Cats in Australia

Several native species have evolved cat-like characteristics through a process of convergent evolution, including the marsupial quolls, known as a "native cat" which occupied a similar environmental niche to the introduced cat.{{cite journal | last1=Glen | first1=A. S. | last2=Dickman | first2=C. R. | title=Niche overlap between marsupial and eutherian carnivores: does competition threaten the endangered spotted-tailed quoll? | journal=Journal of Applied Ecology | volume=45 | issue=2 | date=2008 | issn=0021-8901 | doi=10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01449.x | pages=700–707| bibcode=2008JApEc..45..700G }} DNA studies have ruled out any introduction of the mammal felis catus prior to the arrival of Europeans including Asian introductions or 17th century shipwrecks.{{cite journal | last1=Koch | first1=K. | last2=Algar | first2=D. | last3=Searle | first3=J. B. | last4=Pfenninger | first4=M. | last5=Schwenk | first5=K. | title=A voyage to Terra Australis: human-mediated dispersal of cats | journal=BMC Evolutionary Biology | volume=15 | issue=1 | date=2015 | issn=1471-2148 | pmid=26634827 | pmc=4669658 | doi=10.1186/s12862-015-0542-7 | doi-access=free | page=262| bibcode=2015BMCEE..15..262K }}

Historical records date the introduction of cats to the First Fleet in 1788. In 1824, Edward Henty brought cats to the Portland Bay district in what is now Victoria.{{cite journal | last=Cramer | first=Lorinda | title='All the Men at the Pump': Water, Wool, and Squatter Anne Drysdale's Diaries, 1840–1851 | journal=Australian Historical Studies | date=2024-04-22 | issn=1031-461X | doi=10.1080/1031461X.2024.2310035 | doi-access=free | pages=1–18 }} Based on accounts from local Aboriginal people, it is thought that cats were brought to the Swan River Colony (now Perth, Western Australia) from Britain during its 1829 foundation.{{cite journal | last1=Brumm | first1=Adam | last2=Koungoulos | first2=Loukas | title=The Role of Socialisation in the Taming and Management of Wild Dingoes by Australian Aboriginal People | journal=Animals | volume=12 | issue=17 | date=2022-09-03 | issn=2076-2615 | pmid=36078005 | pmc=9454437 | doi=10.3390/ani12172285 | doi-access=free | page=2285}} Most early Australian cats are believed to have been offspring of these introductions. As a result, cats as household pets were rare until the 1830s when they began to grow in popularity, particularly due to their ability to control rodents in rapidly growing urban areas.{{cite journal | last=Abbott | first=Ian | title=Origin and spread of the cat, Felis catus, on mainland Australia, with a discussion of the magnitude of its early impact on native fauna | journal=Wildlife Research | volume=29 | issue=1 | date=2002 | issn=1035-3712 | doi=10.1071/WR01011 | page=51| bibcode=2002WildR..29...51A }}

The first feral cats were recorded in Sydney in 1824 and in Western Australia in the 1840s.

With a growing agricultural industry, in the 1860s cats were deliberately introduced into agricultural areas outside of the main settlements. In 1864 a mass release of cats in the Lachlan River in New South Wales were aimed at controlling a rat plagues. Similar introductions to control rodent plagues occurred in rural areas of Western Australia and Victoria in the 1860s, the Warrego River in Queensland in 1874. Cats were seen as particularly effective at controlling occurrences of the bush rat or dusky field rat in farming land.

By the mid-1860s, cats were themselves at times considered a pest. At Barwon Park, Victoria in 1868, one of the first recorded cullings occurred, with over 100 feral cats found to be nesting in rabbit burrows.

Cats were first released as rabbit control in the 1880s in Victoria's Wimmera promoted under government policy, as well as outback South Australia. While their ability to catch rabbits was often praised, rabbit trapping was considered a far more effective method and the releases simply aided the cat's spread across outback Australia. Observers in far outback Queensland and New South Wales noted that cat populations had begun to grow in number during the 1880s. The first recorded "plague" of wild cats occurred in Thargomindah in 1888 after which local farmers began to place a bounty on them.

By 1890 cats had spread to their approximate current mainland distribution of over 90%.{{cite journal |title=Origin and spread of the cat, Felis catus, on mainland Australia: Re-examination of the current conceptual model with additional information |journal=Conservation Science Western Australia Journal |date=2008 |first=Ian |last=Abbott |issue=7 |url= https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/about/science/cswa/articles/23.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230304031240/https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/images/documents/about/science/cswa/articles/23.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2023 |access-date=29 May 2022}} Feral populations were growing in remote Western Australia and Victoria in the late 1890s. Despite this, they continued to be released throughout remote areas of Australia in an effort to control rabbits. For many decades the problem of feral cats was often overlooked as for many it was sight unseen, with cats most actively hunting at night.

