Are pet cats bad for wildlife?

Abstract

Pet cats receive bad press from conservationists. This is partly because there is an obvious link between pet cats and feral cats, and predation by feral cats is widely regarded as a key threatening process for endangered species of small vertebrates in Australia. There is also a perception, however, that pet cats are directly responsible for declines in wildlife populations, particularly around urban areas. As a consequence, many local government authorities have introduced regulations aimed at controlling cats, ranging from night-time curfews and confinement to complete prohibition of cat ownership. Greenaway (2010) discusses the approaches taken by local and state governments to control pet cats throughout Australia.