Some environmentalists say that the domestication of feral cats harms the environment or ecosystem, as the excessive population of feral cats results in heavy hunting of small birds and animals in both rural and urban areas.
Feral cats have a considerable effect on the environment, as these cats have endangered and even killed various native animals and species.
Even people now consider wild cats the most ferocious creatures on small islands. Other species that have disappeared on the small islands include the burrowing bettong and the spectacled hare-kangaroo. These animals were once found abundant on small islands.
Environmental issues:
Researchers say feral cats in the US kill a large population of animal and bird species each year, hundreds of them in Florida. Therefore, these cat breeds have a huge impact on the environment and on wild animal species.
This can result in disruption of the food chain and limitation of local wildlife populations. In fact, feral cats in countries like New Zealand and Australia have killed native birds and animals and completely damaged natural flora.
In Australia, feral cats have killed a number of kangaroos, so there is a considerable drop in the kangaroo population over the years. Many conservationists discovered that feral cats were the main culprits behind the declining population of rock kangaroos in a remote area of tropical Queensland.
Although feral cats primarily rely on rabbits as a food source, they do little to reduce the population, as the rabbit population is the same as the number of feral cats in Australia.
Feral cats not only have a substantial effect on the food chain, but also affect other local creatures by depleting their food sources. These include the wedge-tailed eagle, hawks, the eastern quoll, reptiles such as the Lace Monitor and Goanna, and dingoes.
Wild cats eat almost all the foods that are vital to other local species. Due to such a large population, these cats not only eat all other native species, but also provide nothing for other local species. In most regions, hawks and eagles have had to modify their usual diet to survive due to these cats.
Even native cats are in danger. Feral cats more often affect domestic cats like Quoll. For example, if feral cats approach females, they become infertile. Here, people can’t help them, but since there are several wild cats around, the best way to avoid them is to prevent domestic cats from being exposed outside. A recent report study claims that several female quolls have already become infertile and their populations are declining by the day.
Overview:
Wild cats also carry certain incurable diseases, which are fatal and harmful to other species, especially the local marsupials. Toxoplasmosis is the name of one such disease, which causes paralysis, blindness, respiratory disorders, and loss of childhood due to stillbirth and impulsive abortion.
Wild cats are also carriers of Rabies, a disease that affects not only animals and species, but also humans. It is more unbearable and devastating for the entire ecosystem.