In the early 1900s concern was expressed at the pervasiveness of the cat problem.{{cite news |url= http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article57743624 |title=The Cat Problem in Australia |newspaper=The Sunday Times |location=Perth, Western Australia |date=22 December 1912 |access-date=21 January 2016 |at=Christmas Number, 3rd section, p. 8 |publisher=National Library of Australia}}

File:Hulda Lundager with her cat and her doll in Mt. Morgan (4423725243).jpg 1925. Cats have been popular household pets since the 1830s.]]

The 1920s saw a change of opinion and some began to regard the introduction of cats for pest control as a failure and proclaimed them a pest. The Naturalist, writing for the Australian, was of this sentiment.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article140233156 |title=THE NATURALIST. |newspaper=The Australasian |volume=CXII |issue=2932 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=10 June 1922 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=54 |via=National Library of Australia}} Professor Wood Jones attributed the threat of bird and marsupial life in the outback to the practice of dumping kittens in rabbit warrens in outback cattle runs.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article64327576 |title=The Register. ADELAIDE SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 1926. |newspaper=The Register (Adelaide) |volume=XCI |issue=26,544 |location=South Australia |date=23 January 1926 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}} British naturalist Dr Leach in 1923 wrote of a startling decline in Australian birdlife, particularly parrots and concluded that feral cats have "got to be reckoned with".{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article245995319 |title=Australia's Birds: A British View |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |issue=13,867 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=20 October 1923 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}} Feral cats were also, by this time, present on most islands.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article220603766 |title=EXTINCT SPECIES |newspaper=The Daily Mail |issue=7685 |location=Queensland, Australia |date=16 October 1926 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=17 |via=National Library of Australia}} The Royal Society of South Australia met to discuss the issue in 1927.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article41342112 |title=ROYAL SOCIETY. |newspaper=The Advertiser |location=South Australia |date=14 October 1927 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=15 |via=National Library of Australia}} A war was declared on cats in 1929 were common in rabbit burrows, grew far larger than domestic cats, and began to be hunted for their skins.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article275270748 |title=PUSS PAYS! |newspaper=The Sun News-pictorial |issue=2231 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=6 November 1929 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=7 |via=National Library of Australia}}

During the 1950s, Myxomatosis was introduced in an effort to control rabbits. This had the effect of cats searching for other sources of food.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article72785988 |title=KILL THOSE WILD CATS |newspaper=The Horsham Times |issue=70,624 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=24 October 1952 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}

In the 1970s the belief that pet owners were responsible for the feral cat problem became common. This was partly due to an increase in the prevalence of feral cats in urban areas, many believed to be strays.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110850117 |title=Menace of wild dogs, cats increasing |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=50 |issue=14,802 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=14 June 1977 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}} It was also because the RSPCA placed the blame on those disposing of unwanted kittens in the bush and called for pet ownership restrictions.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article282289160 |title=WILDCATS ARE BUSH KILLERS |newspaper=Queanbeyan Age |volume= |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=19 August 1974 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}} Popular opinion was that most feral cats originated as unwanted or uncontrolled house cats.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article270580306 |title=Governor trying to steal my thunder? |newspaper=Hills Gazette |volume=2 |issue=85 |location=South Australia |date=30 October 1974 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47121231 |title=SANCTUARY FOR THE FUGITIVES OF THE BUSH |newspaper=The Australian Women's Weekly |volume=42 |issue=30 |location=Australia, Australia |date=25 December 1974 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=10 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article264887749 |title=ARE CROWS OR CATS THE CULPRITS |newspaper=King Island News |volume= |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=19 November 1975 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}} Cats became a particularly bad problem for on King Island to pheasant populations where groups were lobbying authorities to introduce bounties.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article264892267 |title=Shoot Feral Cats on Sight |newspaper=King Island News |volume= |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=22 June 1977 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article264893425 |title=Feral Cats and King Island pheasants |newspaper=King Island News |volume= |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=9 November 1977 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article264833180 |title=BOUNTY ON FERRAL CATS |newspaper=King Island News |volume= |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=7 November 1979 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article264862287 |title=PHEASANT SEASON |newspaper=King Island News |volume= |location=Tasmania, Australia |date=10 September 1980 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}} Cats up to a metre long were shot in Western Australia.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131856123 |title=Wild cats as big as foxes shot in WA |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=52 |issue=15,592 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=31 May 1978 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=9 |via=National Library of Australia}}

