Reproductive capacity of free-roaming domestic cats

Nutter, Levine and Stoskopf studied the reproductive biology of free-roaming cats to inform population management, monitoring breeding females in feral colonies. They documented high reproductive output, with females producing multiple litters per year and substantial litter sizes, but also high kitten mortality, with a large fraction of kittens dying before maturity. By quantifying birth rates, litter frequency and survival, the study provided parameters essential for modelling how quickly unmanaged populations grow and how intensively sterilization must be applied to achieve decline. The findings illustrated both the rapid potential growth of free-roaming cat populations and the heavy natural losses among kittens, helping to ground debates over trap-neuter-return and other management in realistic demographic data about feline fecundity and survival in the field.