Using applied social science disciplines to implement creative outdoor cat management solutions and avoid the trap of one-size-fits-all policies

In the United States, policy conflicts have prevented successful population-level management of outdoor cats for decades. Wildlife conservation professionals have sought widespread use of humane dispatch (i.e., lethal culling applied humanely), whereas cat welfare professionals have promoted trap-neuter-return (TNR) (cats are trapped, neutered, and returned to the outdoors). These conflicts represent a policy panacea trap, which we argue drives many conservation conflicts. In these situations, the focus on defending a one-size-fits-all policy fails to account for the value differences that shape the different understandings of the problem and desired outcomes associated with each policy, as well as complexities in the social-ecological system. Over the past 5 years, a group of wildlife conservation and cat welfare professionals codeveloped a set of products that have started to be used to help organizations break out of the policy panacea trap. We used a case study to illustrate how efforts grounded in applied social science disciplines, such as science communication, social-ecological systems, and conservation marketing, can help identify a more robust set of policy options tailored to local management and cultural contexts for successful implementation. Shifting the focus to embrace a shared understanding of the broader system helped us identify areas for collaboration, broaden the policy toolbox, and allow space for policy tools originally framed as opposing panaceas. This work helped prepare all parties to have difficult but productive discussions and address shared policy needs. We suggest that many value-based conservation conflicts would benefit from similar efforts that use applied social science to transform how conflict is addressed, moving beyond policy panaceas that end in stalemate to develop shared understandings of context-specific policies, and to identify opportunities for creative cooperation that yield real conservation progress.

How Cat-Behavior Advisors Can Improve Clients' Willingness to Adopt their Advice: An Investigation of Advice Severity, Advisor Credibility, and Clients' Self-Identity

Feline behavioral problems can be treated successfully by good advice from cat-behavior advisors, but guardians often do not comply with their advice. An experimental survey under 703 cat guardians was used to investigate what advisors can do to increase their clients' compliance with environmental enrichment advice. By systematically varying the credibility of the advisor and the severity of their advice, the hypothesis was confirmed that highly credible advisors elicit more positive attitudes and compliance intentions than less credible advisors. Also as expected, mild advice resulted in stronger compliance intentions than severe advice because guardians believed they were better able to incorporate the required actions. Finally, guardians who more strongly thought of themselves as cat guardians were more likely to adopt the advice because they believed that other cat guardians would do the same. The investigation of factors that can increase cat guardians' compliance with advisors' recommendations for the treatment of behavioral problems is crucial because the wellbeing of domestic cats lies in the hands of their guardians. Several practical recommendations for cat-behavior advisors are offered.

Audience segmentation of New Zealand cat owners: Understanding the barriers and drivers of cat containment behavior

Free-roaming companion cats have a detrimental impact on the environment and are at risk of harm. Despite these negative impacts, it is the norm in New Zealand (NZ) to allow companion cats to roam freely and only a minority of cat owners practice cat containment. This study firstly sought to identify what factors act as barriers and drivers of NZ owners' participation in cat containment, and secondly whether NZ owners could be segmented into unique audiences based on the factors predicting their cat containment behavior. It was hypothesized that cat owners with greater capability, opportunity, and motivation to perform cat containment would have greater cat containment intentions and behavior. Furthermore, it was expected that at least three segments of cat owners would exist in NZ which differed significantly in the set of capability, opportunity and motivational factors predicting their cat containment behavior. A quantitative online cross-sectional survey of 395 NZ cat owners was conducted, measuring containment intentions and behavior, and capability, opportunity, and motivation to perform cat containment. Results from bivariate correlations and multiple regression demonstrated that capability, opportunity, and motivational factors predicted increased cat containment intentions and behavior. Latent profile analysis identified four distinct segments of cat owners with unique COM profiles; engaged (6%), receptive (17%), ambivalent (48%), and opposed (30%). Validation analysis demonstrated that these groups all differed significantly in their cat containment intentions and behaviors. From these findings theoretically grounded behavior change interventions can be developed to target the causes of non-participation in cat containment for each of the identified cat owner segments, thereby improving the management of free-roaming cats in NZ.

