Monitoring Country
Feral Cat
Feral Cats are the same species as pet and stray cats. Feral Cats are not cared for or owned by people and don’t rely on human food from towns or cities. They are an invasive species that live in the bush across Australia. They survive by scavenging and hunting other animals, including native mammals, birds, lizards and snakes, frogs, fish and insects.
| Aboriginal Name | Language Group |
|---|---|
| Budjigarr | Yuwaalaraay/Yuwaalayaay |
| Bujibuji | Rembarrnga |
| Bujigan | Wubuy |
| Bujigat | Ngalakgan/Ngandi/Ritharrŋu/Kriol |
| Burrgiyan | Gamilaraay/Gamilaroi/Kamilaroi |
| Gajakkurru | Rembarrnga |
| Garnbulanyi | Marra |
| Nyun.Ngarri | Alawa |
Species Records
Use the + - Zoom controls to select an area
Where they are
Feral cats look very similar to domestic cats but are usually larger - normally between 2.5 to 6.5 kg.
Like domestic cats, their coats can be different colours and patterns:
Black
Ginger (orange)
Grey
Calico (spotted and patchy) and
Tabby (stripes and swirls)
Feral Cat. Credit: 169169/Adobe Stock
What Feral Cats eat
Feral cats are carnivorous and like to eat live prey but will also scavenge on carrion, including native mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, fish and insects, and non-native animals like House Mice and Rabbits.
Other signs of Feral Cats
Tracks
Cats can leave behind paw prints that have a foot pad and four toe pads. They don’t leave claw imprints (like dingoes, wild dogs, foxes and quolls).
Relative size and shape of wild dog, fox, quoll and cat prints. Not to scale. Credit: National Feral cat and Fox Management Coordination
Scats
Cats usually bury their scat in the sand. Their scats are about the size of a finger, area shaped like a sausage and have twists. They can have hair, fur and bits of bone and insects inside.
Feral cats are a threat to native species
Feral cats are carnivorous and like to eat live prey but will also scavenge on carrion, including native mammals, birds, reptiles, frogs, fish and insects, and non-native animals like House Mice and Rabbits.
Feral cats are a serious threat to Australia’s wildlife because they kill about 3 billion native animals every year. Predation by Feral cats has contributed to the extinction of more than 20 mammal species and is recognised as a threat to over 200 threatened fauna species.
Feral cats also compete for food resources with native predators like quolls, eagles and goannas, and have diseases that can infect native animals, livestock and humans like toxoplasmosis.
Feral cats are listed as a declared pest in all Australian states and territories, and predation by Feral cats is identified as one of the key threatening processes to native species under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. There is a national Threat Abatement Plan for predation by Feral cats.
Managing the threat
Total eradication of feral cats is not currently possible because of how widespread and well-adapted they are to Australia. Best practice management of feral cats therefore aims to reduce the threat of predation to native animals. Control methods for feral cats include:
Shooting
Tracking by Rangers or with detector dogs
Trapping using cage traps and soft-jaw leg-hold traps
Feral predator-proof fenced areas
Grooming traps, like the Felixer™ which uses AI technology to recognise a feral cat and spray it with 1080 poison
Aerial or ground baiting using poison bait sausages, like Eradicat® which uses 1080 poison or Curiosity® which uses PAPP
Reducing the impact feral cats Is most effective when the control program is also combined with the control of other invasive animals like rabbits, right-way fire management, and replanting or protection of native vegetation.
You can monitor Feral Cats to better understand:
where feral cats do and don't live
how many feral cats live on your Country
how well management of Country and feral cats is working
If you monitor the same place at the same time every year, you can see if there are changes to feral cats on Country.
If you are planning to implement a management plan for Feral cats, a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI) monitoring design can be used to look at whether your management is working well. This involves comparing measurement at an “impact” site, where the management is taking place, and at a “control” site, where the management isn’t taking place, both before and after the management (like trapping, baiting, shooting) occurs.
Any time you do work that might disturb or interfere with native animals and vegetation, particularly threatened species, you need to check with the state authorities to see if you need any approvals, such as scientific licences or animal ethics committee permits.
Cameras can be set to automatically take photos or videos when an animal passes the camera. You can make your monitoring more efficient and cost effective by monitoring multiple species (including native and introduced species) with this method.
Cameras are the best way to monitor Feral cats, because you can collect a lot of data over a large area, and because it’s easiest to identify cats from photos rather than from other methods like signs survey (scats, tracks) or from spotlighting surveys.
You will need to buy good quality remote cameras, but not much training is needed for deploying cameras or identifying species in the images. Images can also be processed first with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools, which can be useful when you have large numbers of images.
Presence/absence – if and where Feral Cats live on Country
Occupancy - If enough cameras are deployed at different sites, the presence/absence data can be used to estimate occupancy. This type of modelling helps to work how many places really have Feral Cats, even if they weren’t detected on every camera. This can be used as an indicator of how large the population might be and if is getting smaller/bigger over time.
Activity - how many detections of Feral Cats during the survey. This can be used as an indicator of how large the population might be.
Population size – if the cats detected on camera can be individually identified, the information can be used in a capture-recapture analysis to estimate how many Feral Cats live on Country.
Feral cats use lots of different habitat types, so make sure the cameras are spread across all of the different major habitat types found on Country. If possible, have replicates in each habitat type.
Feral cats are generally nocturnal but can be active at all times of day.
If the cameras are lured, use a meat or fish-based lure like tuna oil, tinned cat food or chicken necks. Make sure the lure is in the field of view of the camera.
Most camera surveys targeting Feral cats have the cameras:
Along tracks, roads, trails created by animals or other linear features like dry river beds. You may not want to put cameras along publicly accessible roads to avoid cameras being stolen.
Facing towards the south and angled across the road/track trail (not at a right angle, often at a 23˚angle)
Aimed toward the middle of the road/track/trail (about 4.5cm away) from about 50 cm above the ground
Deployed for at least 30 days
At least 30 sites, spaced between 1 to 2 km apart
2 Ha Plot: Tracks, Scats, Diggings & Signs Survey
This is a method where trackers search a 2 hectare (Ha) area for all signs of animals, including tracks, scats, diggings and other signs. Signs can include:
· tracks
· fur or feathers
· …
Primary sources
This landing page was developed using the following sources:
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (2024). Feral cats.
Dorph et al. (2024). Current and emerging Feral cat management practices in Australia. Wildlife Research 51.
Hradsky, B. et al. (2021). A guide to surveying red foxes and Feral cats in Australia (Project 1.1.5. report). NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub: Brisbane. QLD.
NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub (2021). Arid Zone Monitoring Species Profile: Cat.
Woinarski, J., Murphy, B., Legge, S. (2020). Research Findings factsheet: The impact of cats in Australia. NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub.
Webpage version: GA-JH-GA-310326
Tools and resources
Record Feral cat sightings and activity on the Feral Cat Scan app
Codes for the humane capture, handling and destruction of feral animals in Australia