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Feral cats on Japanese islands derive 67.8% of energy from human-provided food sources, with only 14.3% from forest wildlife
Source: Scientific Reports / Nature (2019)
Source
Predation on endangered species by human-subsidized domestic cats on Tokunoshima IslandScientific Reports / Nature (2019)
Methodology
Stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen in cat hair samples
Notes
Farmland animals comprised 17.9%. Despite reliance on human food, cats still opportunistically predate endangered wildlife.
Scientific Reports / Nature. (2019). Predation on endangered species by human-subsidized domestic cats on Tokunoshima Island. As cited in Cat Cognition. https://catcognition.com/statistics/wildlife-impact/#jp-cats-diet-human-sources-2019
13.5%
13.5% of feral cat fecal samples on Tokunoshima Island contained threatened endemic species including Amami rabbits and Ryukyu long-haired rats
Scientific Reports / Nature (2019)
2010
Japan's Ministry of Environment issued national guidelines in 2010 recommending TNR (trap-neuter-return) for community cats to control free-roaming populations
Ministry of the Environment, Japan (2010)
275 million
UK cats kill an estimated 275 million prey animals annually, including 55 million birds
Mammal Society / Wiley (2003)
69%
UK cat prey composition: 69% mammals, 24% birds, 4% amphibians, 1% reptiles
Mammal Society / Wiley (2003)