Assessing the safety and suitability of using silver vine as an olfactory enrichment for cats

Olfactory enrichment is a strategy that can improve welfare among animals managed in captivity, such as household domestic cats. Catnip (Nepeta cataria) and silver vine (Actinidia polygama) that produce iridoids are used as olfactory enrichments for cats, but little is known about the safety or the best plant resources to use that maximize positive cat responses. We report physiological effects and suitable harvest and drying methods for using silver vine as olfactory enrichment. Continuous exposure of cats to silver vine showed no hallmarks of addictive behavior, while blood indicators of stress and hepatic or renal injury showed no increase in cats stimulated with it. Drying the leaves changed the iridoid profile, enhancing the feline response. In conclusion, dried silver vine leaves are the most suitable resource for developing olfactory enrichment that maximizes feline typical response, which would not result in dependence, stress, or toxicity to the liver or kidneys in cats.

Piloting an International Comparison of Readily Accessible Online English Language Advice Surrounding Responsible Cat Ownership

Cats are popular companion animals globally. While the general academic definition of responsible cat ownership is agreed upon, committing to responsible cat ownership is multifaceted, often reflecting regional priorities and values. Utilising a virtual private network (VPN), an English-language online search for 'responsible cat ownership' was applied from major cities in 10 different nations, accounting for five different geographic regions and nine different geographic sub-regions. Data were extracted from the first 20 webpages of each search and included author affiliation, country of webpage origin, and all recommendations towards responsible cat ownership. Searches identified 58 different webpages, 142 duplicate results, and 16 different recommendations. Both before (60.5%) and after (58.6%) duplicate exclusion, irrespective of region, most webpages originated from Australia, so recommendations may lack local nuance in other countries. Similarly, local government webpages were the most common author affiliation both before (35.5%) and after (37.9%) duplicate exclusion-moreover, most Australian webpages were authored by local government (55.9%). More than half of all webpages recommended registration and microchipping (65.5%), desexing (65.5%), and containment (60.3%), probably due to the predominance of local government and Australian webpages online-reflecting Australia's strong legislative stance. Both Australia and New Zealand showed majority recommendations for containment but not for environmental and behavioural enrichment in households. This may be partially explained by the significantly higher agreement in Australia and New Zealand that cats threaten valued wildlife in cities, towns, and rural areas. Unlike the Oceanian nations, other countries clearly recommended improved understanding and provision for cat needs, but with little evidence of support for containment. Thus, divergent welfare considerations inform major webpages associated with attitudes towards cat ownership internationally. Encouraging containment, a responsible cat ownership practice with benefits for cats and wildlife, may be more likely to succeed outside Oceania if cat welfare is emphasised instead of wildlife protection. Within Oceania, more attention could be given to enhancing the well-being of contained cats.

Understanding the Factors Influencing Cat Containment: Identifying Opportunities for Behaviour Change

There are over 5 million pet cats in Australia managed on a spectrum from fully indoors to completely outdoor free roaming. Roaming cats threaten biodiversity, can create a nuisance and are at risk of accidents and injury. Hence, there is substantial interest in behaviour change interventions to increase cat containment. An online questionnaire collected information on cat owner demographics, the number of cats owned, current containment behaviours and an agreement with 15 capability, opportunity and motivation (COM) items. Responses were received from 4482 cat owners. More than half (65%) indicated that they currently keep their cat(s) fully contained. Another 24% practiced a night curfew. Owners' psychological capability had the greatest influence on containment behaviour. Motivation (community- and cat welfare-framed), living in an apartment and renting were also associated with a greater likelihood of containment. Cat owners not currently containing their cats could be divided into six profiles who differed on agreement with COM themes, age, future intentions, current behaviour, location and gender. Understanding differences between cat owner segments can assist with designing behaviour change interventions. Increasing cat owners' psychological capability to contain their cats and encouraging the adoption of a night curfew as a first step towards 24 h containment are recommended.

