Domestic cats are significant predators of wildlife globally. Evidence-based management strategies reduce predation impact while balancing companion cat welfare.
Domestic cat predation on wildlife creates a genuine welfare conflict between the interests of individual cats (who derive behavioral satisfaction from hunting) and the interests of billions of individual birds and small mammals who are killed. The welfare costs fall primarily on wildlife, many of whom experience prolonged suffering from non-lethal injuries before death. Management approaches that reduce predation — indoor keeping, catios, predation-reducing collars — provide the most favorable balance between cat and wildlife welfare. This is an area where individual owner choices have significant aggregate impact on wildlife welfare.