I am referring here to a study called: “Free-roaming domestic cats in Natura 2000 sites of central Spain: Home range, distance travelled and management implications”. The study is about how domestic cats are allowed to enter an extensive network of wildlife conservation reserves and sites in Spain called the Natura 2000 sites.
There are over 1500 protected sites mostly within existing natural and national park areas. It is one of the largest national networks in the European Union protecting wildlife. The scheme protects a wide range of habitats including coastal dunes, wetlands, grasslands, forests and mountain areas.
Domestic cats entering these areas are a threat to wildlife clearly for the obvious reason that domestic cats prey on small wildlife species. The problem here somewhat mirrors the very well-publicised problem in Australia where the authorities have been obsessively concerned about protecting native species from domestic and feral cat predation, understandably I should say.
The study aimed to identify the problems of domestic cats entering these areas. They found that domestic cats occurred in “all sites, overlapping with potential prey species and wild felids, including red-listed species.” This refers to the Red List.
They tracked and trapped five stray adult domestic cats, three females and two males from four areas within farmland and wetland habitats.
The home range of these cats extended up to 1.5 km². They travelled a distance up to 5.1 km. Those domestic cats living in wetland areas compared to those living in farmland areas travelled much further during the evening compared to other times.
The reason being that domestic cats living in farmland areas tended to live nearer a food source which was farm buildings because farmers put down food for the cats. In contrast, the domestic cats living in the wild and wetlands had to find their food through prey animals and therefore had to travel further.
They suggested that strategies needed to be designed to “prevent or reduce the impact of free-roaming cats in natural areas”. These strategies should include “selective trapping during the same periods, targeting the spots where anthropogenic sources of food are available but also considering other areas where cats may hunt.”
They suggested that in these areas “campaigns to promote responsible ownership and intensive adoption should be also considered.”
The Natura 2000 network in Spain covers 138,000 km². The owned domestic cat population in Spain is estimated at 6 million.
Unsurprisingly, the scientist concluded that “it is likely that free-roaming cats will be a prevalent conservation problem in areas with similar habitats.”
Comment: the problems highlighted here are reflected in many areas across the world. Australia I’ve mentioned; I can also mention Scotland where the Scottish wildcat (European wildcat) has become so hybridised that it has disappeared by which I mean it has crossbred with domestic and feral cats to the point where there are no purebred wildcats left. That’s an example where outdoor domestic cats damage conservation in a subtle way.
There is a push going on currently in some developed countries to keep cats indoors more often and full-time. In America there’s a lot more full-time indoor cats than previously but the motivation in that country is to protect the cats from predators and to alleviate the associated anxiety felt by their owners.
On my research, in general, domestic cat owners are not hugely concerned about wildlife conservation. If they keep their cats indoors they do so for personal reasons rather than conservational reasons.