Attitudes and Beliefs of a Sample of Australian Dog and Cat Owners towards Pet Confinement

Most cats and dogs entering Australian animal shelters and municipal facilities are classed as strays, typically from low socio-economic areas. Contemporary practices increasingly focus on proactively reducing the number of stray animals, which requires further understanding of factors associated with straying animals, including pet confinement. Australian cat and dog owners (n = 2103) were surveyed to investigate attitudes towards four types of pet confinement and how these were influenced by social norms, demographics and concerns about pet quality of life and potential wildlife predation. Dog owners showed the strongest support for confining dogs to the owners’ property whenever unsupervised (98% agreement) and less support for confining dogs inside the house at night (54% agreement), and only 23% believed dogs had a negative impact on wildlife. Cat owners showed the strongest support for confining cats inside the house at night (89% agreement). Cat owners’ non-supportive attitudes towards cat confinement were partly because of higher concern for cat quality of life and lower concern about their cats’ predation behaviours, compared to non-cat owners. The findings provide valuable information to inform more effective strategies to reduce stray animals which would reduce shelter admissions, euthanasia, costs, nuisance issues, potential wildlife predation and negative mental health impacts of euthanasia on staff. Strategies to reduce strays include assisting low-income pet owners to install effective fencing and programs to increase identification. Informing cat owners about bedtime feeding is recommended to assist with night containment, and providing high-intensity free sterilization of owned and semi-owned cats targeted to areas of high cat impoundments is also recommended.

A retrospective study of native wild birds and reptiles admitted to three New Zealand wildlife hospitals due to predation by cats

AIMS

To investigate the types of wildlife affected and outcomes of hospitalisation for native wild birds and reptiles admitted to three wildlife hospitals in New Zealand following predation by cats.

METHODS

We reviewed hospital records of three wildlife hospitals (Wildbase Hospital (WBH) in Palmerston North; The Wildlife Hospital - Dunedin (DWH); and The Nest Te Kōhanga (TNTK) in Wellington) for cases of native species with a submission history or diagnosis of predation by cats over the period 2006-2022. Frequency analysis and cross-tabulation of the data were carried out using the factors wildlife hospital, animal order, species, and case outcome.

RESULTS

Native wildlife (n = 639) presented following predation by cats to the three wildlife hospitals comprised 598 (93.6%) birds from 31 species and 41 (6.4%) reptiles from eight species. The mortality rate of these patients combined was 61.8% (395/639), with the other 38.2% (244/639) being released from hospital to rehabilitation facilities, released to the wild, or, for a small number, put into permanent captive placements. The most common species of birds admitted due to predation by cats were tūī (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae; n = 173), silvereyes (Zosterops lateralis; n = 142), sacred kingfishers (Todiramphus sanctus; n = 100) and kererū (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae; n = 70). There was an overall trend to increasing numbers of wildlife admitted for predation by cats over the period of this review, but the different operating periods of the three hospitals should be considered. Each of the three hospitals saw a different mix of species, with Wellington's TNTK seeing the widest diversity of species affected.

CONCLUSIONS

Predation by cats was a common cause of native birds and reptiles being admitted to all three wildlife hospitals and a diversity of urban and rural wildlife were affected.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE

Predation by cats causes significant mortality in wildlife patients admitted to wildlife hospitals despite best current treatment. Cat management strategies in Aotearoa New Zealand should consider the welfare and health of wildlife.

Influences of roaming domestic cats on wildlife activity in patchy urban environments

Roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) are recognised as a threat to wildlife globally. Yet management of pet cats in urbanised areas is not regularly mandated, and management of feral cats in urbanised areas is rarely implemented. Mounting evidence emphasises the value of urban environments as hot spots of wildlife activity, which as the human population continues to grow may become the best or only habitats available to some wildlife species. Wildlife in urban environments must navigate introduced stressors that can compound with natural stressors. Additional, often novel, predators such as free-roaming pet and feral cats that are prevalent in urban environments could have high nonconsumptive fear/stress impacts on urban wildlife that influence their activity and adversely affect their health and reproduction capabilities, possibly more so than direct predation effects do. Cat roaming activity, particularly that of pet cats, could be managed with the support of the community, though motivation needs to be ensured. Understanding if roaming cat activity influences urban wildlife activity via perceived fear/stress impacts will help to build community motivation for the need for domestic cat management in urbanised areas. Using infrared motion sensor cameras positioned in both yards and green space edge habitats, we observed whether the presence and times active of native and introduced small mammals, and native birds, were impacted by domestic cat activity within a 24-h period and by their activity in the prior-24-h period. We found evidence of cat roaming activity during the hours of most wildlife activity, and show that wildlife navigated “landscapes of fear” relative to cat activity, as wildlife observed across a 24-h period increased their activity in the absence of cats in the same 24-h period and in the previous 24-h period. We also tested if cat activity was relative to previous cat activity, or disturbances, and found that cats reduced activity in response to each, but were still consistently present. Our results provide justification for the need to increase management of domestic cats in urbanised areas and offer fear/stress impacts as a novel approach to engender community support of such management.

