Feeding ecology and population dynamics of the feral cat (Felis catus) in relation to the availability of prey in central-eastern New South Wales

Abstract

The diet of feral cats (Felis catus) was studied at Lake Burrendong, central-eastern New South Wales, from July 1994 to June 1997. Mammals were the major prey in 499 scats that were analysed. Rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were the staple prey, while carrion was an important secondary food. Invertebrates, other mammalian prey, vegetation, birds and reptiles were generally minor components of the diet. Few significant seasonal differences in diet were found; however, invertebrates contributed less and possums more to the diet in winter and summer respectively. A significant dietary response was found to changes in rabbit abundance, but not for the other prey types. Cats continued to prey heavily on rabbits even after a 90% decline in rabbit abundance occurred, which coincided with the advent of Rabbit Calicivirus Disease (RCD). House mice (Mus domesticus) increased in importance in the diet ten months post-RCD. Although the abundance of cats was correlated with the abundance of some prey species, other factors may have influenced the observed patterns; these are discussed.

Ventilatory frequency as a measure of the response of tammar wallabies (Macropus eugenii) to the odour of potential predators

“…It is likely that efficient placental predators such as foxes and cats represent a greater predation risk to tammar wallabies than native predators such as quolls and snakes. Indeed, Macropus marsupials can constitute a substantial proportion of the diet of feral cats (Catling 1988;Paltridge et al 1997;Molsher et al 1999;Paltridge 2002) and the fox is the most likely predator of macropods on mainland Australia (Kaufmann 1974), and is considered the principal cause for the decline of tammar wallabies in Western Australia (Kinnear et al 1988). Although quolls and snakes presumably represent some degree of risk (Belcher 1995;Blumstein et al 2004;Glen and Dickman 2006), the wallabies may not perceive these predators as representing a great or immediate threat.…”

Predator-baiting experiments for the conservation of rock-wallabies in Western Australia: a 25-year review with recent advances

“…Basically, the input into the box is 'lay baits', and the output is 'more prey'. Critical questions remain unanswered principally because exotic predatormarsupial relationships are cryptic predator -prey systems that remain immeasurable without access to appropriate remotesensing electronic aids (Molsher et al 1999;Risbey et al 2000). Recent developments have made this goal feasible, and we conclude the present paper by describing some enabling technology that is now available for field trials.…”

Stemming the tide: progress towards resolving the causes of decline and implementing management responses for the disappearing mammal fauna of northern Australia

“…Cats are versatile predators that will switch their diet as their preferred prey is depleted. However, they will often continue hunting their preferred prey to much lower levels than more generalist predators (Molsher et al 1999). This makes cats particularly dangerous to small mammal populations because not only will they continue hunting a species to local extinction, their ability to persist once small mammals have declined in an area prevents populations from recovering.…”