Prey selection and predation behavior of free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) in an urban ecosystem: Implications for urban cat management

Herrera, Daniel J.; Cove, Michael V.; McShea, William J.; Flockhart, D. T. Tyler; Decker, Samuel T.; Moore, Sophie M.; Gallo, Travis

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2022.109503

Cited by 22 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…In turn, this increases the chance of cats encountering coyotes, who are well-known to prey on cats (Grubbs & Krausman, 2009;Nation & Clair, 2019;Poessel et al, 2017;Quinn, 1997). Others have reported high predation pressure put on small wildlife in residential areas with many outdoor cats (Herrera et al, 2022;Kays et al, 2020) and around TNR feeding stations (Herrera et al, 2022;Kays et al, 2020). Ignoring these impacts ignores our responsibility for both cats and wildlife.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Neutered free-ranging cats may not reproduce, but they continue to interact with their surrounding environment, causing a range of concerns, including predation and disease transfer (Barrows, 2004). Cats kill small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates (Baker et al, 2005;Blancher, 2013;Loss et al, 2022;McDonald et al, 2015;van Heezik et al, 2010;Woolley et al, 2020), and it was found that well-fed cats continue to show high predation rates on small wildlife (Herrera et al, 2022). Additionally, their mere presence has been shown to reduce nesting success of birds (Bonnington et al, 2013).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…It is possible that feeding and neutering at TNR colonies may reduce the size of cats' home ranges, thus reducing the spatial effects of TNR colonies on surrounding wildlife (Kays et al, 2020), but a meta-analysis found no such effects (Hall et al, 2016) and more research is needed. When it comes to effects on local wildlife, the location of the TNR colony may be crucial, too, because cats in dense human settlements have smaller home ranges and kill less wildlife than in more rural areas (Herrera et al, 2022;Pirie et al, 2022;Piontek et al, 2021). The impact on wildlife is not unidirectional, however, and cat colonies in North America may face predation by coyotes (Canis latrans), who are attracted to the cat food and prey opportunistically on cats (Grubbs & Krausman, 2009;Nation & Clair, 2019;Poessel et al, 2017;Quinn, 1997).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Confluence and Implications of Cats, Coyotes, and Other Mesopredators at a Feral Cat Feeding Station

et al. 2022

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Trap-neuter-return (TNR) is promoted as a “humane” alternative to lethal methods for population control of feral domestic cats (Felis catus). This paper explores feedbacks between feral domestic cats, coyotes (Canis latrans), raccoons (Procyon lotor), and skunks (Mephitis mephitis) at a TNR feral cat colony in Rhode Island, USA. A total of 12,272 photographs from a motion-activated camera were analyzed. Cat population size and visitation frequency of wildlife were estimated during three different feeding regimes. Abundant food on the ground was associated with increased wildlife visits, while elevated or limited food was associated with decreased wildlife visits. During the two-year study period, the population of cats dropped from 17 to 12 individuals and the cats appeared to have short life spans, which could have been due to predation by coyotes. Our results suggest that wildlife confluence and predation risks can be influenced by feeding regime.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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confidence: 99%

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Confluence and Implications of Cats, Coyotes, and Other Mesopredators at a Feral Cat Feeding Station

et al. 2022

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“…At each spatial scale, observation data from all cameras located within each grid cell were pooled to create daily detection histories (detected = 1, not detected = 0, not surveyed = NA) for the respective cell using the package "CamtrapR" in R version 4.1.2 (Niedballa et al, 2016;RStudio Team, 2019;R Core Team, 2020). Species included in this analysis were domestic cat due to its centrality to the research questions, and eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus), eastern cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus), eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), groundhog (Marmota monax), and white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) because they are native species known to be depredated by domestic cats (George, 1974;Loyd et al, 2013;Paul and Friend, 2020;Herrera et al, 2022). Raccoon (Procyon lotor), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) were also included because they are disease vectors or are otherwise known to be a risk to cats through direct conflict or interference competition (Carey and McLean, 1983;Jenkins et al, 1988;Sogliani and Mori, 2019;Zecca et al, 2020;Hennessy and Hild, 2021).…”

