🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Medina and colleagues reviewed the worldwide evidence for the effects of feral cats on island vertebrates, where naive and often endemic faunas are especially vulnerable. Compiling records across many…

Felix M. Medina, Elsa Bonnaud, Eric Vidal, et al. · Global Change Biology · 2011

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 contentiou…

Marra PP, Santella C · Princeton University Press · 2016

Legge and colleagues tackled a foundational question for cat management by estimating the total feral cat population across Australia. They compiled density estimates from dozens of sites and modelled…

Sarah Legge, Brett P. Murphy, Hugh McGregor, et al. · Biological Conservation · 2017

Blancher estimated the annual mortality of birds caused by cats in Canada, applying methods similar to large-scale predation assessments elsewhere. By combining figures on the numbers of pet and feral…

Peter Blancher · Avian Conservation and Ecology · 2013

This study documented a feline leukemia virus (FeLV) outbreak in the critically endangered Iberian lynx population of Donana, Spain. Through field surveillance, molecular diagnostics and pathology, th…

M. L. Meli, V. Cattori, F. Martínez, et al. · PLoS ONE · 2009

Woinarski and colleagues estimated the toll that cats take on Australian birds, combining data on cat density, distribution and diet across the continent. They calculated that feral cats in natural en…

John C. Z. Woinarski, Brett P. Murphy, Sarah M. Legge, et al. · Biological Conservation · 2017

Extending their continental analysis of cat predation, Woinarski and colleagues estimated the number of reptiles killed by cats in Australia. Using data on cat density, dietary frequency of reptiles a…

John C. Z. Woinarski, Brett P. Murphy, Russell Palmer, et al. · Wildlife Research · 2018

Doherty and colleagues assessed the contribution of invasive predators, prominently including feral cats, to global vertebrate extinctions and declines. Analyzing threatened and extinct species worldw…

Tim S. Doherty, Alistair S. Glen, Dale G. Nimmo, Euan G. Ritchie, Chris R. Dickman · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 2016

This influential study coined the practical demonstration of mesopredator release, showing that the decline of a dominant predator can unleash smaller predators with cascading harm to prey. In fragmen…

Crooks, K.R. & Soule, M.E. · Nature · 1999

The catastrophic Australian bushfires generated intensive research on wildlife impacts and recovery, advancing methods later applied elsewhere, and they highlighted the role of feral cats as a post-fi…

Many of the most important felid diseases, from distemper to leukemia virus to Toxoplasma, originate at the interface of domestic animals, wildlife and people, making them quintessential One Health pr…

Cats are often described as crepuscular, most active at dawn and dusk, and this overview surveys research on how activity and hunting are scheduled in domestic and feral cats. Tracking studies show fl…

Even as predators, cats must avoid being killed, and anti-predator behaviour shapes their activity and space use. This overview surveys research on vigilance, refuge use, and avoidance in domestic and…

Cities support large free-roaming cat populations sustained by food subsidies, and this overview surveys research on what determines their density and carrying capacity. It examines how food availabil…

The European wildcat’s recovery is complicated by disease and hybridization stemming from contact with abundant domestic cats. This overview surveys the disease threats facing wildcats, including feli…

Feral cats have been implicated in numerous extinctions of island species, and this overview surveys the documented cases and patterns. It examines examples of birds, mammals and reptiles lost or driv…

An overview of the substantial toll free-ranging domestic cats take on wild birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians in urban, suburban and rural landscapes. Both owned outdoor cats and unowned f…

Feline panleukopenia virus is exceptionally hardy, surviving in the environment for long periods, which shapes its epidemiology and spillover potential to wild felids. This overview surveys the virus’…

Feline herpesvirus and calicivirus, the main agents of cat respiratory disease, circulate in domestic cats and can spill into wild felids, causing upper respiratory and oral disease. This overview sur…

Feline leukemia virus is fundamentally a domestic-cat pathogen, yet it has crossed into endangered wild felids with lethal consequences. This overview surveys documented and suspected spillover events…

Feline panleukopenia virus, a parvovirus closely related to canine parvovirus, causes severe, often fatal disease and circulates readily among domestic cats, posing a spillover risk to wild felids. Th…

Long-term studies of urban feral cat colonies, including well-known work in Rome, document stable groups built around related females and their offspring, with males ranging more widely and showing lo…

Removing feral cats from islands has produced some of conservation's clearest predator-management successes, and this overview surveys eradication programs and their outcomes. It examines campaigns th…

A survey of the documented and ongoing impacts of feral domestic cats on island vertebrates, among the most damaging examples of introduced-predator effects. Feral cats have contributed to dozens of b…

Free-roaming cats intersect with human health through zoonotic disease, and this overview surveys the public-health dimensions of feral and community cat populations. It examines concerns including ra…

Research in Australia has shown that feral cats exploit recently burned landscapes, where loss of vegetation cover leaves native prey exposed and easier to catch, compounding the impacts of fire. This…

When feline leukemia virus appears in an endangered wild felid, tracing its origin is crucial for management. This overview surveys how molecular phylogenetics is used to attribute wild FeLV infection…

Understanding how feral cats use space is central to managing them and assessing their impact, and this overview surveys research on feral cat home ranges and movements. It examines tracking studies s…

The European wildcat faces a dual threat from domestic cats: genetic swamping through hybridization and the exchange of pathogens that accompanies close contact. This overview surveys how interbreedin…

For several wildcat populations, the greatest threat is not habitat loss or persecution but genetic assimilation through hybridization with domestic cats. This overview examines how introgression enda…