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Feral cats kill on average one million reptiles each day. [123] Feral cats in Australia kill over 1.5 billion native mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs, and 1.1 billion invertebrates each year. Predation by cats is a recognised threat to over 200 nationally threatened species, and 37 listed migratory species.
Feral cats are a major invasive species and have been linked to the decline and extinction of various native animals in Australia. They have been shown to cause a significant impact on ground-nesting birds and small native mammals. [12] A study in the 2010s estimated that each feral cat kills 740 wild animals per year. [13]
Feral cats may breed over dozens of generations and become an aggressive local apex predator in urban, savannah and bushland environments. Some feral cats may become more comfortable with people who regularly feed them, but even with long-term attempts at socialization, they usually remain aloof and are most active after dusk. Of the 700 ...
Feral cats, especially if left to proliferate, are frequently considered to be pests in both rural and urban areas, and may be blamed for devastating the bird, reptile, and mammal populations. A local population of feral cats living in an urban area and using a common food source is sometimes called a feral cat colony. As feral cats multiply ...
A group of feral cats in Istanbul, 2006. The Turkish city of Istanbul hosts a sizeable feral cat (Turkish: sokak kedisi, "street cat") population, with estimates ranging from a hundred thousand to over a million stray cats. Many Turkish citizens view street animals as communally owned pets rather than traditional strays, and the country has a ...
Feral farm cat. Feral cats are domestic cats that were born in or have reverted to a wild state. They are unfamiliar with and wary of humans and roam freely in urban and rural areas. [187] The numbers of feral cats are not known, but estimates of the United States feral population range from 25 to 60 million. [187]
The impact of feral cats on species other than birds is not as well documented [13] although in 2010 the Department of Conservation discovered that a feral cat was responsible for killing over 100 endangered New Zealand short-tailed bats over a seven-day period in a forested area on the southern slope of Mount Ruapehu. [15]
European explorers and settlers brought cats on their ships and the presence of feral cats was recorded from the latter decades of the 19th century. [39] It is estimated that feral cats have been responsible for the extinction of six endemic bird species and over 70 localised subspecies as well as depleting bird and lizard species. [40] [41]