Feral felines the ultimate killing machines
Cats evolved for the specific task of killing live prey. While having a soft spot for the domestic feline, I also shoot every feral cat I see, even if it means spoiling the hunt for game I’m really after. To hunt cats successfully, the more we know about them, the better.
Cats are hypercarnivores, demanding more protein than other mammals. Dogs survive on four per cent protein but cats need 12 per cent by weight of protein (and kittens 18 per cent), explaining the deep instinctive urge to hunt. They have caused the extinction of native species and contributed to the decline of ground-dwelling birds and mammals. On islands, control is feasible. Elsewhere, management is difficult due to the lack of effective and humane broad-scale control techniques and the presence of domestic cats.
Cats have been in Australia since European settlement but probably arrived with Dutch shipwrecks in the 17th century. By the 1850s, cat colonies became established in the wild and intentional releases were made in the late 1800s in the hope of controlling rabbits, rats and mice. Cats are found in most habitats on mainland Australia, Tasmania and many offshore islands, although not in