Prior to the late 1970s opinions as to whether the red fox or cat was the bigger pest tended toward the fox. However, in the late 1970s and early 1980s local extinctions of marsupials began to be attributed directly to feral cats.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article187071444 |title=Need to conserve Native Species |newspaper=Victor Harbour Times |volume=67 |issue=2,977 |location=South Australia |date=18 July 1979 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}} Cats were the bigger pest, according to experts in the early 1980s, especially to endangered birdlife.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article126852232 |title=Feral cats cause carnage in the bush |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=56 |issue=16,822 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=17 October 1981 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=2 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article276037246 |title=FERAL CATS, FOXES THREAT TO QUAIL |newspaper=Port Lincoln Times |volume=55 |issue=3009 |location=South Australia |date=17 February 1982 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article276041645 |title=NATURE SERIES |newspaper=Port Lincoln Times |volume=55 |issue=3028 |location=South Australia |date=2 June 1982 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}} Cat eradication programs began to be called for on some islands such as Reevesby Island.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article276069423 |title=New island home for rare rat |newspaper=Port Lincoln Times |volume=56 |issue=3189 |location=South Australia |date=20 January 1984 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article276071879 |title=Ideas wanted on weed pest |newspaper=Port Lincoln Times |volume=56 |issue=3190 |location=South Australia |date=25 January 1984 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=3 |via=National Library of Australia}}

A feral cat eradication organisation was formed in 1991.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article122369267 |title=Birds 'decimated' by feral cats |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=65 |issue=20,542 |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=10 July 1991 |accessdate=21 March 2025 |page=20 |via=National Library of Australia}}

File:Cat at night1.jpg

File:Sign in Springwood Conservation Park Australia - The Problem with Pets.jpg Australia - "The problem with pets" - warns about the impact caused by cats on small native species such as the feathertail glider.]]

In 2023 there were 5.3 million kept as pets of which approximately 95% are neutered.

File:Feral_Cat_(5573630708).jpg has caught a Pale-headed rosella.]]

Domesticated cats that are allowed to roam kill an estimated 110 native animals per cat each year; totalling up to about 80 million native birds, 67 million native mammals and 83 million native reptiles being killed by them annually.{{Cite news |last=Readfearn |first=Graham |date=15 May 2020 |title=Keep pet cats indoors, say researchers who found they kill 230m native Australian animals each year |work=The Guardian |url= https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/15/keep-pet-cats-indoors-say-researchers-who-found-they-kill-230m-native-australian-animals-each-year |access-date=4 July 2022}}

Almost 30% of Australian households keep at least one domesticated cat.{{Cite web |title=Pets in Australia: A national survey of pets and people |date=October 2019 |url= https://animalmedicinesaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/ANIM001-Pet-Survey-Report19_v1.7_WEB_low-res.pdf |work=AnimalMedicinesAustralia.org.au |publisher=Animal Medicines Australia}}{{Cite web |title=Pet Ownership in Australia 2016 |work=AnimalMedicinesAustralia.org.au |url= https://animalmedicinesaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AMA_Pet-Ownership-in-Australia-2016-Report_sml.pdf |date=2016 |publisher=Animal Medicines Australia |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181029170422/http://animalmedicinesaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/AMA_Pet-Ownership-in-Australia-2016-Report_sml.pdf |archive-date=29 October 2018}} Domesticated cats must be microchipped in every state of Australia except Tasmania.{{Cite web |title=Responsible Pet Ownership: Microchipping |url= https://www.rspca.org.au/campaigns/responsible-pet-ownership/microchipping |website=RSPCA.org.au}} All pet cats past six months of age must be desexed in the Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia.{{Cite web |date=16 May 2019 |title=Is desexing mandatory for cats and dogs? |url= https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/is-desexing-mandatory-for-cats-and-dogs/ |access-date=4 July 2022 |website=KB.RSPCA.org.au}}

