Research overview: climate change and the future of urban-adapted felids

Climate change interacts with urbanisation to reshape the conditions felids face near cities, altering prey availability, water resources, heat exposure, fire regimes and the viability of corridors. This overview synthesises research anticipating how warming, drought and extreme events may compound urban pressures on cats from pumas in fire-prone California to fishing cats in flood-prone wetlands. It examines the role of connectivity in enabling range shifts, the heightened vulnerability of isolated urban populations, and adaptation planning that integrates climate and urban resilience. The synthesis frames the joint trajectory of climate and urban change as the defining long-term context for felid coexistence.