Research overview: cats as subsidized predators

A key concept in understanding cat impacts is that cats are subsidized predators, sustained by human-provided food and shelter independent of wild prey, and this overview surveys its consequences. It examines how subsidization decouples cat numbers from prey abundance, allowing high densities that ordinary predators could not maintain, so cats can continue preying on wildlife even as prey populations crash, a dynamic that can drive rare species toward extinction. The survey discusses evidence from feeding stations, urban environments and islands, the contrast with natural predator-prey regulation, and the implications for both conservation and management. By framing cats as subsidized predators, the survey explains why their ecological impact can be disproportionate and persistent, and why provisioning, whether intentional or through refuse, is central to the cat predation problem.