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.{{cite book |last1=Dickman |first1=Chris |title=Overview of the Impacts of Feral Cats on Australian Native Fauna |publisher=National Parks and Wildlife, Australian Nature Conservation Agency, Institute of Wildlife Research |date=May 1996 |url= http://secure.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/pubs/impacts-feral-cats.pdf |access-date=11 February 2013 |isbn=0-642-21379-8 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160304040904/http://secure.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/pubs/impacts-feral-cats.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 |df=dmy-all}} A study in the 2010s estimated that each feral cat kills 740 wild animals per year.{{Cite web |date=14 July 2019 |title=Feral and pet cats killing 'billions' of native animals each year, research finds |url= https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-15/cats-kill-billions-of-animals-each-year-in-australia/11307684 |access-date=12 January 2021 |website=ABC.net.au}} Feral cats have also hampered attempts to reintroduce threatened species back into areas where they have become extinct, as the cats quickly kill the newly released animals.[http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/pestsweeds/TheThreatOfFeralCats.htm The Threat Of FeralCats] Environmentalists conclude that feral cats have been an ecological disaster in Australia, inhabiting almost all of its ecosystems, and being implicated in the extinction of several marsupial and placental mammal species.{{cite book |title=Interactions between feral cats, foxes, native carnivores, and rabbits in Australia |publisher=Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research |date=September 2004 |last1=Robley |first1=A. |last2=Reddiex |first2=B. |last3=Arthur |first3=T. |last4=Pech |first4=R. |last5=Forsyth |first5=D. |url= http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/pubs/interaction.pdf |access-date=12 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110317105943/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/pubs/interaction.pdf |archive-date=17 March 2011}}{{Cite journal |last1=Davies |first1=Wally |last2=Prentice |first2=Ralph |title=The feral cat in Australia |journal=Wildlife in Australia |date=March 1980 |volume=17 |pages=20–26, 32 |url= http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/39234425 |access-date=21 January 2016}}

File:Feral Cat captured by remote camera at Mount Royal National Park.jpg]]

A field experiment conducted in Heirisson Prong (Western Australia) compared small mammal populations in areas cleared of both foxes and cats, of foxes only, and a control plot. Researchers found the first solid evidence that predation by feral cats can cause a decline in native mammals. It also indicates that cat predation is especially severe when fox numbers have been reduced.{{Cite journal |doi=10.1071/WR98092 |title=The impact of cats and foxes on the small vertebrate fauna of Heirisson Prong, Western Australia. II. A field experiment |journal=Wildlife Research |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=223 |date=2000 |last1=Risbey |first1=Danielle A. |last2=Calver |first2=Michael C. |last3=Short |first3=Jeff |last4=Bradley |first4=J. Stuart |last5=Wright |first5=Ian W.|bibcode=2000WildR..27..223R }} Cats may play a role in Australia's altered ecosystems; with foxes they may be controlling introduced rabbits, particularly in arid areas, which themselves cause ecological damage. Cats are believed to have been a factor in the extinction of the only mainland bird species to be lost since European settlement, the paradise parrot.{{cite web |url= http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=723 |title=Psephotus pulcherrimus — Paradise Parrot |date=13 March 2012 |publisher=Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities |access-date=14 February 2013}}

