depending on the individual cats, Great Horned Owl: Clipart.com including cats, as the the time of year, and availability of prey. Roughly 60% to 70% second most serious threat to bird populations worldwide. Habitat of the wildlife cats kill are small mammals; 20% to 30% are fragmentation provides cats and other predators easier access to birds; and up to 10 are amphibians, reptiles, and insects. wildlife forced to live on smaller tracts of land. Rather than havens However, birds can be up to 100% of a cat’s prey on some for wildlife, these areas can be death traps. islands. Cats Are Not a Natural Part of Ecosystems Some free-roaming domestic cats kill more than 100 animals The domestic cat, Felis catus, is a descendant of the European and each year. One well-fed cat that roamed a wildlife experiment African wild cats. Domesticated in Egypt more than 4,000 years station was recorded to have killed more than 1,600 animals ago, cats may be the most widespread predator in the world. In the (mostly small mammals) over 18 months. Rural cats take U.S., cats were not abundant until the late 1800s when they were more prey than suburban or urban cats. Birds that nest or feed brought to help control burgeoning rodent populations associated on the ground, such as California Quail, are the most with agriculture. Some people view cat predation of rodents as susceptible to cat predation, as are nestlings and fledglings of beneficial, but native small mammals are important to maintaining many other bird species. biologically diverse ecosystems. Field mice and shrews are also prey for birds such as Great Horned Owl and Red-tailed Hawk. The following are summaries of specific studies: East Bay Regional Park District, CA: A two-year study very poor ratters. The researchers concluded, “Although it is was conducted in two parks with grassland habitat. One park unlikely that cats alone will cause any species to become endangered had no cats, but more than 25 cats were being fed daily in the in Britain, for those which are already under pressure for other other park. There were almost twice as many birds seen in the reasons, such as thrushes, harvest mice, grass snakes, and slow park with no cats as in the park with cats. California Thrasher worms, cats could become significant.”(The Mammal Society. 1998. and California Quail, both ground-nesting birds, were seen Look what the cat’s brought in! www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/ during surveys in catkills). the no-cat area, whereas they Wichita, KS: In a study of cat predation in an urban area, 83% of were never seen in the 41 study cats killed birds. In all but one case, when feathers the cat area. In were found in scat, the owner was unaware that their cat had ingested addition, more a bird. In fact, the majority of cat owners reported their cats did not than 85% of the bring prey to them. Instead, the owners observed the cats with the native deer mice bird or found remains in the house or in other locations. A de- California Quail: Alan Hopkins and harvest mice clawed cat killed more animals than any other cat in the study. trapped were in the no-cat area, whereas 79% of the house (Fiore, C. and K. B. Sullivan. Domestic cat (Felis catus) predation of mice, an exotic pest species, were trapped in the cat area. The birds in an urban environment. www.geocities.com/the_srco/ researchers concluded, “Cats at artificially high densities, Article.html). sustained by supplemental feeding, reduce abundance of native rodent and bird populations, change the rodent species Wisconsin: Researchers at the University of Wisconsin coupled composition, and may facilitate the expansion of the house their four-year cat predation study with data from other studies, mouse into new areas.” (Hawkins, C.C., W.E. Grant, and M.T. and estimated that rural free-roaming cats kill at least 7.8 million Longnecker. 1999. Effect of subsidized house cats on California and perhaps as many as 217 million birds a year in Wisconsin. birds and rodents. Transactions of theWestern Section of TheWildlife Suburban and urban cats add to that toll. In some parts of the state, Society 35:29-33). free-roaming cat densities reach 114 cats per square mile, outnumbering all similar-sized native predators. (Coleman, J.S., San Diego, CA: In a study of the relationships between S.A. Temple, and S.R. Craven. 1997. Cats and Wildlife: A coyote, mid-sized predators such as cats, and scrub-dwelling Conservation Dilemma. 6 pp. www.wisc.edu/extension/ birds, cat owners living along the rims of canyons collected catfly3.htm). In an ongoing, but unpublished, study of cat prey the prey their cats brought home. These canyons are isolated items including stomach contents, scat analysis, observations of pockets of habitat with species that may not occur elsewhere. kills, and prey remains, birds were 19.6% of 1,976 prey captured On average, each outdoor cat that hunted returned 24 rodents, by 78 outdoor cats (Temple, S.A, Univ. of WI, personal 15 birds, and 17 lizards to the residence per year. Birds were communication, 1/22/04). 26.7% of the prey killed by cats. The researchers estimated that cats surrounding mid-sized canyons return 840 rodents, Virginia: Researchers compared a free-roaming domestic pet cat 525 birds, and 595 lizards to residences each year. This level of in a rural area with 4 urban cats. The rural cat captured a total of 27 predation appears to be unsustainable. The study also found native species (8 bird, 2 amphibian, 9 reptile, and 8 mammal, that in small canyons where the coyote was absent, there was including the star-nosed mole, a species of special state concern). an increase in mid-sized predators such as cats, and a drastic The 4 urban cats captured 21 native species (6 bird, 7 reptile, and 8 decline in diversity or elimination of scrub-breeding birds. mammal). Between January and November 1990 each cat caught, But in the larger canyons where coyotes were still present, the on average, 26 native individuals in the urban area, and 83 in the scrub-breeding birds were also present. (Crooks, K.R. and rural area. The study did not count prey killed and completely M.E. Soule. 1999. Mesopredator release and avifaunal consumed, prey killed and left elsewhere, prey that escaped but extinctions in a fragmented system. Nature 400:563-566). died later from infection or injury, or non-native prey. (Mitchell, J. and R.A.Beck. 1992. Free-ranging domestic cat predation on native England: The Mammal Society conducted a survey of animals vertebrates in rural and urban Virginia. Virginia Journal of Science brought home by domestic cats. During a five-month period 43:197-206).
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