🧬 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

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

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

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…

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…

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…

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 genetic threat from interbreeding with free-ranging domestic cats, which can erode the wild population's distinct genome through introgression. This overview surveys genet…

Genetic studies of feral cat colonies have revealed promiscuous mating systems in which a single litter is frequently sired by several males. This overview surveys research using paternity analysis to…

Genetic tools illuminate how feral cat populations are connected, structured and sourced, informing management, and this overview surveys that research. It examines studies using molecular markers to…

An overview of why island faunas that evolved without mammalian predators are devastated when cats are introduced. Lacking evolved anti-predator defenses, island birds, reptiles and small mammals are…

Although often considered solitary, cats form social groups under abundant resources, and this overview surveys research on the structure of feral colonies. It examines how colonies typically center o…

The Scottish wildcat, the last wild felid native to Britain, is threatened less by direct persecution than by hybridization with domestic and feral cats that has blurred its genetic distinctiveness. T…

Prugh and colleagues synthesized global evidence that the worldwide decline of apex predators has triggered widespread increases in mid-sized carnivores, with far-reaching ecological and economic cons…

Prugh, L.R., Stoner, C.J., Epps, C.W., Bean, W.T. et al. · BioScience · 2009