It is sometimes falsely believed that cats in Australia have no natural predators and as such are apex predators. While this is true in some areas, cats are both preyed upon and outcompeted by both native and introduced animals. Studies of the diet of Tasmanian devils found scats of 14% of them contained cat DNA.{{cite journal | last1=McLennan | first1=Elspeth A. | last2=Wise | first2=Phil | last3=Lee | first3=Andrew V. | last4=Grueber | first4=Catherine E. | last5=Belov | first5=Katherine | last6=Hogg | first6=Carolyn J. | title=DNA metabarcoding reveals a broad dietary range for Tasmanian devils introduced to a naive ecosystem | journal=Ecology and Evolution | volume=12 | issue=5 | date=2022 | pages=e8936 | issn=2045-7758 | pmid=35600680 | pmc=9120209 | doi=10.1002/ece3.8936 | doi-access=free | bibcode=2022EcoEv..12E8936M }} It is strongly suspected that they specifically hunt kittens in wild burrows. Combined with competing for prey they have successfully suppressed feral cat populations in Tasmania in areas free of devil facial tumour disease.{{cite journal | last1=Cunningham | first1=Calum X. | last2=Johnson | first2=Christopher N. | last3=Jones | first3=Menna E. | title=A native apex predator limits an invasive mesopredator and protects native prey: Tasmanian devils protecting bandicoots from cats | journal=Ecology Letters | volume=23 | issue=4 | date=2020 | issn=1461-023X | doi=10.1111/ele.13473 | doi-access=free | pages=711–721 | pmid=32056330 | bibcode=2020EcolL..23..711C | url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/A_native_apex_predator_limits_an_invasive_mesopredator_and_protects_native_prey_Tasmanian_devils_protecting_bandicoots_from_cats/22984913/1/files/40731368.pdf | access-date=2025-03-15}} Due to this proposals to reintroduce devils to the mainland often cite reduction of feral cat numbers as a key benefit.{{cite journal | last1=Westaway | first1=Michael C. | last2=Price | first2=Gilbert | last3=Miscamble | first3=Tony | last4=McDonald | first4=Jane | last5=Cramb | first5=Jonathon | last6=Ringma | first6=Jeremy | last7=Grün | first7=Rainer | last8=Jones | first8=Darryl | last9=Collard | first9=Mark | title=A palaeontological perspective on the proposal to reintroduce Tasmanian devils to mainland Australia to suppress invasive predators | journal=Biological Conservation | volume=232 | date=2019 | doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2019.02.002 | pages=187–193| bibcode=2019BCons.232..187W }} Likewise stomach and scat evidence shows that dingoes (and feral dogs) prey upon them{{cite journal | last1=Allen | first1=Benjamin L. | last2=Allen | first2=Lee R. | last3=Leung | first3=Luke K.-P. | title=Interactions between two naturalised invasive predators in Australia: are feral cats suppressed by dingoes? | journal=Biological Invasions | volume=17 | issue=2 | date=2015 | issn=1387-3547 | doi=10.1007/s10530-014-0767-1 | pages=761–776| bibcode=2015BiInv..17..761A }} and in areas where they are common, there is evidence that feral cat populations are suppressed,{{cite journal | last1=Wang | first1=Yiwei | last2=Fisher | first2=Diana O. | title=Dingoes affect activity of feral cats, but do not exclude them from the habitat of an endangered macropod | journal=Wildlife Research | volume=39 | issue=7 | date=2012 | issn=1035-3712 | doi=10.1071/WR11210 | page=611| bibcode=2012WildR..39..611W }} though some dispute this.{{cite journal | last1=Fancourt | first1=Bronwyn A. | last2=Cremasco | first2=Peter | last3=Wilson | first3=Cameron | last4=Gentle | first4=Matthew N. | title=Do introduced apex predators suppress introduced mesopredators? A multiscale spatiotemporal study of dingoes and feral cats in Australia suggests not | journal=Journal of Applied Ecology | publisher=Wiley | volume=56 | issue=12 | date=2019-10-16 | issn=0021-8901 | doi=10.1111/1365-2664.13514 | doi-access=free | pages=2584–2595| bibcode=2019JApEc..56.2584F }} Some believe that red foxes help suppress cats because cats boom in numbers when foxes are removed from an area.{{cite journal | last=Rees | first=Matthew W. | last2=Pascoe | first2=Jack H. | last3=Le Pla | first3=Mark | last4=Robley | first4=Alan | last5=Birnbaum | first5=Emma K. | last6=Wintle | first6=Brendan A. | last7=Hradsky | first7=Bronwyn A. | title=Mesopredator release among invasive predators: Controlling red foxes can increase feral cat density and alter their behaviour | journal=Journal of Applied Ecology | volume=60 | issue=6 | date=2023 | issn=0021-8901 | doi=10.1111/1365-2664.14402 | doi-access=free | pages=1100–1114 | url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/1365-2664.14402 | access-date=2025-03-22}}{{cite journal | last=Rees | first=M.W. | last2=Pascoe | first2=J.H. | last3=Wintle | first3=B.A. | last4=Le Pla | first4=M. | last5=Birnbaum | first5=E.K. | last6=Hradsky | first6=B.A. | title=Unexpectedly high densities of feral cats in a rugged temperate forest | journal=Biological Conservation | volume=239 | date=2019 | doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108287 | page=108287}} However cats are only part of their diet; adult cats generally survive stand offs and elude them by outrunning and outclimbing. Some snakes, particularly the carpet python and eastern brown snake kill cats, however adult cats are generally more a threat to native snakes due to their ability and speed they are capable of evading most strikes.{{cite journal | last1=Lazenby | first1=Billie T. | last2=Mooney | first2=Nicholas J. | last3=Dickman | first3=Christopher R. | title=Effects of low-level culling of feral cats in open populations: a case study from the forests of southern Tasmania | journal=Wildlife Research | volume=41 | issue=5 | date=2014 | issn=1035-3712 | doi=10.1071/WR14030 | doi-access=free | page=407| bibcode=2014WildR..41..407L }} In some remote areas wedge-tailed eagles and saltwater crocodiles are known also to prey on themSharp, Andy, et al. "The breeding season diet of wedge-tailed eagles (Aquila audax) in western New South Wales and the influence of rabbit calicivirus disease." Wildlife Research 29.2 (2002): 175–184.{{cite journal | last1=Moseby | first1=Katherine E. | last2=Neilly | first2=Heather | last3=Read | first3=John L. | last4=Crisp | first4=Helen A. | title=Interactions between a Top Order Predator and Exotic Mesopredators in the Australian Rangelands | journal=International Journal of Ecology | publisher=Hindawi Limited | volume=2012 | year=2012 | issn=1687-9708 | doi=10.1155/2012/250352 | doi-access=free | pages=1–15| hdl=2440/77850 | hdl-access=free }} though this is not common.

