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UK cat prey composition: 69% mammals, 24% birds, 4% amphibians, 1% reptiles
Source: Mammal Society / Wiley (2003)
Source
Predation of wildlife by domestic cats in Great Britain (Woods et al., 2003)Mammal Society / Wiley (2003)
Methodology
Questionnaire survey April-August 1997, 986 cats, 14,370 prey items
Mammal Society / Wiley. (2003). Predation of wildlife by domestic cats in Great Britain (Woods et al., 2003). As cited in Cat Cognition. https://catcognition.com/statistics/wildlife-impact/#uk-cats-prey-composition-2003
275 million
UK cats kill an estimated 275 million prey animals annually, including 55 million birds
Mammal Society / Wiley (2003)
140.4 million
UK cats return an estimated 140.4 million prey items to their homes annually, with 83% being mammals and 16% being birds
Wiley Ecology and Evolution (2025)
27-70 million
UK cats kill an estimated 27-70 million birds annually, with sparrows, blue tits, and blackbirds being the most common prey
RSPB (2024)
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)
