Feral cats and deer...

[1_pointer]

...like I needed another reason to hate cats!

ree-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) are widely understood to have substantial negative impacts on wildlife. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists cats among the world’s worst non-native invasive species, and cats on islands worldwide have contributed to 33 species extinctions (Lowe et al. 2000, Medina et al. 2011). In the United States free-roaming cats are the top source of direct anthropogenic mortality to birds and mammals, killing approximately 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion mammals each year (Loss et al. 2013).

The indirect impacts of cats on wildlife are less obvious, but one of the greatest emerging threats from free-roaming cats is infection with Toxoplasma gondii. T. gondii is a parasitic protozoan that can infect all warm-blooded species but relies on felids to complete its life cycle. According to a new study published in EcoHealth, feral cats are likely driving white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) infections in northeastern Ohio (Ballash et al. 2014). Cats that host T. gondii excrete oocysts into the environment in their feces, and a single cat can deposit hundreds of millions of oocysts, which may remain infectious for up to 18 months (Tenter et al. 2000).

The study’s authors collected white-tailed deer samples at the Cleveland Metroparks as part of a deer management program. Cat serum samples were collected from cats in a trap, neuter, release (TNR) program in the Greater Cleveland area. TNR programs spay/neuter feral cats and then release them into the environment. Nearly 60% of white-tailed deer and 52% of feral cats tested positive for T. gondii. Older deer and deer in urban environments were more likely to be infected, suggesting horizontal transmission from environmental exposure.

The study’s findings have implications for people as well. Widespread environmental contamination increases the likelihood of human infections. In people, infection has been linked to schizophrenia and can lead to miscarriages, blindness, memory loss, and death (Torrey and Yolken 2013, Gajewski et al. 2014). Due to the creation of tissue cysts in infected deer, people that consume undercooked venison can also acquire T. gondii and the subsequent disease, toxoplasmosis.

The Wildlife Society actively supports the humane removal of feral cats from native ecosystems. See our position statement and fact sheet for more information on how feral and free-ranging domestic cats impact wildlife.

 

[Big Fin]

...like I needed another reason to hate cats!

Same here, given my extreme allergy to them. I have no use for an feral species and feral cats are no different.

I can only imagine the whining and wailing if a group of humans killed 2.4 billion birds per year.

 

[teamhoyt]

Its been my understanding that they are also hard on game birds such as pheasants due to the fact that they will sit and wait for a bird to kill it vs, like a coyote that is fairly mobile when hunting. growing up we used to shoot all of them we could if they were off the farm.

 

[RobG]

A toxoplasma article appeared in the Billings Gazette a few weeks ago and a whole group of feral cat advocates from all over the U.S. showed up frantically trying to discredit the results. I didn't even know feral cats had an advocacy group, much less one that scanned the nation's news sources for stories that cast feral cats in a bad light.

 

[Southwind]

A relative of mine was part of a study on the decline of Bobwhite quail. Although there are many contributing factors feral cats were among the greatest negative impacts on them.

I do like domesticated cats to a certain degree but at every given opportunity I will take out a feral cat without hesitation.

 

[Jwill]

Wish I had seen this three days ago...

 

[Big Sky]

I don't care for any type of feral/domestic cat. I like the wild cats such as bobcat, lynx, lions etc., but not house demons, feral or otherwise. They barely rank a fraction of a point higher than snakes in my personal view of the world. I could live just fine in a world without either.

 

[idahofishnhunt]

They are on my no reason to exist list along with wolves & mosquitos.

 

[dexnrex]

I like mice less than I like cats so we have 3 neutered male outdoor cats. With hay bales within 80 yds. of the house it is a must. Interestingly I see many fewer feral cats now that we have 3 males. I think they keep the feral cats at bay. I used to see them frequently but have not seen/shot one in a few years.

 

[Recurve62]

I'm pretty sure in Pa. it is perfectly legal to dispatch feral cats.

 

[1_pointer]

FWIW, the first mammal I ever killed was a feral cat. I had terrorized the neighborhood birds for a few years with the BB gun, but the cat was the first. My dad started taking me along with him on rabbit hunts behind he beagles. On our second time out the dogs were running a rabbit and as we moved slowly along the ditch Dad noticed a black and white cat that was up in a tree. No houses were close and the cat didn't have a collar, not that either would have stopped my dad, but wanted to throw that out there. That day he was packing a single shot .410 that we had gotten from my maternal grandfather. He handed it to me, cocked the hammer, and stood back...

 

[elk_hunter]

In eastern Montana for a deer hunt this year a few of us had a calico-ish looking cat run past us and my thought at the time was man, that thing is many miles from the nearest house/farm. Now wondering if that bastard was feral!