Free-roaming domestic cats near conservation areas in Chile: Spatial movements, human care and risks for wildlife

Toxoplasma gondii Exposure and Dietary Habits of Two Sympatric Carnivores in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest, Southern Chile

Toxoplasma gondii, a parasitic protozoan, may infect most warm-blooded animals, including humans and carnivores. Our study focused on alien-invasive American minks (Neogale vison) and domestic cats (Felis catus) in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest, Chile. The main goal was to investigate the relationship between their dietary habits and T. gondii exposure in the Valdivia River watershed. To detect T. gondii exposure, blood serum samples from 49 domestic cats and 40 American minks were analyzed using an ELISA, and stable isotope analysis of δ15N and δ13C from vibrissae was performed to determine the dietary habits of both species. Relationships between T. gondii exposure and dietary habits were explored using generalized linear mixed-effects models. American minks that were T. gondii seropositive exhibited a broader prey range compared to seropositive domestic cats, with minimal dietary overlap between the two groups. Exposure of domestic cats to T. gondii had no significant association with any isotope value or prey item in their diet. In American minks, we found a positive and significant association between the proportion of Domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) in the diet and high δ15N values with T. gondii exposure. This suggests that domestic species prey related to anthropogenic areas, and the consumption of high-trophic-level prey, may contribute to T. gondii exposure in American minks. Conversely, contrary to previous hypotheses, consumption of rodents showed no significant association with T. gondii exposure in either species. Our findings emphasize the importance of further research to investigate trophic interactions in the transmission dynamics of T. gondii in the Valdivian Temperate Rainforest.

Movement Patterns of Roaming Companion Cats in Denmark—A Study Based on GPS Tracking

We studied the roaming patterns of companion cats in Denmark. The movements of 97 cats with outdoor access were traced for about seven days using GPS tracking. Data on the cats were gathered from their owners. The median time cats spent away from their homes was 5 h per day (IQR: 2.5 to 8.8 h), median daily distance moved was 2.4 km (IQR: 1.3 to 3.7 km), and median for 95% BBKDE home range was 5 ha (IQR: 2.9 to 8.5 ha). Cats above seven years of age spent less time away from home, were less active and had a smaller home range than younger cats. Cats with access to nature areas spent more time away from home, were more active and had larger home ranges. Intact male cats spent more time away from home than neutered cats and had larger home ranges as well. Finally, rainfall had an impact on the distance moved by cats: on days without rainfall the cats moved 3.6 km on average (95% CI: 2.8; 4.5 km); and on days with heavy rainfall the cats moved 2.4 km on average (95% CI: 1.6; 3.5 km).

Mapping the "catscape" formed by a population of pet cats with outdoor access

The domestic cat (Felis catus) is among the most popular companion animals and most abundant carnivores globally. It is also a pet with an immense ecological footprint because even non-feral and food-subsidized cats can be prolific predators. Whereas knowledge about the spatial behavior of individual domestic cats is growing, we still know little about how a local population of free-ranging pet cats occupies the landscape. Using a citizen science approach, we GPS-tagged 92 pet cats with outdoor access living in a residential area in southern Norway. The resulting position data allowed us to construct both individual home range kernels and a population-level utilization distribution. Our results reveal a dense predatory blanket that outdoor cats drape over and beyond the urban landscape. It is this population-level intensity surface—the “catscape”—that potential prey have to navigate. There were few gaps in the catscape within our residential study area and therefore few terrestrial refuges from potential cat predation. However, cats spent on average 79% of their outdoor time within 50 m to their owner’s home, which suggests that the primary impact is local and most acute for wildlife in the vicinity to homes with cats. We discuss the catscape as a conceptual and quantitative tool for better understanding and mitigating the environmental impact of domestic cats.

Critical Problems for Research in Animal Sheltering, a Conceptual Analysis

Animal shelter research has seen significant increases in participation over the past several decades from academic organizations, private organizations, public entities, and even corporations that aims to improve shelter programs, processes, operations, and outcomes for the various stakeholders/participants involved in a shelter system (animals, humans, the community, wildlife, and the environment). These efforts are scattered through a huge variety of different research areas that are challenging to define and scope for organizations seeking to start new lines of research inquiry. This work aims to enumerate some of the most critical outstanding problems for research in animal sheltering in a conceptual framework that is intended to help direct research conversations toward the research topics of highest impact (with the highest quality outcomes possible). To this end, we define seven (7) key areas for research: animal behavior, adoptions and special needs populations, medical conditions, disease transmission, community, ecology, and wellness (one health), operations, and public-private-academic-corporate collaboration. Within each of these areas, we review specific problems and highlight examples of successes in each area in the past several decades. We close with a discussion of some of the topics that were not detailed in this manuscript but, nonetheless, deserve some mention. Through this enumeration, we hope to spur conversation around innovative methodologies, technologies, and concepts in both research and practice in animal sheltering.