Section: Observation Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The variation of risk across time and space is a fundamental concept in ecology (Brown et al, 1999;Mayor et al, 2009;Gaynor et al, 2019), and is applicable to free-roaming cat management since the bidirectional risks of cats are not uniform across the landscape. For instance, predation by cats is greatest near habitat edges (Kays and DeWan, 2004;Herrera et al, 2022;Pirie et al, 2022), and predation rates fluctuate based on the season and time of day (Thomas et al, 2012;Loyd et al, 2013;Seymour et al, 2020). Likewise, cats face less predation risk where native predators are scarce (Gehrt et al, 2013;Kays et al, 2015), and predation risk is presumably greater for cats whose diel patterns match those of native predators.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal overlap of domestic cats (Felis catus) and native urban wildlife

et al. 2022

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Free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) are known to pose threats to ecosystem health via transmission of zoonotic diseases and predation of native wildlife. Likewise, free-roaming cats are also susceptible to predation or disease transmission from native wildlife. Physical interactions are required for many of these risks to be manifested, necessitating spatial and temporal overlap between cats and wildlife species. Therefore, knowledge of the location and extent of shared habitat and activity periods would benefit management programs. We used data from a 3-year camera trap survey to model species-specific occupancy and identify landscape variables that contribute to the distribution of free-roaming domestic cats and eight native mammal species in Washington, DC. (USA). Our analysis includes five species that are common prey items of domestic cats, and three species that are potential disease vectors or are otherwise known to be a risk to cats. We then predicted the probability of occupancy and estimated the probability of spatial overlap between cats and each native wildlife species at multiple scales. We also used kernel density estimations to calculate temporal overlap between cats and each native wildlife species. Across spatial scales, occupancy for potential disease vector species was generally positively correlated with canopy cover and open water. Prey species were also generally positively correlated with canopy cover, but displayed negative associations with human population density and inconsistent associations with average per capita income. Domestic cat occupancy was negatively correlated with natural habitat characteristics and positively correlated with human population density. Predicted spatial overlap between domestic cats and native wildlife was greatest for potential disease vector species. Temporal overlap was high (>0.50) between cats and all but two native wildlife species, indicating that temporal overlap is probable wherever species overlap spatially. Our findings indicate that the risk to and from domestic cats varies across urban landscapes, but primarily arises from human activities. As such, humans are implicated in the negative outcomes that result from cats interacting with wildlife. Data-driven management to reduce such interactions can aid in cat population management, biodiversity conservation, and public health campaigns.

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Counting the Capital's cats: Estimating drivers of abundance of free‐roaming cats with a novel hierarchical model

Cove

Herrmann

Herrera

et al. 2023

Ecological Applications

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Free-roaming cats are a conservation concern in many areas but identifying their impacts and developing mitigation strategies requires a robust understanding of their distribution and density patterns. Urban and residential areas may be especially relevant in this process because free-roaming cats are abundant in these anthropogenic landscapes. Here, we estimate the occupancy and density of free-roaming cats in Washington D.C. and relate these metrics to known landscape and social factors. We conducted an extended camera trap survey of public and private spaces across D.C. and analyzed data collected from 1483 camera deployments from 2018 to 2020. We estimated citywide cat distribution by fitting hierarchical occupancy models and further estimated cat abundance using a novel random thinning spatial capture-recapture model that allows for the use of photos that can and cannot be identified to individual. Within this model, we utilized individual covariates that provided identity exclusions between photos of unidentifiable cats with inconsistent coat patterns, thus increasing the precision of abundance estimates. This combined model also allowed for unbiased estimation of density when animals cannot be identified to individual at the same rate as for free-roaming cats whose identifiability depended on their coat characteristics. Cat occupancy and abundance declined with increasing distance from residential areas, an effect that was more pronounced in wealthier neighborhoods. There was noteworthy absence of cats detected in larger public spaces and forests. Realized densities ranged from 0.02 to 1.75 cats/ha in sampled areas, resulting in a district-wide estimate of ~7296 free-roaming cats. Ninety percent of cat detections lacked collars and nearly 35% of known individuals were ear-tipped, indicative of district Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs. These results suggest that we mainly sampled and estimated the unowned cat subpopulation, such that indoor/outdoor housecats were not well represented. The precise estimation of cat population densities is difficult due to the varied behavior of subpopulations within free-roaming cat populations (housecats, stray and feral cats), but our methods provide a first step in establishing citywide

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Prey selection and predation behavior of free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) in an urban ecosystem: Implications for urban cat management

Cited by 22 publications

References 57 publications

Confluence and Implications of Cats, Coyotes, and Other Mesopredators at a Feral Cat Feeding Station

Confluence and Implications of Cats, Coyotes, and Other Mesopredators at a Feral Cat Feeding Station

Spatial and temporal overlap of domestic cats (Felis catus) and native urban wildlife

Counting the Capital's cats: Estimating drivers of abundance of free‐roaming cats with a novel hierarchical model

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