The Influence of Feral Cats on the Environment

     According to some ecologists the continuous domestication of feral cats has a bad effect on ecosystems and the environment because a large population of feral cats leads to increased hunting of birds and small animals.

Actually, feral cats have a serious impact on the environment and their population has endangered the existence of some animals and species.

Feral cats are considered to be the most vicious and dangerous animals on small islands where they are responsible for the extinction of certain species, such as the spectacled hare-wallaby and the burrowing bettong.

Problems with the Environment:

Researchers have found that in the USA feral cats kill large animal and bird populations every year, especially in Florida. So, we may conclude that these feline breeds have significant impact on both wildlife animals and the environment.

The behaviour of feral cats may lead to the disruption of food chains and thus to reduction of local animal population. In some countries, including Australia and New Zealand, feral cats have killed certain local animals and birds and the result of this process is a complete damage of the natural flora.

Thus, in Australia feral cats are responsible for the decreased population of wallabies. According to researchers and ecologists feral cats had greatly affected the population of rock wallabies in a distant area of Queensland.

The main food source for feral cats in Australia is rabbits. However, this hasn't had an impact on rabbit populations because the number of feral cats and rabbits is equal.

Feral cats affect food chains but they can also have an important impact on other local species because they often deplete their food sources. The most significantly affected animals include the eastern quoll, the hawks, the wedge-tailed eagle and some reptiles, such as the dingoes, the Lace Monitor and the Goanna.

As the populations of feral cats are really big, these animals not only kill other local animals but also eat a great deal of their food. These means that the other local animals are left with no or very little food that isn't sufficient. In many areas eagles and hawks had to change their eating habits in order to survive.

Native cats are also in danger because feral cats often have a negative impact on them, as especially on quolls. For example, if feral cats approach female quolls, they will become infertile. People can't do much to avoid this but they can try to prevent the exposure of domestic felines to feral cats. According to a study the population of female quolls is being gradually reduced because a number of quolls have become infertile.

An Overview:

Feral cats are carriers of some incurable diseases that are dangerous and even fatal for other animals, such as the local marsupials. One such disease is toxoplasmosis and it is very harmful because it may cause respiratory problems, blindness, paralysis, abortion and stillbirth.

Another diseases carried by feral cats is Rabies. It affects both animals and humans, and has more serious impact on the ecosystems.

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