Abstract
The feral domestic cat (Felis catus) is a predatory invasive species with documented negative effects on native wildlife. The issue of appropriate and acceptable feral cat management is a matter of contentious debate in cities and states across the United States due to concerns for wildlife conservation, cat welfare, and public health. Common management strategies include: Trap-Neuter-Release, Trap- Neuter-Release with removal of kittens for adoption and Trap-Euthanize. Very little empirical evidence exists relevant to the efficacy of alternative options and a model-based approach is needed to predict population response and extend calculations to impact on wildlife. We have created a structured decision support model representing multiple stakeholder groups to facilitate the coordinated management of feral cats. We used a probabilistic graphical model (a Bayesian Belief Network) to evaluate and rank alternative management decisions according to efficacy, societal preferences, and cost. Our model predicts that Trap- Neuter-Release strategies would be optimal management decisions for small local populations of less than fifty cats while Trap-Euthanize would be the optimal management decision for populations greater than 50 cats. Removal is predicted to reduce feral cat populations quickly and prevent cats from taking a large number of wildlife prey.
Highlights
Domestic cats have been identified as one of the world's worst invasive species (Lowe et al 2000) at a time when non-native, invasive species are widely considered to be the leading cause of species endangerment in the United States (Wilcove et al 1998, Czech et al 2000, Clavero and GarciaBerthou 2005)
The issue of appropriate and acceptable feral cat management is a matter of contentious debate in cities and states across the United States due to concerns for wildlife conservation, cat welfare, and public health
Our model predicts that TrapNeuter-Release strategies would be optimal management decisions for small local populations of less than fifty cats while Trap-Euthanize would be the optimal management decision for populations greater than 50 cats
Summary
Domestic cats have been identified as one of the world's worst invasive species (Lowe et al 2000) at a time when non-native, invasive species are widely considered to be the leading cause of species endangerment in the United States (Wilcove et al 1998, Czech et al 2000, Clavero and GarciaBerthou 2005). Feral cats pose a significant threat to the birds, herpetofauna, and small mammals that they prey upon (Crooks and Soule 1999, Kays and DeWan 2004, Lepczyk et al 2004, Nogales et al 2004, Dauphine and Cooper 2009) They are implicated in a number of species extinctions, especially within island habitats (Nogales et al 2004), but have been found to have significant negative effects in non-insular environments (Crooks and Soule 1999, Baker et al 2005). Since cat densities generally exceed those of like-sized predators by a factor of 10-100 (Liberg et al 2000), predation pressure can Ecology and Society 15(4): 10 http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol15/iss4/art10/
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
