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Roaming habits of pet cats on the suburban fringe in Perth, Western Australia: what size buffer zone is needed to protect wildlife in reserves?

By
Maggie Lilith
Maggie Lilith
School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150
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Michael Calver
Michael Calver
School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia 6150
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Mark Garkaklis
Mark Garkaklis
Department of Environment and Conservation, Gnangara Sustainability Strategy, 5 Dundebar Road, Wanneroo, Western Australia, 6065
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Doi:
https://doi.org/10.7882/FS.2008.011
  • Published:
    2008
Publication history

We radiotracked 18 pet cats Felis catus from rural and urban areas within the City of Armadale, Western Australia, both at night and during the day between August 2003 and February 2005 to estimate the size of buffer zone required to reduce incursions by pet cats into native bushland. Home ranges of rural cats ranged from 0.07ha to 2.86ha, while those of urban cats were 0.01ha to 0.64ha. Male and female cats had similar home ranges and there was no evidence of seasonal differences in home ranges. The longest linear distance moved by any cat was 300m, so allowing a 20% margin for estimation error a buffer zone of 360m is needed to reduce incursions by pet cats into native bushland in this municipality.

Anderson, I. 1994. Should the cat take the rap? New Scientist 13, 14.
Baker, D. 2001. Cat curfew - Casey City Council. Proceedings of the 10th Urban Animal Management Conference in Australia, Melbourne. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc01/baker.htm
Barratt, D. G. 1997a. Predation by house cats, Felis catus (L.), in Canberra, Australia. I. Prey composition and preference. Wildlife Research 24: 263 - 277.
Barratt, D. G. 1997b. Home range size, habitat utilisation and movement patterns of suburban and farm cats Felis catus. Ecography 20: 271 - 280.
Barratt, D. G. 1998. Predation by house cats, Felis catus (L.), in Canberra, Australia. II. Factors affecting the amount of prey caught and estimates of the impact on wildlife. Wildlife Research 25: 475 - 487.
Biró, Z., Szemethy, L. and Heltai, M. 2004. Home range sizes of wildcats ( Felis silvestris) and feral domestic cats ( Felis silvestris f. catus) in the hilly region of Hungary. Mammalian Biology 69: 302 - 310.
Bradshaw, J. W. S. 1992 The Behaviour of the Domestic Cat. Redwood Press Ltd, UK.
Buttriss, R., 2001. No cat zone - City of Kingston. Proceedings of the 10th Urban Animal Management Conference in Australia, Melbourne. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc01/buttriss.htm
Calver, M. C., Thomas, S.R., Bradley, J. S. and McCutcheon, H. 2007. Reducing the rate of predation on wildlife by pet cats: the efficacy and practicability of collar-mounted pounce protectors. Biological Conservation 137: 341-348.
Chaseling, S. 2001. Pet populations in Australia. Dogs increasing and cats decreasing - why is it so? Proceedings of the 10th Urban Animal Management Conference in Melbourne, Australia. [cited May 2005]. Available from URL http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc01/chaseling.htm
Das, A. 1993. Nocturnal carnivore ( Felis catus and Vulpes vulpes) activity in an urban native park. B.Sc. Honours thesis, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Dixon, K. R. and Chapman, J. A. 1980. Harmonic mean measure of animal activity areas. Biology 61: 1040 - 1044.
Fitzgerald, B. M. and Karl, B. J. 1986. Home range of feral house cats ( Felis catus L.) in forest of the Orongorongo Valley, Wellington, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 9: 71 - 81.
Garcia, L.V. 2004. Escaping the Bonferroni iron claw in ecological studies. Oikos 105: 657 - 663.
Grayson, J., Calver, M. C. and Styles, I. 2002. Attitudes of suburban Western Australians to proposed cat control legislation. Australian Veterinary Journal 80: 536 - 543.
Grayson, J. and Calver, M. C. 2004. Regulation of domestic cat ownership to protect urban wildlife: a justification based on the precautionary principle. Pp. 169 - 178 in: Urban Wildlife: More Than Meets the Eye, edited by D. Lunney and S. Burgin. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, New South Wales.
