Increasing the number of street cats is a global problem. Stray cats are considered to be one of the world's most aggressive animals. While they pose a health risk to humans, destroy large numbers of wildlife and suffer from poor welfare, most people are reluctant to kill their rats and roaches.
The most popular population-control method is called TNR, which means cats are trapped, Neutered and Returned to the same location. This is the first time that a controlled study has investigated the impact of different protocols over a period of 12 years. Their findings show the importance of implementing a policy of continuously and intensive neutering cats in a city.
The study looked at one Israeli city and tried out different population-control methods. There was no population intervention in the first. In the second, the researchers organized an intensive program of neutering of cats in half of the fifty zones of the city, while the remaining zones were a control group in which the cats were left without any intervention. The entire cat population of the city was neutered in the third period.
In only half of the city zones, neutering did not reduce the cat population. The immigration of un-neutered cats into the area is the reason for the unexpected finding. In the third wave, a 7% annual reduction of cat population was achieved, but a rebound increase in the number of kittens was noted, probably due to lack of competition with the neutered, less aggressive cats. When they move into a neighborhood with neutered cats, they thrive and take over.
70% of the street cat population should be neutered continuously according to the Israeli study. Setting up feeding stations in agreed-upon locations and prohibiting feeding in other public areas can be used to counteract the rebound effect. The policy of neutering could be implemented easily if the cats were caught when they came to feed.
More information: Idit Gunther et al, Reduction of free-roaming cat population requires high-intensity neutering in spatial contiguity to mitigate compensatory effects, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2022). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2119000119 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Citation: 12-year study of street cats reveals how to successfully control population numbers (2022, April 6) retrieved 6 April 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2022-04-year-street-cats-reveals-successfully.html This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.
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