Document ID: chunk:federal_register_of_legislation:F2017C00220:reg:1:p4
Version: federal_register_of_legislation:F2017C00220
Segment Type: reg
Provision Reference: reg 1 (pt 4/9)
Character Range: 13529–16216

there should be instead, better estimates of the impact that feral cats are having on threatened and non-threatened native fauna. Doherty et al. (2015) state that reducing the impacts of feral cats is a priority for conservation managers across the globe and success in achieving this aim requires a detailed understanding of the species' ecology across a broad spectrum of climatic and environmental conditions. Predation by feral cats is recognised as one of the primary factors in the decline and extinction of a number of native mammal species in Australia (Woinarski et al. 2014).
Adult feral cats weigh three to five kilograms on average (Read & Bowen 2001; Johnston et al. 2012; Johnston et al. 2012a; Johnston et al. 2013). Feral cats are carnivores and can survive with limited access to drinking water because they can consume adequate moisture from their prey: small and medium-sized mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and invertebrates. Feral cats will also consume carrion when live prey is scarce, and some smaller amounts of vegetation.
Feral cats are solitary and predominantly nocturnal (some may be more crepuscular – that is active during twilight hours - or even diurnal in colder areas or months of the year), spending most of the day in burrows, logs or rock piles. They occupy home ranges that vary from less than one square kilometre up to 20-30 square kilometres in areas of scarce resources (Buckmaster 2011; Moseby et al. 2009; Molsher et al. 2005). Mature (one year or older) feral cats can breed in any season and may produce two litters per year (Jones & Coman, 1982), each of about four kittens, however, few kittens survive (Denny & Dickman, 2010 provide a review of all of the studies estimating litter size).
Cats can be grouped into categories according to how and where they live. The definitions and categories used vary widely, so the following terms are used for the purposes of this plan:
• feral cats are those that live and reproduce in the wild (e.g. forests, woodlands, grasslands, deserts) and survive by hunting or scavenging; none of their needs are satisfied intentionally by humans;
• stray cats are those found in and around cities, towns and rural properties; they may depend on some resources provided by humans but are not owned; and
• domestic cats are those owned by an individual, a household, a business or corporation; most or all of their needs are supplied by their owners. If the confinement of domestic cats becomes more common, the category of a domestic cat may need to be divided to confined and unconfined cats because the potential for these two groups to impact on native fauna is different.
These categories of