Spatial behavior of domestic cats and the effects of outdoor access restrictions and interventions to reduce predation of wildlife
dc.contributor.author | Cecchetti, M | |
dc.contributor.author | Crowley, SL | |
dc.contributor.author | Wilson‐Aggarwal, J | |
dc.contributor.author | Nelli, L | |
dc.contributor.author | McDonald, RA | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2023-03-23T10:03:49Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2021-12-01 | |
dc.date.updated | 2023-03-23T08:57:46Z | |
dc.description.abstract | Domestic cats (Felis catus) that roam outdoors have increased exposure to hazards to their health and welfare. Outdoor cats can themselves present a hazard to biodiversity conservation and wild animal welfare. Approaches to reducing predation of wildlife by cats might also bring benefits to cats by reducing their roaming and associated risks. We investigated ranging behaviors of domestic cats that regularly captured wild prey, and that had restricted or unrestricted outdoor access. We tested whether interventions aimed at reducing predation also affected their spatial behavior. We evaluated cat bells, Birdsbesafe collar covers, using a “puzzle feeder”, provision of meat-rich food, object play, and a control group. Seventy-two cats in 48 households in England completed the 12-week trial in spring 2019. Home ranges were small (median AKDE95 = 1.51 ha). Cats with unrestricted outdoor access had 75% larger home ranges, 31% greater daily distances traveled, and reached 46% greater maximum distances from home, than cats with restricted outdoor access. None of the treatments intended to reduce predation affected cat ranges or distances traveled. While owners might use interventions to reduce predation, the only effective means of reducing cat roaming and associated exposure to outdoor hazards was restriction of outdoor access. | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | SongBird Survival | en_GB |
dc.description.sponsorship | University of Exeter College of Life and Environmental Sciences | en_GB |
dc.identifier.citation | Vol. 4(2), article e597 | en_GB |
dc.identifier.doi | https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.597 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10871/132749 | |
dc.identifier | ORCID: 0000-0002-4854-0925 (Crowley, Sarah L) | |
dc.identifier | ScopusID: 56658383600 (Crowley, Sarah L) | |
dc.identifier | ORCID: 0000-0002-6922-3195 (McDonald, Robbie A) | |
dc.language.iso | en | en_GB |
dc.publisher | Wiley | en_GB |
dc.relation.url | https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vx0k6djsx | en_GB |
dc.rights | © 2021 The Authors. Conservation Science and Practice published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. | en_GB |
dc.subject | domestic cats | en_GB |
dc.subject | GPS | en_GB |
dc.subject | home range | en_GB |
dc.subject | predation | en_GB |
dc.subject | tracking | en_GB |
dc.subject | welfare | en_GB |
dc.subject | wildlife | en_GB |
dc.title | Spatial behavior of domestic cats and the effects of outdoor access restrictions and interventions to reduce predation of wildlife | en_GB |
dc.type | Article | en_GB |
dc.date.available | 2023-03-23T10:03:49Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 2578-4854 | |
exeter.article-number | ARTN e597 | |
dc.description | This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this record | en_GB |
dc.description | Data availability statement: All data used in this study are available via the Dryad data repository at https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vx0k6djsx | en_GB |
dc.identifier.eissn | 2578-4854 | |
dc.identifier.journal | Conservation Science and Practice | en_GB |
dc.relation.ispartof | Conservation Science and Practice, 4(2) | |
dc.rights.uri | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ | en_GB |
dcterms.dateAccepted | 2021-11-21 | |
rioxxterms.version | VoR | en_GB |
rioxxterms.licenseref.startdate | 2021-12-01 | |
rioxxterms.type | Journal Article/Review | en_GB |
refterms.dateFCD | 2023-03-23T10:01:27Z | |
refterms.versionFCD | VoR | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2023-03-23T10:03:54Z | |
refterms.panel | A | en_GB |
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Except where otherwise noted, this item's licence is described as © 2021 The Authors. Conservation Science and Practice published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided
the original work is properly cited.