> On average, the study found that house cats killed anywhere between 14.2 to 38.9 prey per 100 acres, per year. That averages out to about 3.5 prey each month per cat. The researchers believe this large number is due to the fact that neighborhoods can include a high density of cats -- more so than wild predators living in the wild.
The RSPB still recommends keeping cats indoor during times of avian vulnerability, and that study does not estimate dead birds that are not specifically brought home by cats or those that might have been injured.
I have seen more claims of negative impact, or that it impacts ecological systems negatively.
But I still think the bird angle is the wrong one to focus on in discouraging free range household cats.
The challenge is that so long as “indoor / outdoor” or “outdoor” cats as pets is a normalized and common concept, it will be difficult to limit the populations of stray and feral cats.
You can see a similar impact in cities / countries that allow unsupervised dogs to run around. There are many strays.
> On average, the study found that house cats killed anywhere between 14.2 to 38.9 prey per 100 acres, per year. That averages out to about 3.5 prey each month per cat. The researchers believe this large number is due to the fact that neighborhoods can include a high density of cats -- more so than wild predators living in the wild.