Greater willingness to reduce microplastics consumption in Mexico than in Spain supports the importance of legislation on the use of plastics

Introduction

Microplastics (MP) threaten all organisms worldwide. MP are produced directly as microbeads in cosmetics and hygiene products, or indirectly from breakage of larger plastics. The control of MP requires consumers' engagement to refuse products containing microbeads.

Methods

We conducted a survey on 572 university students from Mexico and Spain, two countries where microbeads are not banned yet. More strict laws for plastic control areenforced in Mexico than in Spain.

Results

Controlling for age and education, despite knowing less about MP, Mexicans checked for microbeads on product labels more frequently than Spaniards, and desired to reduce MP consumption more. A stronger correlation between individual awareness and willingness of MP control was found for Mexican than for Spanish students.

Discussion

Perhaps more strict legislation against plastics creates an environment favorable to MP control. Unclear statement of microbeads on labels was the main reason for not checking microbead contents; environmental education and a stricter control of plastics and MP were identified as necessary policy changes in the two countries. Corporation engagement on clearer product labeling is also suggested.

Projecting biodiversity benefits of conservation behavior-change programs

Biodiversity loss is driven by human behavior, but there is uncertainty about the effectiveness of behavior-change programs in delivering benefits to biodiversity. To demonstrate their value, the biodiversity benefits and cost-effectiveness of behavior changes that directly or indirectly affect biodiversity need to be quantified. We adapted a structured decision-making prioritization tool to determine the potential biodiversity benefits of behavior changes. As a case study, we examined two hypothetical behavior-change programs--wildlife gardening and cat containment--by asking experts to consider the behaviors associated with these programs that directly and indirectly affect biodiversity. We assessed benefits to southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) and superb fairy-wren (Malurus cyaneus) by eliciting from experts estimates of the probability of each species persisting in the landscape given a range of behavior-change scenarios in which uptake of the behaviors varied. We then compared these estimates to a business-as-usual scenario to determine the relative biodiversity benefit and cost-effectiveness of each scenario. Experts projected that the behavior-change programs would benefit biodiversity and that benefits would rise with increasing uptake of the target behaviors. Biodiversity benefits were also predicted to accrue through indirect behaviors, although experts disagreed about the magnitude of additional benefit provided. Scenarios that combined the two behavior-change programs were estimated to provide the greatest benefits to species and be most cost-effective. Our method could be used in other contexts and potentially at different scales and advances the use of prioritization tools to guide conservation behavior-change programs.

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.

The Implications of Policies on the Welfare of Free-Roaming Cats in New Zealand

Simple Summary

Free-roaming cats in New Zealand include companion, stray, and feral cats, mostly defined based on their relationship with people. As such, the different policy mechanisms in New Zealand related to addressing the impacts of free-roaming cats reflect these different types of relationships. In this paper, we review the current laws and related regulations, codes, plans, and local bylaws related to cat management and identify the implications they have on cat welfare. Currently, there is no national law for cat management in New Zealand; however, we suggest that there is reason to create national legislation to ensure that cat management is humane and consistent across New Zealand.