Harris, S., Cresswell, W. J., Forde, P. G., Trewhella, W. J., Woollard, T. and Wray, S. 1990. Home-range analysis using radio-tracking data - a review of problems and techniques particularly as applied to the study of mammals. Mammal Review 20: 97 - 123.
Haspel, C. and Calhoon, R. E. 1989. Home ranges of free-ranging cats ( Felis catus) in Brooklyn, New York. Canadian Journal of Zoology 67: 178 - 181.
Jones, E. and Coman, B. J. 1982. Ecology of the feral cat, Felis catus (L.), in South Eastern Australia III. Home ranges and population ecology in semiarid North West Victoria. Australian Wildlife Research 9: 409 - 420.
Kays, R. W. and DeWan, A.A. 2004. Ecological impact of inside/outside house cats around a suburban nature reserve. Animal Conservation 7: 273-283.
Kelly, D. 1999. The power of the retrospective - cat legislation: what precisely did we learn in South Australia? Proceedings of the 8th Urban Animal Management Conference in Australia, Gold Coast, Queensland. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc99/kelly1.htm
Kenward, R. E., South, A.B. and Walls, S.S. 2003. Ranges 6 v1.2: For the analysis of tracking and location data. Online manual. Anatrack Ltd. Wareham, UK.
Konecny, M. J. 1987. Food habits and energetics of feral house cats in the Galapagos Islands. Oikos 50: 24 - 32.
Langham, N.P.E. and Porter, R.E.R. 1991. Feral cats Felis catus (L.) on New Zealand farmland. I. Home range. Wildlife Research 18: 741 - 760.
Leyhausen, P. 1979 Cat Behaviour. Garland STPM Press, New York.
Lilith, M., Calver, M. C., Styles, I. and Garkaklis, M. 2006. Protecting wildlife from predation by owned domestic cats: application of a precautionary approach to the acceptability of proposed cat regulations. Austral Ecology 31: 176 - 189.
Meek, P. D. 2003. Home range of house cats Felis catus living within a national park. Australian Mammalogy 25: 51 - 60.
Milliken, G. A. and Johnson, D. E. 1992 Analysis of Messy Data: Volume 1. Designed experiments. Chapman and Hall, London.
Moore, S. 2001. Cat confinement - does it work? Proceedings of the 10th Urban Animal Management Conference in Australia, Melbourne. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc01/moore%20cat.htm
Moran, M.D. 2003. Arguments for rejecting the sequential Bonferroni in ecological studies. Oikos 100: 403-405.
Naidenko, S. V. and Hupe, K. 2002. Seasonal changes in home range use in feral tomcats in Solling, central Germany. Zoologichesky Zhurnal 81: 1371 - 1381.
Nams, V. O. 2001. Locate II. A program to triangulate radiotelemetry bearings and calculate error ellipses. Department of Environmental Sciences, NSAC, Truro, Canada) Available from http://www.nsac.ns.ca/envsci/staff/vnams/Locate.htm
Nattrass, R. 1992. Wildlife conservation in the urban environment: are pets a threat? Proceedings of the 1st National Conference on Urban Animal Management in Australia, Brisbane. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc92/13.htm
Page, R. J. C., Ross, J. and Bennett, D. H. 1992. A study of the home ranges, movements and behaviour of the feral cat population at Avonmouth Docks. Wildlife Research 19: 263 - 277.
Patronek, G. J. 1998. Free-roaming and feral cats - their impact on wildlife and human beings. JAVMA 212: 218 - 226.
Penson, P. 1995. Victorian cat legislation. 4th Urban Animal Management Conference. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc95/penson.htm
Pergl, G. 1994. The Sherbrooke experience. Proceedings of the 3rd National Conference on Urban Animal Management in Australia, Canberra. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc94/pergl.htm
Perneger, T.V. 1998. What is wrong with Bonferroni adjustments. British Medical Journal 316: 1236 - 1238.
Smucker, T. D., Lindsey, G. D. and Mosher, S. M. 2000. Home range and diet of feral cats in Hawaii forests. Pacific Conservation Biology 6: 229 - 237.
Southwood, T. R. E. 1966 Ecological Methods: with Particular Reference to the Study of Insect Populations. Chapman and Hall, London. Statsoft 1999). Statistica. Statsoft, Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma.
White, G. C. and Garrott, R. A. 1990 Analysis of Wildlife Radio-Tracking Data. Academic Press, Inc., San Diego.
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Data & Figures
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Contents