Some researchers argue that feral cats may suppress and control the number of rats and rabbits, and cat eradication may damage native species indirectly.Arian D. Wallach, 2014, [https://www.dingobiodiversity.com/feral-blog/category/feral-cat Wild cat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128112416/https://www.dingobiodiversity.com/feral-blog/category/feral-cat |date=28 January 2021 }}, Dingo for Biodiversity ProjectDana M. Bergstrom, Arko Lucieer, Kate Kiefer, Jane Wasley, Lee Belbin, Tore K. Pedersen, Steven L. Chown, 2009, [https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01601.x Indirect effects of invasive species removal devastate World Heritage Island], Journal of Applied Ecology, 46(1), pp.73 - 81, DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2664.2008.01601.x, British Ecological Society

Cats are the costliest invasive species in Australia.{{Cite journal|last1=Bradshaw |first1=C. J. |last2=Hoskins |first2=A. J. |last3=Haubrock |first3=P. J. |last4=Cuthbert |first4=R. N. |last5=Diagne |first5=C. |last6=Leroy |first6=B. |last7=Andrews |first7=L. |last8=Page |first8=B. |last9=Cassey |first9=P. |last10=Sheppard |first10=A. W. |last11=Courchamp |first11=F. |date=2021 |title=Detailed assessment of the reported economic costs of invasive species in Australia |url= https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03410344/file/CostsinAustralia.pdf |journal=NeoBiota |volume=67 |issue=67 |pages=511–550 |doi=10.3897/neobiota.67.58834|s2cid=237262764 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2021NeoBi..67..511B }} The cost of invasive cats to the national economy is estimated to be nearly {{AUD|19 billion}} over the 60 years up to 2021, with most of the cost spent on population control. This cost significantly outstrips the next most costly invasive species, with rabbits in Australia coming in at nearly {{AUD|2 billion}}.{{cite news |last=Khan |first=Jo |title=Invasive species have cost Australia $390 billion in the past 60 years, study shows |work=ABC News |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=29 July 2021 |url= https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-07-30/invasive-species-cost-billions-australia/100333710 |access-date=31 July 2021}}

Cats are notoriously difficult to control due to being able to burrow, jump climb and breed prolifically.{{cite journal | last=Dorph | first=A. | last2=Ballard | first2=G. | last3=Legge | first3=S. | last4=Algar | first4=D. | last5=Basnett | first5=G. | last6=Buckmaster | first6=T. | last7=Dunlop | first7=J. | last8=Edwards | first8=A. M. | last9=Hine | first9=A. | last10=Knight | first10=A. R. | last11=Marshall | first11=E. | last12=McColl-Gausden | first12=S. C. | last13=Pauza | first13=M. D. | last14=Penman | first14=T. D. | title=Current and emerging feral cat management practices in Australia | journal=Wildlife Research | volume=51 | issue=6 | date=2024-06-03 | issn=1035-3712 | doi=10.1071/WR23107 | doi-access=free | url=https://www.publish.csiro.au/wr/pdf/WR23107 | access-date=2025-03-22 | page=}} They can climb over artificial barriers and resist trapping and baiting. Cat control strategies are outlined in the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water's Feral Cat Threat Abatement Plan first published in 2008.[https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened/publications/tap/threat-abatement-plan-feral-cats Threat abatement plan for predation by feral cats] Use of dogs to detect the presence of cats has been highly effective.{{cite journal | last=Baker | first=G. Barry | last2=Candy | first2=Steven | last3=Robinson | first3=Sue | last4=Friend | first4=J. Anthony | last5=Holdsworth | first5=Mark | last6=Jensz | first6=Katrina | last7=Page | first7=Manda | last8=Algar | first8=Dave | title=Effectiveness of dogs for detecting feral cat scats in wheatbelt reserves of Western Australia | journal=Wildlife Research | volume=48 | issue=8 | date=2021-07-22 | issn=1035-3712 | doi=10.1071/WR20118 | pages=690–700}}

