Impacts and management of feral cats Felis catus in Australia

1. Feral cats are among the most damaging invasive species worldwide, andare implicated in many extinctions, especially in Australia, New Zealand andother islands. Understanding and reducing their impacts is a global conservationpriority.2. We review knowledge about the impacts and management of feral cats inAustralia, and identify priorities for research and management.3. In Australia, the most well understood and significant impact of feral catsis predation on threatened mammals. Other impacts include predation onother vertebrates, resource competition, and disease transmission, but knowledgeof these impacts remains limited.4. Lethal control is the most common form of management, particularly viaspecifically designed poison baits. Non-lethal techniques include the managementof fire, grazing, food, and trophic cascades. Managing interactions betweenthese processes is key to success.5. Given limitations on the efficacy of feral cat management, conservation ofthreatened mammals has required the establishment of insurance populationson predator-free islands and in fenced mainland enclosures.6. Research and management priorities are to: prevent feral cats from drivingthreatened species to extinction; assess the efficacy of new management tools;trial options for control via ecosystem management; and increase the potentialfor native fauna to coexist with feral cats