It is time to talk about our cats – our urban cats in particular – and what we can do about their hunting down of our native birds and reptiles.

Right from the beginning let us make it clear that, to our way of seeing things, there is definitely a place for companion animals such as the domestic cat in our current and future urban lives such is their deep penetration into our ways of being and our need for companionship.  

But having them as special partners in our households should not prevent us talking about our cats and their role in current efforts that the community is making to reverse the decline of our native species of birds and reptiles.  Because, other than the very aged and most over-weight of moggies, cats are pretty much up there in the spectrum of successful hunters. 

Good hunters  A 2018 study of cats living around the Travis Wetland found that of their prey 62% were rodents, 26% were exotic birds, and 12% were native birds.  A year-long study of 208 cats in urban Dunedin in 2010 showed that they kill more birds, skinks, geckos, and weta than rats and mice kill.  

If domestic cat demographics throughout the Christchurch urban area are similar to those around Travis Wetland, then there are around 75,000 domestic cats living in Christchurch City. That means an estimate of the annual cat predation across Christchurch urban area would be around 1,000,000 prey items caught per year. That means about 120,000 native birds taken out by our cats in just one year: it’s a problem!

Predator-Free  While predation is a problem, we also need to consider the additional effect that the presence of urban cats, even those disinclined to hunt, has on the likelihood of nesting behavour or breeding success rate by birds in the city environment.  

In conjunction with the restoration of native forest on Banks Penninsula, in selected gullies on the Port Hills and within city reserves,  predator-free programmes of trapping are also expanding around the city, focusing particularly on weasels, possum, rats, hedgehogs and mice. The intention is to provide sufficient linked-up, safe habitat to encourage the return of native bird species to our city and its environs in much the same way that Zealandia has seeded the expansion of native birds in Wellington.

It is important that, as responsible cat owners, we play our part, small though it might be in the overall scheme of things, in the successful restoration of this safe habitat.

Responsible cat-owning  So what can we as responsible cat owners do with our moggies to help reduce the predation of native species? There are, of course, extreme measures that could be taken, but we do not advocate these: as previously said, within an urban environment there is a place for companion cats.

Taking for granted that our cats are well-fed each day, we suggest the following four actions will make a difference:

• Have our cats neutered?  The number of cats in the city is already high so let us make sure that every one of the cats we have is a wanted one. There are almost no studies on the effect stray cats may have on native bird populations. In fact, there is probably better knowledge of feral cat effects than of the impact of strays.  Keeping stray cat numbers down is obviously better for the environment and the cats themselves.
• Have our cats microchipped. It is really just part of the treasuring of each pet, and in the rare case where our cat is trapped in an area of high ecological significance, the microchip allows you to get our treasured pet back and to know what it has been doing. That way, we can take greater responsibility for it.
• Keep our cats inside as much as possible. Not an easy task, but one that cats can be trained for provided that there are sufficient spaces and items to keep them entertained within the home. If our cat is used to being active at night, it can become restless and stressed when kept in. An indoor environment should provide him/her with plenty of things to do – from toys and climbing frames to puzzle feeders.  Also, ensure there is access to a litter tray and water – but not near to each other.
• Make our cats visible to birds. A bell on the collar is ok but birds are more sensitive to movement than they are to sound. Moving bright colours help in raising the bar for the hunter so a great way to reduce our cat’s success rate in the hunting stakes is to give him/her a brightly coloured collar.  They are all the rage and making them is simplicity itself.  However, a bright collar will not stop hunting success entirely.
• Don’t feed strays – adopt them. While difficult, it’s best to resist the urge to feed stray cats. Feeding strays only exacerbates the problem of free-ranging cats killing wildlife. Stray cats live short, brutish lives and feeding them helps ensure that the stray population perpetuates itself and that more cats suffer from disease, starvation, and death from cars, dogs and wild predators.  If you fall in love with a local stray, adopt it, de-sex it, microchip it.

Like all topics to do with relationships, the issue of cats and native wildlife in an urban setting can raise emotions.  Let’s try to talk about this topic in a spirit of compromise – there are solutions if we seek them.