Simple SummaryThe need to balance the benefits of cat ownership with the prevention of wildlife predation in New Zealand evokes strong and opposing views. This paper evaluates public concern for wildlife predation by four categories of cats; owned cats, managed-stray cats, unmanaged-stray cats, and feral cats. In addition, public support for a National Cat Management Strategy and a range of management techniques are investigated. Although the participants expressed concern regarding wildlife predation by all four categories of cats, the highest levels of concern were predation by feral cats, followed by unmanaged stray cats, then managed stray cats, and finally owned cats. The large majority of participants were found to support the implementation of a National Cat Management Strategy. Management techniques for owned cats that obtained public support included; cat exclusion zones, limits on ownership numbers, microchipping, Council registration, and de-sexing. Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) was the favoured management technique for managed stray cats, while TNR and lethal management techniques were equally favoured for unmanaged stray cats. Lethal control methods were favoured for feral cats. The findings presented in this paper will be useful to consider during the development of legislation relating to cat management and predation in New Zealand.AbstractCat predation is a prominent issue in New Zealand that provokes strong and opposing views. We explored, via 1011 face-to-face questionnaires, public opinion on (a) support for a National Cat Management Strategy (78% support); (b) concern regarding predation of wildlife by owned and un-owned cats (managed stray, unmanaged stray, and feral cats); (c) the acceptability of management techniques for owned cats; and (d) the acceptability of population management techniques for un-owned cats. The highest concern was expressed regarding the predation of non-native and native wildlife by feral cats (60 and 86% repectively), followed by unmanaged stray cats (59 and 86% respectively), managed stray cats (54 and 82% respectively), and finally owned cats (38 and 69% repectively). Limits to the number of cats owned and cat restriction zones received high levels of support (>65%), and compulsory microchipping, Council registration, and de-sexing were supported by the majority (>58%). Public support of population control methods for unowned cats was explored, and the influence of participant demographic variables on responses is described. These findings provide insight into public opinion regarding the management of cats in New Zealand, which should be considered during the development of legislation in this area.

Free-roaming cats are at increased risk of injuring themselves as well as other domestic and fauna species, yet relatively little is known about the frequency at which risk and predation behaviors occur in a typical day. In this study, cat risk, and predation behavioral information was collected using animal-borne video cameras and global positioning system (GPS) units that were attached to break-free cat collars. The observation period was one to three consecutive days for 37 convenience sampled free-roaming owned cats in Auckland, New Zealand. Video footage was manually reviewed and all predation and risk behavior events were recorded. These included stalking, pursuing, and seizing prey as well as altercations with other cats, ingesting harmful substances, and venturing into hazardous locations such as roads and storm drains. During the observation period, 23 of the 37 cats (62.2%) engaged in a total of 121 predation events. Of these, 40 resulted in successful prey capture with 18 of the 40 captures involving New Zealand native fauna species. Invertebrates were the most common taxa preyed upon ( n = 55; 46%), followed by skinks ( n = 8; 7%). No mammalian, avian or amphibian prey were captured and no cat took prey back to their residence. A total of 326 risk behaviors were observed for 32 out of the 37 cats (86.5%) with the most common being cats venturing onto the road ( n = 132; 41%). Younger cats (aged 1–6 six years) engaged in significantly more predation and risk behaviors than older cats (aged 7 years and above). Sex, breed, number of cats in a household, and geographic location were not found to be predictors of cats' participation in predation or risk behaviors. Given the high frequency of predation and risk behaviors in free-roaming owned cats, it may be beneficial to educate owners about strategies to minimize risk such as housing them indoors, containing them to their properties or monitoring their time spent outdoors.