“Provision of High Meat Content Food and Object Play Reduce Predation of Wild Animals by Domestic Cats”, 2021-02-11 (; backlinks):
Predation by domestic cats can be a threat to biodiversity and is a social problem
Providing high-meat-protein food and object play both reduce predation by cats
Rather than impeding hunting, these non-invasive measures reduce tendency to hunt
Cat owners might engage more with measures that benefit cats as well as wildlife
Predation by domestic cats Felis catus can be a threat to biodiversity conservation, but its mitigation is controversial. Confinement and collar-mounted devices can impede cat hunting success and reduce numbers of animals killed, but some owners do not wish to inhibit what they see as natural behavior, perceive safety risks associated with collars, or are concerned about device loss and ineffectiveness.
In a controlled and replicated trial, we tested novel, non-invasive interventions that aim to make positive contributions to cat husbandry, alongside existing devices that impede hunting. Households where a high meat protein, grain-free food was provided, and households where 5–10 min of daily object play was introduced, recorded decreases of −36% and −25%, respectively, in numbers of animals captured and brought home by cats, relative to controls and the pre-treatment period. Introduction of puzzle feeders increased numbers by +33%. Fitting [brightly-colored] Birdsbesafe collar covers reduced the numbers of birds captured and brought home by −42% but had no discernible effect on mammals. Cat bells had no discernible effect. [Cats have such poor color vision—they know bells making noise are bad, but can they even see the clown collar to realize?]
Reductions in predation can be made by non-invasive, positive contributions to cat nutrition and behavior that reduce their tendency to hunt, rather than impede their hunting. These measures are likely to find support among cat owners who are concerned about the welfare implications of other interventions.