Herding cats

Humans and domesticated cats (Felis catus) have lived alongside one another for a very long time and, consequently, humans have taken their cats all over the world (Cecchetti et al., 2020; Pirie et al., 2022; Wijburg et al., 2022). Nowadays, cats are in the household as pets, but they are also used on farms as a preventative measure for small mammals like rats and mice that eat the food sources of humans (Wijburg et al., 2022). By coming into contact with human food sources, rodents can transmit diseases to humans via droppings or saliva (Wijburg et al., 2022). If cats are come into a household, they prey on the rodents. This results in a negative relationship between the presence of rodents and the presence of domesticated cats in urbanized areas, which in turn is a positive effect on human health (Wijburg et al., 2022).

However, domesticated cats are actually considered an invasive species in many areas by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to the damage that they cause to local wildlife (Bradfield et al., 2025). Regardless of their domesticated status, the degree of domestication varies (Cecchetti et al., 2020). Often, cats still retain characteristics that are associated with wild cats such as their hunting behavior (Cecchetti et al., 2020). Generally, felines eat many small meals in a day, but domesticated house cats are often fed only once or twice a day by their owners (Cecchetti et al., 2020). Furthermore, a diverse diet is very important for the cat’s health and only eating dry food may cause disease in cats (Cecchetti et al., 2020). This is why cats supplement their prepared diets with nutrition that they can find outside of the household, by hunting small rodents and birds (Cecchetti et al., 2020).

The predation range of domesticated cats within urban areas is typically around 2 hectares and not limited to homes and their backyards (Bradfield et al., 2025; Pirie et al., 2022). Within these urban areas, cats can often be found in or around small patches of green space (Bradfield et al., 2025). These smaller patches are inhabited by many small rodent and bird species as there are limited green spaces that are available (Bradfield et al., 2025). As a consequence of these interactions, up to 4 billion birds and up to 20 billion small mammals are killed each year by domesticated cats (Bradfield et al., 2025).

Possible solutions
To reduce the damage caused by domesticated cats, owner can attach bells to the collars of cats to let birds know that a predator is coming, keep cats indoors only, or by feeding more diverse diets so the cats don’t feel a need to predate (Cecchetti et al., 2020). However, some studies find that these measures are not as effective as previously thought (Pirie et al., 2022).

Moreover, direct effects of domesticated cats on birds and mammals, such as predation, are quantifiable, but the impact of indirect effects are not known (Pirie et al., 2022). The mere presence of a cat increases vigilance in animals, reducing the available time for foraging or decreasing breeding success (Pirie et al., 2022). This would mean that only restraining cats in their movement would be the solution to this problem (Pirie et al., 2022). Though, some have argued that it would be cruel to restrict the roaming of cats, while others have argued that not doing so is cruel to the birds and mammals that are killed each year (Pirie et al., 2022).

 

• Bradfield, A., Nagy, C., Weckel, M., Lahti, D. C., & Habig, B. (2025). Cats in the city: urban cat distribution is influenced by habitat characteristics, anthropogenic factors, and the presence of coyotes. Urban Ecosystems, 28(3). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-025-01709-3
• Cecchetti, M., Crowley, S. L., & McDonald, R. A. (2020). Drivers and facilitators of hunting behaviour in domestic cats and options for management. Mammal Review, 51(3), 307–322. https://doi.org/10.1111/mam.12230
• Pirie, T. J., Thomas, R. L., & Fellowes, M. D. (2022). Pet cats (Felis catus) from urban boundaries use different habitats, have larger home ranges and kill more prey than cats from the suburbs. Landscape and Urban Planning, 220, 104338. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2021.104338
• Wijburg, S.R., de Cock, M.P., Raaijmakers, E.F. et al. The interplay between urban greenspace, cats and the occurrence of rats and mice in private gardens in the Netherlands. Urban Ecosyst 28, 40 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-024-01645-8