Martina Cecchetti

University of Exeter | UoE · College of Life and Environmental Sciences

In many ecological contexts, predation of wildlife by domestic cats Felis catus, combined with their abundance, is a threat to biodiversity conservation. The predatory behaviour of domestic cats shows remarkable between-individual variation. Many free-roaming cats living as companion animals capture, kill and/or bring home few or no prey, while oth...

Domestic cats (Felis catus) that roam outdoors have increased exposure to hazards to their health and welfare. Outdoor cats can themselves present a hazard to biodiversity conservation and wild animal welfare. Approaches to reducing predation of wildlife by cats might also bring benefits to cats by reducing their roaming and associated risks. We in...

Predation of wildlife by domestic cats Felis catus presents a threat to biodiversity conservation in some ecological contexts. The proportions of wild prey captured and eaten by domestic cats and thus the contributions of wild prey to cat diets are hard to quantify. This limits the understanding of any impacts of cats may have on wild animal popula...

Predation by domestic cats Felis catus can be a threat to biodiversity conservation,1, 2, 3 but its mitigation is controversial.⁴ Confinement and collar-mounted devices can impede cat hunting success and reduce numbers of animals killed,⁵ but some owners do not wish to inhibit what they see as natural behavior, perceive safety risks associated with...

en • Domestic cats Felis catus are distinct from other domesticated animals because their phenotype and genotype are relatively unchanged. While they live with people as pets or pest controllers, they retain capacity for survival independent of human support and readily persist as feral animals. Most cats retain some propensity to express hunting...

Policy proposals to address predation of wildlife by domestic cats (Felis catus) include reducing cat populations, regulating ownership, educating owners, and restricting cats’ outdoor access. Such proposals rarely account for cat owners’ perspectives, however, and are frequently met with strong, principled opposition. We conducted a Q‐methodologic...

Cats share a long history with humans but are remarkable among domesticated species in largely retaining behavioural and reproductive independence from people. In many societies, the cat maintains liminal status as both a domestic and a wild animal. An adaptive push-and-pull between wild and domestic traits corresponds with dual roles as companions...

The potential impact of domestic cats on wildlife is the subject of growing international interest and concern. While feral cats are often the primary focus of research and debate, in many societies a substantial proportion of domestic cats are owned by private individuals. We present a typology that classifies domestic cats in relation to varying...

Feral cats (Felis catus) are considered to be one of main successful invasive species of island ecosystems. The introduced cats often negatively affect seabird populations due to the lack of anti-predatory strategies resulting from the absence of mammalian terrestrial predators during their evolutionary development. Linosa Island hosts the second l...