According to a new study, cats consume over 2,000 species of animals during their outdoor adventures. However, researchers found that 347 of these species are threatened with extinction.
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The study, conducted by researchers from Auburn University in Alabama, detailed the diet of these pets, discovering that they mainly feed on birds, reptiles, and mammals, and even insects and amphibians, but to a lesser extent.
According to the researchers, these data make “free-roaming cats” one of the world’s most invasive species, causing widespread diseases and pushing some species to the brink of extinction.
“Specifically, cats spread new diseases to a range of species, including humans, outcompete native felines and other mesopredators, threaten the genetic integrity of wild felines, prey on native wildlife, and have driven many species to extinction,” the researchers said.
“As a result, free-roaming cats (i.e., owned or unowned cats with access to the outdoors) are among the most problematic invasive species globally.”
In a 2021 report, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) defined free-roaming cats as “any cat that spends unrestrained time outdoors, regardless of ownership status.” According to them, up to 164 million of these cats reside only in the U.S., and only about 30 to 80 million are unowned.
The government agency suggested local or state legislative actions to prevent harm to cats, including preventing cats from being outdoors without restrictions, adding microchip and sterilization laws, or adding bells and bright-colored collars that “diminish a cat’s ability to hide and stalk its prey.”
