Keeping cats indoors at night best way to help wildlife, study finds

Wednesday, 10 April 2019

Is keeping cats indoors at night the best answer to reduce wildlife deaths?

Domestic cats are known hunters. But keeping them confined indoors at night might be the best way to help wildlife numbers, researchers say.

The impact hunting cats have on birds and wildlife is a source of tension between cat owners and conservationists.

However a group of New Zealand researchers may be a step closer to mending that rift.

Researchers have found the most suitable method for cat owners to help wildlife was to bring their pets inside from dusk till dawn.

The researchers surveyed New Zealand pet owners and vets to determine the best tactic that would reduce predation and still have a positive effect on conservation.

Auckland Council received death threats over its controversial pest management plan.

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Although keeping your cat indoors 24 hours a day would have greater benefits for wildlife, it was unlikely to appeal to cat owners.

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Their study about cat-owner behaviour was published on Conservation Science and Practice on Wednesday.

It aimed to identify what cat‐owner behaviours were most likely to be adopted to reduce domestic cats' depredation of wildlife.

As predators, cats pose a significant risk to the conservation of wildlife, particularly if they stray and become feral, the study states.

In the city of Van in Turkey's easternmost expanse, a rare breed of cat is living large.

In New Zealand, about 35 per cent of households have at least one cat.

Cats are a particularly serious biodiversity threat because much of the country's native fauna, such as birds and reptiles, evolved without predators like cats, it states.

The study looked at cat-owner behaviours, the likelihood of implementing those behaviours, their perceived effectiveness, and also veterinarians' opinions about their impact on cat welfare.

The researchers suggested nine things pet owners could do to reduce the impact cats have on wildlife.

These included; keeping cats indoors between dusk and dawn, keeping a cat inside for 24-hours a day, putting a bell on its collar, registering it with a local council, and getting it microchipped.

They also suggested containing the cat to the property with a fence, restricting it to an outdoor run, limiting the number of cats per household, and desexing.

'Bringing cats in at night, from before dusk until after dawn, was revealed to be the behaviour most suited to a campaign to reduce cats' hunting.'

The authors also said that while a 24-hour cat confinement would have greater benefits for wildlife, it was unlikely to appeal to cat owners or be supported by veterinarians.

The authors found that incremental changes in owner's behaviour may deliver longer‐term and sustained reductions in the impact of domestic cats on native wildlife.

The research was hoped to be used for a future advocacy campaign.

By designing and implementing an advocacy campaign that focuses, first on a behaviour acceptable to cat owners, such as bringing cats inside at night, over time, there could be a substantial shift in behaviour with greater conservation benefit, the authors said.