Trapping success is varied as most cats resist trapping due to their cautious nature.{{cite journal | last=Short | first=Jeff | last2=Turner | first2=Bruce | last3=Risbey | first3=Danielle | title=Control of feral cats for nature conservation. III. Trapping | journal=Wildlife Research | volume=29 | issue=5 | date=2002 | issn=1035-3712 | doi=10.1071/WR02015 | page=475}} Trap–neuter–return is the method most favoured by animal welfare groups.{{cite journal | last=Wolf | first=Peter J. | last2=Rand | first2=Jacquie | last3=Swarbrick | first3=Helen | last4=Spehar | first4=Daniel D. | last5=Norris | first5=Jade | title=Reply to Crawford et al.: Why Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) Is an Ethical Solution for Stray Cat Management | journal=Animals | volume=9 | issue=9 | date=2019-09-16 | issn=2076-2615 | pmid=31527537 | pmc=6769729 | doi=10.3390/ani9090689 | doi-access=free | page=689}} While many cats are captured this way, the logistics are difficult in remote regions,[https://kb.rspca.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Cats-Trap-Neuter-Release-%E2%80%93-RSPCA-Research-Report-March-2011.pdf A review of trap-neuter-return (TNR) for the management of unowned cats] RSPCA and some studies suggest it only stabilizes cat populations.

Shooting is seen by many as the only effective form of control with ground shooting is the most common and resource intensive. Aerial shooting is difficult due to their size and ability to climb, burrow and survive injury. Shooting in general is largely ineffectual due to the high costs and that it does not address the source of the problem. Historically shooting has been opposed by animal welfare groups and continues to be discouraged.[https://www.rspca.org.au/latest-news/blog/feral-cats-and-cat-management-what-you-need-to-know/ Feral cats and cat management: what you need to know.] RSPCA Australia 13 May 2024 Some varmint hunters, such as Barry Green, face backlash and even death threats for the culling of the feral cats.{{YouTube|id=b93IBwJ_Yow|title=Shooting Cats: Australia's War on Feral Cats}}{{Cite news |date=25 February 2016 |title=SA bow hunter receives death threats after sharing images of feral cat cull |work=Nine News |url= https://www.9news.com.au/national/sa-bow-hunter-received-death-threats-after-posting-images-of-feral-cats-he-culled-online/f6b51ec6-7531-47cd-bdaa-e50be5e1ea6e |access-date=4 July 2022}}{{Cite web |title=Shooting Cats (2018) - The Screen Guide - Screen Australia |url=https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/shooting-cats-2018/37061 |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=www.screenaustralia.gov.au |language=en}}

Baiting is used as most native animals have a high tolerance to it, but its use with cats is seen to be generally not effective. Cats prefer live game and are tolerant to high doses, so specialised baits are required for cats. Baiting is expensive and its effectiveness as a means of control for cats is inconclusive. Furthermore, baiting in some jurisdictions, such as Victoria and Queensland, is subject to restrictions.[https://agriculture.vic.gov.au/farm-management/chemicals/requirements-for-using-1080-and-PAPP-animal-bait/papp-bait-for-feral-cat-control - PAPP bait for feral cat control Agriculture Victoria] Animal welfare groups advocate for alternatives due to it being a less than humane option.[https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/what-is-the-rspcas-view-on-using-1080-for-pest-animal-control/ What is the RSPCA’s view on using 1080 for pest animal control?]

Exclosure fences capable of stopping cats from entering or exiting an area required complex construction and are extremely expensive.[https://wafcwg.org.au/information/exclosure-fencing/#:~:text=Exclosure%20fencing%20uses%20a%20purpose,threatened%20species%20to%20be%20reintroduced. Exclosure fencing] WA Feral Cat Working Group This is usually used to create a "safe haven" from cats. As such the best natural barrier, water, makes control on islands less difficult.

The idea of reintroducing Tasmanian devils has been proposed, due to their effectiveness in cat control in areas where they are present, however has not gained traction.

