Do domestic cats have an impact on biodiversity?
Domestic cats are among the most common pets worldwide and, as a result, one of the most widespread predators living in close contact with humans. Their interaction with wildlife has attracted growing attention, particularly regarding birds, small mammals, and reptiles. While predation is a normal ecological process, the scale and context in which it occurs today are increasingly shaped by human environments. This has led to an active debate over whether the presence of domestic cats represents a meaningful threat to biodiversity or whether their ecological role is being overstated in comparison with other human-driven pressures on wildlife.
Arguments
Choose a side
Biodiversity advocate
- Several wildlife species have become endangered or extinct as a result of predation by free-ranging domestic cats. Scientific studies identify cats as highly efficient predators that can exert strong pressure on native fauna, particularly in ecosystems where prey species did not evolve alongside similar hunters Asd.Many of the studies linking domestic cats to species extinctions are based on highly sensitive ecosystems, such as islands or isolated habitats, where native fauna evolved without similar predators. In these contexts, even limited predation can have disproportionate effects. However, extrapolating these results to all environments can overstate the overall impact of cats. In more complex and resilient ecosystems, wildlife populations are influenced by multiple factors, and the role of domestic cats alone may be far less significant than these studies suggest.Even if impacts are strongest in sensitive ecosystems, these systems host a large share of global biodiversity. Combined with the high density of free-ranging cats worldwide, this supports a precautionary approach that favors restricting outdoor access.
Cats advocate
- Hunting is an intrinsic part of a cat’s behavior, and predation is a normal component of ecological systems. Birds, small mammals, and reptiles are preyed upon by a wide range of predators, including foxes, raptors, and snakes, without this being considered inherently problematic. From this perspective, cats are simply participating in the same ecological dynamics as other carnivores