Too close for comfort: Contentious issues in human-wildlife encounters
Other RZS NSW Publications

Too close for comfort: Contentious issues in human-wildlife encounters

Edited by
Daniel Lunney
Daniel Lunney
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Adam Munn
Adam Munn
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Will Meikle
Will Meikle
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Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7882/9780980327229
ISBN electronic:
978-0-9803272-2-9
Publication date:
2008
Chapter Contents

Data & Figures

References

Anderson, I. 1994. Should the cat take the rap? New Scientist 13, 14.
Baker, D. 2001. Cat curfew - Casey City Council. Proceedings of the 10th Urban Animal Management Conference in Australia, Melbourne. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc01/baker.htm
Barratt, D. G. 1997a. Predation by house cats, Felis catus (L.), in Canberra, Australia. I. Prey composition and preference. Wildlife Research 24: 263 - 277.
Barratt, D. G. 1997b. Home range size, habitat utilisation and movement patterns of suburban and farm cats Felis catus. Ecography 20: 271 - 280.
Barratt, D. G. 1998. Predation by house cats, Felis catus (L.), in Canberra, Australia. II. Factors affecting the amount of prey caught and estimates of the impact on wildlife. Wildlife Research 25: 475 - 487.
Biró, Z., Szemethy, L. and Heltai, M. 2004. Home range sizes of wildcats ( Felis silvestris) and feral domestic cats ( Felis silvestris f. catus) in the hilly region of Hungary. Mammalian Biology 69: 302 - 310.
Bradshaw, J. W. S. 1992 The Behaviour of the Domestic Cat. Redwood Press Ltd, UK.
Buttriss, R., 2001. No cat zone - City of Kingston. Proceedings of the 10th Urban Animal Management Conference in Australia, Melbourne. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc01/buttriss.htm
Calver, M. C., Thomas, S.R., Bradley, J. S. and McCutcheon, H. 2007. Reducing the rate of predation on wildlife by pet cats: the efficacy and practicability of collar-mounted pounce protectors. Biological Conservation 137: 341-348.
Chaseling, S. 2001. Pet populations in Australia. Dogs increasing and cats decreasing - why is it so? Proceedings of the 10th Urban Animal Management Conference in Melbourne, Australia. [cited May 2005]. Available from URL http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc01/chaseling.htm
Das, A. 1993. Nocturnal carnivore ( Felis catus and Vulpes vulpes) activity in an urban native park. B.Sc. Honours thesis, University of Melbourne, Australia.
Dixon, K. R. and Chapman, J. A. 1980. Harmonic mean measure of animal activity areas. Biology 61: 1040 - 1044.
Fitzgerald, B. M. and Karl, B. J. 1986. Home range of feral house cats ( Felis catus L.) in forest of the Orongorongo Valley, Wellington, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 9: 71 - 81.
Garcia, L.V. 2004. Escaping the Bonferroni iron claw in ecological studies. Oikos 105: 657 - 663.
Grayson, J., Calver, M. C. and Styles, I. 2002. Attitudes of suburban Western Australians to proposed cat control legislation. Australian Veterinary Journal 80: 536 - 543.
Grayson, J. and Calver, M. C. 2004. Regulation of domestic cat ownership to protect urban wildlife: a justification based on the precautionary principle. Pp. 169 - 178 in: Urban Wildlife: More Than Meets the Eye, edited by D. Lunney and S. Burgin. Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, New South Wales.
Harris, S., Cresswell, W. J., Forde, P. G., Trewhella, W. J., Woollard, T. and Wray, S. 1990. Home-range analysis using radio-tracking data - a review of problems and techniques particularly as applied to the study of mammals. Mammal Review 20: 97 - 123.
Haspel, C. and Calhoon, R. E. 1989. Home ranges of free-ranging cats ( Felis catus) in Brooklyn, New York. Canadian Journal of Zoology 67: 178 - 181.
