Roaming habits of pet cats on the suburban fringe in Perth, Western Australia: what size buffer zone is needed to protect wildlife in reserves?

Lilith, Maggie; Calver, Michael C.; Garkaklis, Mark J.

doi:10.7882/fs.2008.011

Cited by 29 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…This may become more acceptable to the public once it is determined whether or not cats are detrimentally affecting wildlife populations. Lilith et al (2008) has suggested a buffer zone concept, whereby developments, or households owning cats, may be banned within a certain distance from an area of important wildlife value. Data from the radio-tracking of rural and urban cats in Australia produced a figure of 360 m that would be acceptable as a buffer zone (Lilith et al 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lilith et al (2008) has suggested a buffer zone concept, whereby developments, or households owning cats, may be banned within a certain distance from an area of important wildlife value. Data from the radio-tracking of rural and urban cats in Australia produced a figure of 360 m that would be acceptable as a buffer zone (Lilith et al 2008). Within our study, the largest maximum daily area ranged by a cat was 33.78 ha, this being equivalent to a circular area of diameter of 656 m. However, owners' homes are not generally located at the extreme periphery of their pet's ranges, such that the radius (328 m) may be a more useful metric for estimating the appropriate size for a buffer zone.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The relationship between habitat availability (measured as habitat available within a 350 m radius of the cat's home; distance based on figures from Lilith et al (2008) and results of this study) and the habitat composition of the cat's DAR was analysed in two ways. First, Jacob's D Index (Jacobs 1974) was used.…”

Section: Habitat Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In one study of prey returned home by free-ranging urban domestic cats, 11 mammal, 21 bird and two reptile species were returned, with one species, the wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) accounting for 40 % of all prey (Thomas et al 2012). Although the numbers and diversity of prey taken by pet cats have been widely investigated (Churcher and Lawton 1987;Barratt 1997bBarratt , 1998Robertson 1998;Woods et al 2003;Baker et al 2005Baker et al , 2008van Heezik et al 2010;Thomas et al 2012;Loyd et al 2013) the degree to which they may be negatively affecting wildlife populations in urban settings is still equivocal (Crooks and Soulé 1999;Lilith et al 2010). Furthermore, while most studies have considered the direct effects of cat predation, other studies have emphasised the potential negative indirect consequences of domestic cats (Beckerman et al 2007;Bonnington et al 2013), further depressing prey numbers in areas with high cat densities.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Understanding the movement and behaviour of domestic cats is important in understanding their potential predatory effect (s) within an area, especially as a cat's range may encompass areas of high wildlife value. For example, Lilith et al (2008) suggested a buffer zone of 360 m around any housing development in Australia to reduce the numbers of pet cats hunting in important wildlife areas. Such figures may, however, not be directly translated to other countries because of inter-national differences in urban landscape structure and, perhaps, differences in the abundance and types of prey species available.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Ranging characteristics of the domestic cat (Felis catus) in an urban environment

2014

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In many countries, high densities of domestic cats (Felis catus) are found in urban habitats where they have the potential to exert considerable predation pressure on their prey. However, little is known of the ranging behaviour of cats in the UK. Twenty cats in suburban Reading, UK, were fitted with GPS trackers to quantify movement patterns. Cats were monitored during the summer and winter for an average of 6.8 24 h periods per season. Mean daily area ranged (95 % MCP) was 1.94 ha. Including all fixes, mean maximum area ranged was 6.88 ha. These are broadly comparable to those observed in urban areas in other countries. Daily area ranged was not affected by the cat's sex or the season, but was significantly larger at night than during the day. There was no relationship between area ranged and habitat availability. Taking available habitat into account, cat ranging area contained significantly more garden and other green space than urban habitats. If cats were shown to be negatively affecting prey populations, one mitigation option for consideration in housing developments proposed near important wildlife sites would be to incorporate a 'buffer zone' in which cat ownership was not permitted. Absolute maximum daily area ranged by a cat in this study was 33.78 ha. This would correspond to an exclusory limit of approximately 300-400 m to minimise the negative effects of cat predation, but this may need to be larger if cat ranging behaviour is negatively affected by population density.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Habitat Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ranging characteristics of the domestic cat (Felis catus) in an urban environment

2014

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Do collar-mounted predation deterrents restrict wandering in pet domestic cats?

