Seventeen years of predation by one suburban cat in New Zealand

Abstract

The 558 prey items brought home by one domestic cat, recorded over its 17‐year lifetime, included 221 mice, 63 rats, 35 rabbits, 4 hares and 2 weasels. The cat hunted up to 600 m from the house, and prey was caught both inside and outside the 0.5 ha garden. Of the 223 birds brought in, 54 were native, including 43 silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis), but those killed were quickly replaced, so there was always a resident population of 1–2 pairs. The other known native birds comprised five fantails (Rhipidura fuliginosa), four warblers (Gerygone igata), a kingfisher (Halcyon sancta), and a shining cuckoo (Chrysococcyx lucidus). Only nine skinks (Cyclodina aenea) and one frog (Litoria raniformis) were brought in. The abundance of birds and reptiles in the garden showed no apparent change over the 17 years compared with the previous 15‐year‐period without a cat. By contrast, the cat exterminated the rabbit population in the garden, and “farmed” surrounding burrows during its whole life; all other prey killed declined in frequency after the cat was 8–9 years old.