Jones, E. and Coman, B. J. 1982. Ecology of the feral cat, Felis catus (L.), in South Eastern Australia III. Home ranges and population ecology in semiarid North West Victoria. Australian Wildlife Research 9: 409 - 420.
Kays, R. W. and DeWan, A.A. 2004. Ecological impact of inside/outside house cats around a suburban nature reserve. Animal Conservation 7: 273-283.
Kelly, D. 1999. The power of the retrospective - cat legislation: what precisely did we learn in South Australia? Proceedings of the 8th Urban Animal Management Conference in Australia, Gold Coast, Queensland. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc99/kelly1.htm
Kenward, R. E., South, A.B. and Walls, S.S. 2003. Ranges 6 v1.2: For the analysis of tracking and location data. Online manual. Anatrack Ltd. Wareham, UK.
Konecny, M. J. 1987. Food habits and energetics of feral house cats in the Galapagos Islands. Oikos 50: 24 - 32.
Langham, N.P.E. and Porter, R.E.R. 1991. Feral cats Felis catus (L.) on New Zealand farmland. I. Home range. Wildlife Research 18: 741 - 760.
Leyhausen, P. 1979 Cat Behaviour. Garland STPM Press, New York.
Lilith, M., Calver, M. C., Styles, I. and Garkaklis, M. 2006. Protecting wildlife from predation by owned domestic cats: application of a precautionary approach to the acceptability of proposed cat regulations. Austral Ecology 31: 176 - 189.
Meek, P. D. 2003. Home range of house cats Felis catus living within a national park. Australian Mammalogy 25: 51 - 60.
Milliken, G. A. and Johnson, D. E. 1992 Analysis of Messy Data: Volume 1. Designed experiments. Chapman and Hall, London.
Moore, S. 2001. Cat confinement - does it work? Proceedings of the 10th Urban Animal Management Conference in Australia, Melbourne. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc01/moore%20cat.htm
Moran, M.D. 2003. Arguments for rejecting the sequential Bonferroni in ecological studies. Oikos 100: 403-405.
Naidenko, S. V. and Hupe, K. 2002. Seasonal changes in home range use in feral tomcats in Solling, central Germany. Zoologichesky Zhurnal 81: 1371 - 1381.
Nams, V. O. 2001. Locate II. A program to triangulate radiotelemetry bearings and calculate error ellipses. Department of Environmental Sciences, NSAC, Truro, Canada) Available from http://www.nsac.ns.ca/envsci/staff/vnams/Locate.htm
Nattrass, R. 1992. Wildlife conservation in the urban environment: are pets a threat? Proceedings of the 1st National Conference on Urban Animal Management in Australia, Brisbane. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc92/13.htm
Page, R. J. C., Ross, J. and Bennett, D. H. 1992. A study of the home ranges, movements and behaviour of the feral cat population at Avonmouth Docks. Wildlife Research 19: 263 - 277.
Patronek, G. J. 1998. Free-roaming and feral cats - their impact on wildlife and human beings. JAVMA 212: 218 - 226.
Penson, P. 1995. Victorian cat legislation. 4th Urban Animal Management Conference. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc95/penson.htm
Pergl, G. 1994. The Sherbrooke experience. Proceedings of the 3rd National Conference on Urban Animal Management in Australia, Canberra. [cited May 2005]. Available from http://www.iimage.com.au/ava.com.au/UAM/proc94/pergl.htm
Perneger, T.V. 1998. What is wrong with Bonferroni adjustments. British Medical Journal 316: 1236 - 1238.
Smucker, T. D., Lindsey, G. D. and Mosher, S. M. 2000. Home range and diet of feral cats in Hawaii forests. Pacific Conservation Biology 6: 229 - 237.
Southwood, T. R. E. 1966 Ecological Methods: with Particular Reference to the Study of Insect Populations. Chapman and Hall, London. Statsoft 1999). Statistica. Statsoft, Inc., Tulsa, Oklahoma.
White, G. C. and Garrott, R. A. 1990 Analysis of Wildlife Radio-Tracking Data. Academic Press, Inc., San Diego.

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