Cat Wars: the consequences of a cuddly killer

This widely read synthesis assembled the scientific case that free-ranging domestic cats are a significant driver of wildlife declines and a vector for zoonotic disease, while examining the contentious politics of feral-cat management. Drawing together ecology, public health and policy, the authors argued for reducing outdoor and feral cat populations to protect biodiversity, critiquing trap-neuter-return as ineffective at the scales required. The book crystallised one side of an intense societal debate over how to balance animal welfare, public health and conservation. It remains a key reference framing the domestic cat as an introduced predator embedded in human-dominated ecosystems worldwide.