Abstract

A lack of national legislation for cat management in New Zealand poses challenges for ensuring that practices are consistently humane and effective. In this paper, we review the current cat management policies in New Zealand and the implications they have on the welfare of free-roaming cats (from here on, referred to as ‘cats’). Our review demonstrates that there are multiple policy mechanisms used to manage cats in New Zealand for a variety of reasons, including animal welfare, pest management, and nuisance, and that these different policies have both positive and negative implications for cat welfare. We provide context pertaining to New Zealanders’ acceptance of current or future laws and regulations and compare the New Zealand policy landscape with other countries, with a particular emphasis on Australia, to identify potential directions and outcomes of increased regulation. We discuss the future of the regulatory environment in New Zealand, including the need to better understand the impact of policies on cats, people, and other animals in urban, rural, and wild spaces. We further discuss the need to better understand the cat–human relationship for future policy decisions and offer a solution based on national cat legislation.

Habitat use by wandering pet cats (Felis catus) in a patchy urban environment

Pet cats (Felis catus) often have negative effects on wildlife. This is of growing concern in urban areas as these are increasingly becoming hotspots of native wildlife activity, and as the human population increases, so too does the pet cat population. To maintain biodiversity in urban areas, further knowledge on pet cat behaviour and impacts is required so that management strategies for pet cats are well informed and have public and government support. Here, we offer insights into the wandering activity of pet cats in a patchy urban—heavily vegetated landscape on the east coast of Australia. Our estimated pet cat movement ranges were generally larger than those previously observed in similar landscapes, as well as in more urbanized and rural habitats. Using GPS data loggers, we found that pet cats did not utilize vegetated spaces more than urban areas, nor did they prefer them relative to their availability. Half of our study cats selected urban habitats, whilst the other half displayed no selection or a slight preference for vegetated spaces; these cats had fewer barriers to overcome to reach them. We did not observe any large differences in movements or habitat use between day and night, but displacement distances and preference for vegetated space habitat were marginally lower at night. All pet cats monitored spent most of their time outside their houses. As both urban and vegetated spaces in patchy urban landscapes provide habitat for native wildlife, pet cat activity across both habitat types requires management action.

Provision of High Meat Content Food and Object Play Reduce Predation of Wild Animals by Domestic Cats Felis catus

Predation by domestic cats Felis catus can be a threat to biodiversity conservation,^1-3 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 collars, or are concerned about device loss and ineffectiveness.^6,7 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 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. 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.

Indoors or Outdoors? An International Exploration of Owner Demographics and Decision Making Associated with Lifestyle of Pet Cats

Simple Summary

Owners may consider many factors when deciding whether to provide an indoor-only or indoor-outdoor lifestyle for their cats. These include safety, mental and physical health, exposure to parasites or disease, and depredation of wildlife. This international study used a series of online surveys to explore the factors cat owners consider when deciding what lifestyle to provide for their cat, alongside investigating if owner and cat features are associated with greater odds of cats having indoor-only or indoor-outdoor lifestyles. Ten variables were found to be significant predictors of lifestyle. Owner features predicting a greater likelihood of cats being kept as indoor-only were being 26–35 years old, having multiple cats, living in city centres or urban areas, and living in the United States, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. For cats, these features included being junior, having health issues, being pedigree, or having unknown pedigree status. Owner features predicting a greater likelihood of cats being indoor-outdoor were owners being 46–55+ years old or 56+ years old and having children (17 years old or under) living at home. For cats, features included being male and being mature or senior. Road traffic accidents were the major concern for owners of indoor-only cats in all regions surveyed. Owners who provided outdoor access predominantly indicated they did so for the mental wellbeing of their cat. These findings are important in understanding the considerations owners give to their cat’s lifestyle and identifying management trends and cat populations potentially at risk of compromised welfare due to unsuitable lifestyles.

