Research overview: free-ranging cat density across the urban gradient

Free-ranging domestic cat density often peaks in human-dominated areas where supplemental feeding and shelter abound, declining toward wildland where native predators and scarcer food limit them. This overview synthesises camera-trap and survey research estimating cat density along urban-to-wild gradients, the role of human feeding and ownership in sustaining high numbers, and the implications for the spatial pattern of predation pressure on wildlife. It examines how cat density interacts with native carnivore presence and habitat to determine ecological impact. The synthesis frames the distribution of free-ranging cats as a human-structured phenomenon central to understanding their footprint on urban and edge ecosystems.