Hall

Bryant

Fontaine

2016

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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2277Fax -+61 9360 6303 2 Highlights  Roaming behaviour was unchanged when cats wore predation deterrents.  Deterrent effectiveness stems from interference with hunting success, not less roaming.  Housing density was the strongest predictor of home range and roaming extent. ABSTRACTRoaming pet cats kill and harass wildlife, hybridise with wild felids, interbreed with feral populations, spread disease or annoy neighbours, and endanger their own welfare by fighting, being struck by vehicles or ingesting poisons. Confinement of pet cats is unpopular, so alternative methods to curb roaming behaviour would benefit wildlife conservation and pet wellbeing. Some owners whose cats participated in previous trials testing the effectiveness of the collar-mounted predation deterrents the CatBib and the Birdsbesafe collar cover (BBS) in reducing predation by pet cats reported that their cats stayed closer to home when wearing the devices. Therefore we tested whether these devices might curb roaming behaviour of pet cats as an alternative to confinement.Thirty cats participated. Trials occurred in spring and autumn in Perth, Western Australia (southern hemisphere spring -autumn). Cats wore GPS collars for 10 consecutive days, wearing the GPS collar alone for five days and wearing either a CatBib (16 cats) or BBS (14 cats) as well for a further five days. Treatment order was determined randomly for each cat. We represented cats' home ranges with 95 % kernel density estimates (KDE) (100 % minimum convex polygon (MCP) provided for comparison with other studies) and 50 % KDE (core home range). We also used data for all cats when not wearing either predation deterrent, plus data on a further four cats, to determine the relative effect of sex, age, night confinement, housing density, number of days of rain, total rainfall, and mean maximum temperature on both estimates of home range size.Neither device reduced home range significantly. The mean home range (95 % KDE) was 2.79 ha with the CatBib and 2.46 ha without. Figures for the core home range (50 % KDE) were 0.63 ha and 0.71 ha respectively. The mean home range (95 % KDE) with the BBS (where the sample included fewer cats from lower housing densities) was 0.58 ha and 0.50 ha without. The means for the core home range (50 % KDE) were 0.15 ha and 0.14 ha respectively. When cats were not wearing either device, 95 % and 50 % KDE were predicted most strongly by housing density, presumably a surrogate for cat density.Owners may use a CatBib or BBS to curtail their cat's hunting behaviour, but curtailing roaming behaviour needs another solution. Confinement, although unpopular, remains the most effective option where unwanted roaming is a problem.

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Factors determining the home ranges of pet cats: A meta-analysis

Hall

Bryant

Haskard³

et al. 2016

Biological Conservation

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Roaming pet cats Felis catus are a significant conservation issue because they may hunt, harass and compete with wildlife; spread disease, interbreed with cats in feral populations, and hybridise with wild native felids. Studies of the roaming behaviour of pet cats are often hampered by modest sample sizes and variability between cats, limiting statistical significance of the findings and their usefulness in recommending measures to discourage roaming. We resolved these difficulties through metaanalyses of 25 studies from 10 countries involving 469 pet cats to assess the influence of sex, whether a cat was desexed and housing density on roaming. A complementary linear mixed models approach used data on 311 individual animals from 22 studies and was also able to assess the influence of age and husbandry practices on roaming. This restricted sample gave greater statistical power than the meta-analyses. Meta-analyses found that: male pet cats had larger home ranges than females, desexing did not influence home range, and cats had larger home ranges when housing densities were low. The linear mixed models supported those results. They also indicated that animals ≥ 8 years old had smaller home ranges than younger cats. Cats fed regularly, provided with veterinary care and socialised with humans had similar home ranges to cats living in association with households but not provided for in some of these ways. Short of confinement, there is no simple measure owners can adopt to reduce roaming by their cats and prevent the associated environmental problems.

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Roaming habits of pet cats on the suburban fringe in Perth, Western Australia: what size buffer zone is needed to protect wildlife in reserves?

Cited by 29 publications

References 23 publications

Ranging characteristics of the domestic cat (Felis catus) in an urban environment

Ranging characteristics of the domestic cat (Felis catus) in an urban environment

Do collar-mounted predation deterrents restrict wandering in pet domestic cats?

Factors determining the home ranges of pet cats: A meta-analysis

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