Pintupi, Nyirripi and other Western Desert peoples in Western Australia and Northern Territory have been hunting cats to use as a food source and for bush medicine for decades, but in 2015 they were also participating in a program with ecologists to help monitor and reduce cat predation on threatened species.{{Cite news |last=Wahlquist |first=Calla |date=27 October 2015 |title=Traditional hunters and western science join forces in the fight against feral cats |url= http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/oct/27/traditional-hunters-and-western-science-join-forces-in-the-fight-against-feral-cats |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20151027072143/http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/oct/27/traditional-hunters-and-western-science-join-forces-in-the-fight-against-feral-cats |archive-date=27 October 2015 |access-date=17 January 2021 |work=The Guardian}}

In 2016 the federal government announced a program to eradicate cats from Bruny Island, French Island, Christmas Island, Dirk Hartog Island and Kangaroo Island.[https://www.csiro.au/en/news/all/articles/2016/september/feral-animals-on-australias-islands Feral animals are running amok on Australia's islands – here's how to stop them] By Chris Wilcox and Erin McCreless 20 September 2016

Kangaroo Island's population is estimated at between 3000 and 5000 and is targeted at being cat free by 2030.{{Cite web |url= http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-07/kangaroo-island-plans-to-be-feral-cat-free-in-15-years/7908068 |title='They're highly evolved predators': Kangaroo Island's plan to be cat-free| website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=6 October 2016}}[https://www.naturalresources.sa.gov.au/kangarooisland/plants-and-animals/pest-animals/Kangaroo-Island-Feral-Cat-Eradication-Program Kangaroo Island Feral Cat Eradication Program – Landscape South Australia – Kangaroo Island] The 2019–2020 bushfires complicated eradication efforts, as the gradual regrowth of the burnt brush creates favourable conditions for cat breeding and makes them more difficult to hunt.{{Cite web|last=Campbell|first=Claire|date=12 September 2020|title=Endangered species 'looking at extinction' on Kangaroo Island as feral cats roam|url= https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-13/kangaroo-island-species-under-threat-by-cats-after-bushfires/12651772|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20200913124112/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-13/kangaroo-island-species-under-threat-by-cats-after-bushfires/12651772 |archive-date=13 September 2020 |access-date=14 January 2021 |website=ABC News}} By the end of 2021, at least 850 cats had been removed from the burnt area at the western end of the island using grooming traps with state-of-the-art technologyPerpitch, Nicolas [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-28/deadly-tool-unveiled-as-part-of-crackdown-in-australia-first/102535300 Felixer grooming trap to be rolled out as part of Australia-first strategy to control feral cats] ABC News, 28 June 2023. Retrieved 18 September 2023. and cameras. In addition, an exclusion fence had been built on private property around some of the burnt land, helping to protect the populations of Kangaroo Island dunnart and southern brown bandicoot.{{cite web |last=Hughes |first=Megan |title=Hundreds of feral cats removed from Kangaroo Island in bid to protect endangered native species |website=ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |date=30 December 2021 |url= https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2021-12-30/hundreds-of-feral-cats-removed-from-kangaroo-island/100730212 |access-date=4 January 2022}}

The numerous sightings of phantom cats in Australia include the Gippsland phantom cat and the Blue Mountains panther.{{cite news |title=Amid sightings and claims of a cover-up, could the Lithgow panther actually exist? |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-13/could-the-lithgow-panther-actually-exist/9116232 |accessdate=28 July 2020 |work=www.abc.net.au |date=12 June 2018 |language=en-AU}}

Australian folklore holds that some feral cats have grown so large as to cause inexperienced observers to claim sightings of cougars in Western Australia. While this rarely occurs in reality, large specimens are occasionally found: in 2005, a feline was measured to be {{convert|176|cm|in|abbr=on}} from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail in the Gippsland area of Victoria.{{cite web |url= http://www.wherelightmeetsdark.com/index.php?module=wiki&page=EngelGippslandBigCat |title= Engel Gippsland big cat |access-date= 2 May 2008 |archive-date= 18 July 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110718035843/http://www.wherelightmeetsdark.com/index.php?module=wiki&page=EngelGippslandBigCat |url-status= dead}} Subsequent DNA tests showed it to be a feral cat.{{Cite web|url= https://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/03/04/australias-new-feral-mega-cats |title=Australia's new feral mega-cats |date=4 March 2007}}

{{portal|Australia|Cats}}

• Hunting in Australia
• Threatened fauna of Australia
• Environmental issues in Australia

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101011210024/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/invasive/publications/pubs/cat.pdf Feral Cat Felix catus], Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
• [https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/biodiversity/threatened/publications/tap/predation-feral-cats Predation by feral cats - Threat abatement plan] - Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities
• [https://www.ava.com.au/policy/132-management-cats-australia Management of cats in Australia] - Australian Veterinary Association
• [http://www.acac.org.au/ Australian Companion Animal Council]
• {{YouTube|id=b93IBwJ_Yow|title=Shooting Cats: Australia's War On Feral Cats}}

{{Domestic cat}}

Category:Fauna naturalised in Australia

Category:Invasive animal species in Australia