Get free weekly insights that help you understand your cat better.
Free-ranging domestic cats kill an estimated 1.3-4.0 billion birds annually in the United States
Source: Nature Communications (2013)
Source
The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United StatesNature Communications (2013)
Methodology
Systematic meta-analysis of 90+ studies
Notes
Un-owned cats cause majority of mortality. A corrigendum revised original estimates.
Nature Communications. (2013). The impact of free-ranging domestic cats on wildlife of the United States. As cited in Cat Cognition. https://catcognition.com/statistics/wildlife-impact/#us-cats-birds-killed-2013
6.3-22.3 billion
Free-ranging domestic cats kill an estimated 6.3-22.3 billion mammals annually in the United States
Nature Communications (2013)
2.4 billion
Cat predation is the single largest human-related cause of bird mortality in the US, killing an estimated 2.4 billion birds per year
Nature Communications (2024)
365M-1B
Building window collisions kill an estimated 365-988 million birds annually in the US, with some estimates exceeding 1 billion
The Condor / American Bird Conservancy (2024)
50-200 million
Cats kill an estimated 50-200 million birds annually in Germany, according to NABU and Max Planck Institute estimates
NABU / Max Planck Institute (2024)
