Keep cats indoors or in outside runs to reduce predation of wild mammals

Overall effectiveness category Likely to be beneficial
Number of studies: 1
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How is the evidence assessed?

Effectiveness

60%
Certainty

45%
Harms

0%

Calculating overall effectiveness category

Background information and definitions

Domestic cats Felis catus can be major predators on wild mammals. For example, one study estimated that domestic cats in the UK brought home 52–63 million mammals over a five-month period (Wood et al. 2003). Keeping them indoors, or in enclosed outdoor runs, may substantially reduce their impact on wild mammals.

Woods M., Mcdonald R. & Harris S. (2003) Predation of wildlife by domestic cats Felis catus in Great Britain. Mammal Review, 33, 174–188.

Study locations

Key messages

One study evaluated the effects on potential prey mammals of keeping cats indoors or in outside runs. This study was in the UK.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE (0 STUDIES)

POPULATION RESPONSE (1 STUDY)

Survival (1 study): One replicated study in the UK found that keeping domestic cats indoors at night reduced the number of dead or injured mammals that were brought home.

BEHAVIOUR (0 STUDIES)

About key messages

Key messages provide a descriptive index to studies we have found that test this intervention.

Studies are not directly comparable or of equal value. When making decisions based on this evidence, you should consider factors such as study size, study design, reported metrics and relevance of the study to your situation, rather than simply counting the number of studies that support a particular interpretation.

Supporting evidence from individual studies

A replicated study in 1997 in urban and rural areas in the UK (Woods et al. 2003) found that domestic cats Felis catus that were kept indoors at night brought home fewer dead or injured mammals than cats that were allowed outside. The average number of mammals brought home by cats that were kept indoors at night (6.0) was less than the number delivered by those that were allowed outside (8.9). Between April and August, cat owners recorded the number of prey brought home by 90 cats which were kept inside at night and 192 cats which were allowed outside. Only cats living in households with no other cats were included in the study.
Study and other actions tested
Referenced paper
Woods M., McDonald R.A. & Harris S. (2003) Predation of wildlife by domestic cats Felis catus in Great Britain. Mammal Review, 33, 174-188.

Please cite as:

Littlewood, N.A., Rocha, R., Smith, R.K., Martin, P.A., Lockhart, S.L., Schoonover, R.F., Wilman, E., Bladon, A.J., Sainsbury, K.A., Pimm S. and Sutherland, W.J. (2020) Terrestrial Mammal Conservation: Global Evidence for the Effects of Interventions for terrestrial mammals excluding bats and primates. Synopses of Conservation Evidence Series. University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.

Where has this evidence come from?

List of journals searched by synopsis

All the journals searched for all synopses

This Action forms part of the Action Synopsis:

Terrestrial Mammal Conservation

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