Can Responsible Ownership Practices Influence Hunting Behavior of Owned Cats?: Results from a Survey of Cat Owners in Chile

Abstract

Simple SummaryCats are popular pets, with increases in both the number of households that have cats and the number of cats per household. Cats can also have great negative impacts on wildlife. In Chile, the potential influence of owned cats on wildlife has not been studied, which is why the aim of this study was to investigate the number and type of prey that cats bring home and its relationship with responsible ownership practices. For this, we sent a questionnaire to pet owners across the country. The survey included questions about the type of household and pets, if cats had brought prey back home, and responsible ownership practices. The results showed that from 5216 respondents, 94.3% had a pet; from these, 49.9% had at least one cat. There were on average 2.2 cats per household, and 84.1% of owners reported that their cats had brought back prey. Birds and mammals were the most common type of prey, followed by insects. The lack of responsible ownership practices such as not being registered, not having a litter box, having free access to the outdoors, or living in a house with a garden and providing a hiding place increased the probability of cats bringing back home prey.AbstractThe domestic cat (Felis catus) has become a worldwide threat to wildlife. The potential impact of owned cats on wildlife in Chile has not been documented at a large scale. The purpose of this study was to investigate the number and type of prey that owned cats bring back in Chile and its relation with responsible ownership practices. An online survey was distributed to 5216 households that included questions about the type of pet, responsible ownership practices, and in the case of cats, the type of prey they brought home. Descriptive statistics as well as univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were applied. The results showed that 94.3% of respondents had a pet, and from these, 49.9% had at least one cat. A total of 84.1% of owners reported that their cats had brought back prey. Birds were the most common type of prey, followed by mammals and insects. Not being registered with a microchip, not having a litter box, living in a house with access to a garden, not having a hiding place for the cats, and having free access to the outdoors significantly increased the odds of cats bringing back prey. Body condition score or providing ad libitum food to cats did not have an effect on bringing prey.

Diverse perspectives of cat owners indicate barriers to and opportunities for managing cat predation of wildlife

“…They were the most likely to manage their cats to reduce hunting and felt some responsibility to do so. This group might be engaged either as citizen scientists, helping to develop and promote effective management techniques, or as champions of extended concepts of responsible pet ownership that include responsibility for a cat's ecological "pawprint" (see also Crowley et al 2019Crowley et al , 2020Escobar-Aguirre et al 2019;Linklater et al 2019). Laissez-faire Landlords showed no strong preferences regarding outdoor access and rarely considered the effects of hunting.…”

“…Feral cats, which are neither controlled nor provisioned by humans (Crowley et al 2020), are the frequent subject of conservation policy and action, but globally most domestic cats have owners and/or are closely affiliated with people. For such cats, policy recommendations have included implementing population control, regulating ownership and management, and educating owners about impacts (Calver et al 2011;Loss and Marra 2017;Escobar-Aguirre et al 2019). Authoritarian approaches to policy, or those addressing a perceived knowledge deficit, can often be problematic.…”

Preferência e percepções do tutor pelo modo de transporte dos animais de companhia em voos comerciais

“…O método survey tem sido amplamente empregado em recentes pesquisas científicas envolvendo a percepção dos tutores sobre o bem-estar e comportamento animal (Escobar-Aguirre et al, 2019;Menchetti et al, 2020;Paolini et al, 2020;Silva et al, 2020). Tratando-se, portanto, de um procedimento cada vez mais aceito pela comunidade científica, ao proporcionar resultados amostrais confiáveis e passíveis de serem extrapolados à população de maneira geral (Miguel et al, 2012).…”

Beloved Whiskers: Management Type, Care Practices and Connections to Welfare in Domestic Cats

“…Regarding the welfare of domestic cats, an issue that frequently leads to controversies and debates is how cats are maintained, i.e., indoor or outdoor management [4,5]. In the United States, it is recommended that cats are kept indoors, being wholly confined within a residence, without access to the street [6,7].…”

“…In the United States, it is recommended that cats are kept indoors, being wholly confined within a residence, without access to the street [6,7]. In contrast, in various countries, as Denmark, Chile, and the United Kingdom, most owners allow their cats to roam freely outside the house [5,6,8,9]. Finally, in Australia, there is a duality in the types of cat management, with half of the respondents of a survey conducted in 2016 (51%) reporting indoor management, and the other half reporting some level of outdoor management [10].…”