Passport to Texas

Formerly feral cat, now indoor only kitty.

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This is Passport to Texas

It’s estimated there are more than 100-million cats in America—both housecats and feral cats.

A feral cat is not under the direct care of humans…they are the ones out roaming around.

Kelly Simon is an Urban Wildlife Biologist with Texas Parks and Wildlife. Feral cats regularly compete with wildlife predators for the same food sources…

They outnumber them and they out-compete them. So they are using the same kinds of prey animals that our native predators, like hawks, are using; and they’re exerting pressure on them.

Small mammals, like mice, account for about 70 percent of a feral cats’ prey, while birds account for at least 20 percent. A single cat can kill up to 1,000 animals a year.

They can even cause the endangerment of some species, especially those species that are already under pressure from habitat loss or habitat derogation.

Feral cats aren’t the only feline predators decimating small wildlife. Even well-fed housecats—whose owners allow them outside—hunt and kill prey with precision and skill.

From a wildlife management standpoint, we really should be keeping our cats indoors.

We’ll talk about that tomorrow. Find information on cats and wildlife on the Texas Parks and Wildlife website.

That’s our show for today… Funding provided in part by Ram Trucks. Guts. Glory. Ram.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife…I’m Cecilia Nasti.