Abstract

Outdoor access for owned domestic cats (Felis catus) is a divisive issue. Cat safety, mental and physical wellbeing, infectious diseases, and wildlife depredation are cited as factors influencing owners; however, the degree of consideration each factor receives has not been quantified. This study (i) analysed which demographic variables are associated with greater odds of cats having indoor or outdoor lifestyles, (ii) identified which factors owners consider when making a choice on lifestyle and any regional variations, and (iii) identified if owners consider the different lifestyle options available and recognise their associated benefits. A series of online surveys were used for data collection. Binary logistic regression models were used to generate odds ratios assessing if demographic variables were significantly associated with cat lifestyle. Quantitative analysis of factors considered when deciding on cat lifestyle was accompanied by a thematic analysis of rich-text open-ended responses, providing nuanced insight into the rationale and elucidating additional factors considered. Of the demographic variables tested, 10/12 were significantly associated with lifestyle. Variables with higher odds of indoor-only lifestyles were owners being 26–35 years old, multi-cat households, junior cats, pedigree cats or unknown pedigree status, cats with health issues, living in city centres or urban areas, or living in the United States, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand. Variables with higher odds of indoor-outdoor lifestyles were owners being 46–55 years old or 56+ years old, households with residents 17 years old or under, male cats, and cats being mature or senior. Road traffic concerns were the most cited reason for keeping indoor-only cats across all global regions. The second-most cited reason varied regionally. For Europe, it was protection from people. For the USA and Canada, the reason was protection from wildlife, and for Australia and New Zealand, to prevent hunting. Indoor-outdoor cat owners cited most frequently the benefits to their cat’s mental health. Over two-thirds of owners did not consider the alternative lifestyle for their cat. These data give insight into the priorities of cat owners with regards to feline wellbeing, feline safety, and wildlife depredation, helpful for individuals or organisations working with human behaviour change. They provide evidence that the numbers of indoor-only cats are likely to rise with increasing urbanisation. Finally, the data identify cat populations who may be at risk of compromised welfare due to unsuitable, or under-researched, lifestyles.

Understanding conflicting cultural models of outdoor cats to overcome conservation impasse

Many conservation conflicts are scientifically complex yet are rooted in value conflicts, which result in an impasse. Additional biological information alone is insufficient to resolve this type of conflict. Conceptual models that articulate the material aspects of a system are increasingly used to identify areas where parties disagree. Yet, modeling processes typically follow the conveners' rules for discussing and assessing the topic, which can exacerbate conflict. Researchers have identified a need for processes that require participants to reflect on the limits of their own philosophical assumptions and acknowledge other perspectives. Cultural models are a promising tool for this purpose because they include nonmaterial beliefs, morals, and values that guide people's understanding of how to interact with an issue, sometimes subconsciously. We explored how cultural models used with conceptual models can improve understanding of value conflicts and used outdoor cat management as a case study. We conducted interviews and focus group discussions with wildlife conservation and cat welfare professionals involved in outdoor cat policy discussions in Hawaii and Washington, D.C. From these conversations, we developed a conceptual model of the outdoor cat management system and cultural models that led stakeholders to weigh elements of the conceptual model differently. Although wildlife conservation professionals generally spoke about outdoor cats as invasive species, cat welfare professionals spoke about them as homeless pets. These conflicting conceptualizations of what an outdoor cat is may help explain the root of many long-standing disagreements. Examining how and when stakeholders invoke different cultural models allowed us to identify management actions that work with, rather than challenge, those models. Dialogue that embraces conflicting cultural models can be difficult and uncomfortable, but has great potential to overcome conservation impasse and achieve lasting conservation results.

Cat ownership and Proximity to Significant Ecological Areas Influence Attitudes Towards Cat Impacts and Management Practices

Cat ownership is increasing globally, representing a growing threat to urban wildlife. Although some cities have policies and strategies for managing owned cats, the companionship value placed on cats makes such management contentious. Prioritizing cat management in urban residential zones adjacent to large significant ecological areas (SEAs; areas designated on the basis of representativeness, threat status or rarity, diversity, connectedness, or uniqueness) could maximize return on management effort. Residents in these areas may place a relatively higher value on nature than residents in suburbs with minimal or no SEAs, and therefore may be comparatively more likely to perceive cats' wildlife impacts as important. We used a quantitative survey to compare SEA and non-SEA suburbs' residents' attitudes towards cat impacts and management in Tāmaki Makaurau-Auckland, Aotearoa-New Zealand. Participants were asked to rate the importance of different feral and owned cat impacts, the importance of feral-cat control in different locations, and various ownership behaviors in terms of acceptability and best practice. SEA suburb residents placed more importance on wildlife predation impacts of feral cats and were more likely to regard 24-h cat confinement as best practice than non-SEA suburb residents. However, we also found that cat ownership and youth were negatively associated with perception of cat impacts, and owners were less likely to accept belled collars and cat confinement than nonowners. Therefore, although targeting SEA adjacent areas for cat management holds promise for reducing resident contention, proximity to such areas is a relatively minor influence for cat owners.

