Outdoor fecal deposition by free-roaming cats and attitudes of cat owners and nonowners toward stray pets, wildlife, and water pollution

Dabritz, Haydee A.; Atwill, Edward R.; Gardner, Ian A.; Miller, Melissa A.; Conrad, Patricia A.

doi:10.2460/javma.229.1.74

Cited by 81 publications

(86 citation statements)

References 26 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Incidence was also estimated in one urban site (0.17 infections/cat/year [50]) and in one population living in a non-anthropized environment [46], using the age-seroprevalence relationship. Using data The Life Cycle of Toxoplasma gondii in the Natural Environment 9 on oocyst shedding, Dabritz et al [51,52] estimated that 0.04 infections could occur per catyear in cats recruited through local veterinarians in coastal cities in California (USA).…”

Section: Variations In T Gondii Dynamics Along the Urban-rural-wild mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Life Cycle of Toxoplasma gondii in the Natural Environment

Gilot‐Fromont¹,

Lélu

Dardé

et al. 2012

Toxoplasmosis - Recent Advances

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: Variations In T Gondii Dynamics Along the Urban-rural-wild mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Life Cycle of Toxoplasma gondii in the Natural Environment

Gilot‐Fromont¹,

Lélu

Dardé

et al. 2012

Toxoplasmosis - Recent Advances

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, this is unpopular with many owners (Grayson et al, 2002;Dabritz et al, 2006;Lilith, 2007;Sims et al, 2008). Rochlitz (2005) suggests that the main concern with an indoor environment is that it can be impoverished, predictable and monotonous compared to outdoors.…”

Section: Implications For Environmental Management Cat Husbandry Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite these issues, cat owners are often reluctant to confine their cats at all times (Grayson et al, 2002;Dabritz et al, 2006;Lilith, 2007;Sims et al, 2008). While the incidence of confinement of pet cats may be as high as 76 % in Singapore (Gunaseelan et al, 2013), this compares to 50 -60 % in the USA as a whole (Rochlitz, 2005), and less than 10 % in Australia (REARK, 1994b;a;McHarg et al, 1995;Perry, 1999;Lilith et al, 2006) and the UK (Sims et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do collar-mounted predation deterrents restrict wandering in pet domestic cats?

Hall

Bryant

Fontaine

2016

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

2277Fax -+61 9360 6303 2 Highlights  Roaming behaviour was unchanged when cats wore predation deterrents.  Deterrent effectiveness stems from interference with hunting success, not less roaming.  Housing density was the strongest predictor of home range and roaming extent. ABSTRACTRoaming pet cats kill and harass wildlife, hybridise with wild felids, interbreed with feral populations, spread disease or annoy neighbours, and endanger their own welfare by fighting, being struck by vehicles or ingesting poisons. Confinement of pet cats is unpopular, so alternative methods to curb roaming behaviour would benefit wildlife conservation and pet wellbeing. Some owners whose cats participated in previous trials testing the effectiveness of the collar-mounted predation deterrents the CatBib and the Birdsbesafe collar cover (BBS) in reducing predation by pet cats reported that their cats stayed closer to home when wearing the devices. Therefore we tested whether these devices might curb roaming behaviour of pet cats as an alternative to confinement.Thirty cats participated. Trials occurred in spring and autumn in Perth, Western Australia (southern hemisphere spring -autumn). Cats wore GPS collars for 10 consecutive days, wearing the GPS collar alone for five days and wearing either a CatBib (16 cats) or BBS (14 cats) as well for a further five days. Treatment order was determined randomly for each cat. We represented cats' home ranges with 95 % kernel density estimates (KDE) (100 % minimum convex polygon (MCP) provided for comparison with other studies) and 50 % KDE (core home range). We also used data for all cats when not wearing either predation deterrent, plus data on a further four cats, to determine the relative effect of sex, age, night confinement, housing density, number of days of rain, total rainfall, and mean maximum temperature on both estimates of home range size.Neither device reduced home range significantly. The mean home range (95 % KDE) was 2.79 ha with the CatBib and 2.46 ha without. Figures for the core home range (50 % KDE) were 0.63 ha and 0.71 ha respectively. The mean home range (95 % KDE) with the BBS (where the sample included fewer cats from lower housing densities) was 0.58 ha and 0.50 ha without. The means for the core home range (50 % KDE) were 0.15 ha and 0.14 ha respectively. When cats were not wearing either device, 95 % and 50 % KDE were predicted most strongly by housing density, presumably a surrogate for cat density.Owners may use a CatBib or BBS to curtail their cat's hunting behaviour, but curtailing roaming behaviour needs another solution. Confinement, although unpopular, remains the most effective option where unwanted roaming is a problem.

show abstract

“…Levy et al (2003) investigated the proportion of people who fed free-roaming cats; they reported that about three-quarters of people fed outdoor cats and half of those that fed free-roaming cats were non-owners. Dabritz et al (2006), Lepczyk et al (2004), and found that cat-owners preferred TNR more than did non-owners. Cat-owners also tended to have a more negative opinion regarding the introduction of regulations on how to keep cats, especially people living in rural areas (Calver et al, 2007;Lord, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Social challenges of spatial planning for outdoor cat management in Amami Oshima Island, Japan

Mameno

Kubo

Suzuki

2017

Global Ecology and Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Outdoor cats pose substantial threats to native biodiversity, especially on islands. However, cats also provide benefits to people, such as companionship and the killing of pests. Thus, management of outdoor cats is controversial and can lead to conflicts among stakeholders. Although previous studies have examined stakeholders' preferences for outdoor cats and their management, little is known about the differences in their attitudes toward cat occurrences and management across habitats. Identifying these attitudinal differences would provide useful knowledge for policy makers about zoning management. We conducted structured interviews with residents in Amami Oshima Island, Japan, to evaluate the residents' attitudes to outdoor cats' occurrence and their management across habitats (Forest, Rural, and Town areas). Furthermore, we compared the attitudes of cat- owners and non-owners. The results show that the Forest was least preferred as an outdoor cat habitat. Lethal options as a management strategy were unacceptable to the residents, whereas adoption was acceptable in all areas. Cat-owners showed a significantly higher acceptance toward outdoor cats in Town and Rural areas than did non-owners; they also showed a lower acceptance of lethal options and a higher acceptance toward Trap, Neuter and Return (TNR) than non-owners. These findings imply that it is difficult to achieve consensus regarding outdoor cat management, especially in town and rural areas; however, outdoor cats from these areas move to the forests and pose a threat to the endangered species. Communication efforts with both cat-owners and non-owners should fill these attitudinal gaps among stakeholders and lead to effective management. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V

show abstract

Outdoor fecal deposition by free-roaming cats and attitudes of cat owners and nonowners toward stray pets, wildlife, and water pollution

Cited by 81 publications

References 26 publications

The Life Cycle of Toxoplasma gondii in the Natural Environment

The Life Cycle of Toxoplasma gondii in the Natural Environment

Do collar-mounted predation deterrents restrict wandering in pet domestic cats?

Social challenges of spatial planning for outdoor cat management in Amami Oshima Island, Japan

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About