I was excited to recently learn about a new research study on the behavior of free-roaming feral and pet cats. Here is a link to a summary of their findings from the Illinois News Bureau. The full research article is available free for download at The Journal of Wildlife Management website. I will also be updating my posts on cat home range and travel using data from this research.
Literature Cited
Horn, Jeff A., Nohra Mateus-Pinilla, Richard E. Warner, and Edward J. Heske. 2011. Home range, habitat use, and activity patterns of free-roaming domestic cats. The Journal of Wildlife Management 75(5): 1177-1185.
Can’t wait for you to crunch the numbers for us, Danielle, and tell us how they apply to us!
Danielle,
Also my daughter’s name. Her cat Thumbs, who lives with me recently disappeared so we contacted the local shelter, he was micro chipped. After 5 days and no cat, I posted notices. The next day (today) I got a call from a neighbor lady walking her dogs, she had found remains that appeared to be our cat. There was not much left, one of two limbs was fortunately a front and after examination I saw he was ours, he had an extra appendage on each front paw, hence the name Thumbs. I am not sure but I suspect a Coyote but it is possible it was a Raccoon. Your website was very helpful, better than the dozen or so I looked at first. His remains were found about 200 feet from our back yard, in a park next to a tree. There condition leads me to believe he was killed last Sunday night or early Monday morning. Based on your website I believe the rest of his remains were carried off. I am going out to see if I can locate the area he was taken to, hopefully I will find what wasn’t eaten so I can bury as much of him as I can. I hope some of this information is helpful to you, you may post it as you please. Thank you for your website.
Daniel
Vox Felina, http://voxfelina.com/ is a site by Peter J. Wolf that looks as studies to see if they are truly scientific or not., and other issues related to feral and free-roaming cats, wildlife, and TNR.
Try and see if he has reviewed that study. If not, perhaps it’s something he is working on or would be interested in.
“About Vox Felina
The impetus for Vox Felina was a series of events (the details of which will be the subject of numerous posts) that revealed (1) the lack of rigorous research related to the efficacy and impact of TNR, (2) the flawed science promoted by many TNR opponents, (3) the unbalanced—often dishonest—nature of the feral cat/TNR debate, and (4) the disastrous consequences of these circumstances.
There are legitimate issues to be debated regarding the efficacy, environmental impact, and morality of TNR. But attempts at an honest, productive debate are hampered—if not derailed entirely—by the dubious claims so often put forward by TNR opponents. I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I’m very interested in asking better questions—the sort of questions that might stimulate a more conscientious debate of this important issue. And in any event, I feel compelled to speak out on behalf of the cats.”