Response to Wolf et al.: Furthering Debate over the Suitability of Trap-Neuter-Return for Stray Cat Management

To continue dialogue over proposed Australian trials of Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), we applied a framework requiring identification of areas of agreement, areas of disagreement, and identification of empirical data collection required to resolve disagreements. There is agreement that Australia has a problem with stray cats, causing problems of impacts on wildlife, nuisance, disease transmission (including public health issues and exchange of diseases between stray cat and pet cat populations), poor welfare outcomes for stray cats, and an emotional burden on staff euthanising healthy stray cats. There is disagreement on whether (i) current measures are failing, leading to unacceptably high euthanasia levels, (ii) some contributors to the debate misunderstand TNR, (iii) TNR trials will reduce urban cat populations and associated problems, (iv) TNR is an ethical solution to cat overpopulation, and (v) some contributors to the debate promulgated misinformation. Although not everyone agrees that TNR trials should proceed, as a hypothetical exploration, we propose an experimental approach explicitly comparing TNR to alternatives. Trials could only be considered if other detailed and well-funded attempts at stray cat control focusing across an entire Local Government Area (LGA) prove ineffective.

Uncontrolled Outdoor Access for Cats: An Assessment of Risks and Benefits

Uncontrolled outdoor access is associated with a number of welfare concerns for companion cats, including increased risks of disease and parasites, injury or death due to traffic, predation or ingestion of toxic substances, and getting permanently separated from their owner. In addition, cats pose a threat to local wildlife due to predatory behaviors, and can sometimes be a nuisance to human neighbors. Despite these concerns, recent estimates suggest that many owners are still providing their cats with uncontrolled outdoor access, likely because it also offers welfare benefits by allowing cats to perform natural behaviors, such as hunting, exploring, and climbing. While some have suggested that outdoor access is necessary to meet cats' behavioral needs and to prevent related behavioral problems, others have recommended various environmental enrichment strategies that can be developed to meet these needs within an indoor environment or through supervised and controlled outdoor access. This review examines the welfare issues and benefits associated with outdoor access for cats, as well as what is currently known about peoples' practices, knowledge, and attitudes about the provision of outdoor access for cats.

Change the Humans First: Principles for Improving the Management of Free-Roaming Cats

Simple Summary

For free-roaming cat management to be effective, people—including land managers, conservationists, cat lovers and the general public—need to be sufficiently empowered and motivated to accept and implement management actions. Research in the social and behavioural sciences has shown that engaging everyone and gaining consensus can be incredibly challenging. This paper describes an integrative framework based on the behavioural literature to design better, equitable and ethically acceptable interventions for free-roaming cat management.

Abstract

In Australia, free-roaming cats can be found in urban and rural areas across the country. They are inherently difficult to manage but it is frequently human behaviour that demands the most attention and is in most need of change. To the frustration of policy makers and practitioners, scientific knowledge, technological developments, and legal and institutional innovations, often run afoul of insufficient public capacity, opportunity and motivation to act. This paper demonstrates how the behavioural science literature can provide important insights into maximising the impact of free-roaming cat control activities within an ethical framework that prioritises acting “with” all stakeholders, rather than “on” stakeholders. By better understanding how human values, attitudes and beliefs are shaped, practitioners can more effectively and respectfully interact with how people interpret the world around them, make choices and behave. This literature also has much to say about why certain types of media and marketing messages elicit behaviour change and why other types fall flat. Finally, in addition to explaining the behavioural science and its implications, this review provides researchers, policy makers and engagement specialists with an inclusive, practical framework for conceptualising behaviour change and working to ensure land managers, cat owners and the general public can agree on and adopt best practices for managing free-roaming cats.