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Cat wearing the camera on its collar  (Source: geekologie.com)
The cameras recorded the cats' outdoor activities and showed that they are hunting down more critters than expected

A new report gives new meaning to the old phrase, "Look what the cat dragged in."

Researchers from the University of Georgia recently took a deeper look into the predatory lives of house cats by putting cameras around their necks. About 60 cat owners in Athens, Georgia enlisted their pet cats for the study.

For about four to six hours per day for seven to 10 days, pet owners would place kitty cameras, which were made by the National Geographic CritterCam team, around their cats' necks and let them free outside. During that period of time outdoors, the camera would record all of the cats’ activities. Later, the cats would be let back in and owners would download the footage.

According to the National Geographic CritterCam team, which makes mobile data gathering systems to record animal behavior, these kitty cameras were the smallest they've created to date.

The study found that only 30 percent of the 74 million U.S. house cats prey on smaller animals, but this 30 percent is taking part in much more outdoor hunting than previously thought. According to study leader Kerrie Anne Loyd, previous numbers were likely lower because "they didn't include the animals that cats ate or left behind."

While the study didn't give a total number of prey killed by the house cats, about 49 percent of critters killed by house cats were left for dead, 30 percent were eaten and just under 25 percent were brought home.

Of the total critters killed, 41 percent were lizards, snakes, and frogs; 25 percent were mammals like chipmunks; 20 percent were insects and worms, and 12 percent were birds. In fact, house cats are one of the reasons that one in three American bird species are becoming endangered.

In addition to killing prey, the house cats were taking part in dangerous activities like crossing roads, playing in storm drains, entering crawl spaces and eating/drinking things they found.

Source: USA Today


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Creative Science
By PaFromFL on 8/9/2012 8:22:08 AM , Rating: 1
"In fact, house cats are one of the reasons that one in three American bird species are becoming endangered."

Sounds like another made up "fact" from the environmentalists.




RE: Creative Science
By elderwilson on 8/9/2012 8:48:54 AM , Rating: 5
How does predation by an artificially inflated population not constitute a valid reason for declining bird populations?

Let me make it simple enough for you: cat eat bird so more cat = less bird.


RE: Creative Science
By Flunk on 8/9/2012 8:59:43 AM , Rating: 1
It makes sense if you are one of those people who believes that their uninformed preconceived notions trump reason.

This study > what you think.


RE: Creative Science
By bupkus on 8/9/2012 10:15:28 AM , Rating: 2
Once more...

This study = what he had said


RE: Creative Science
By MrBlastman on 8/9/2012 12:16:24 PM , Rating: 5
Where I live, the cats aren't the predators anymore. All across town (I live in Metro Atlanta) cats are being eaten by coyotes--everywhere. Three alone have been eaten in my neighborhood recently and there are news reports all the time of it happening elsewhere in town.

Why?

Because the hunters lobbied the State government to pass a bill allowing open season on wolves year round. Now that they have done that, we are stuck with an almost non-existent wolf population in the northern part of the state which has allowed coyotes which are not indigenous to our area of the country to move in. Wolves are natural predators to coyotes, by the way.

All of this was done so the hunters could have more deer to shoot at. Now, as a result, we all suffer from their misguided and poorly thought-out thinking. :( It has gotten so bad that the coyotes will wait until owners let their cats out in the evening or the morning and snatch them right off their porch, even when humans are around. Cats aren't the only victims, either, as they are known to jump over six-foot fences and prey on small dogs in people's back yards.

It's terrible--and all thanks to people meddling with the natural population of wildlife thinking they knew better. The State is doing nothing about it, either. Their response to homeowners complaining about the coyotes everywhere around town--deal with it, there's nothing we can do about it.


RE: Creative Science
By Reclaimer77 on 8/9/2012 12:35:08 PM , Rating: 2
Coyote's have been steadily migrating for decades now. As far as the 60's every county in Georgia reported Coyotes. It's not the deer hunters who's to blame, technically it's the development of more rural and mountain areas leaving Coyotes fewer and fewer places to go.

I think it's a bit misleading to say Wolves are the Coyotes natural predator. Wolves do NOT eat Coyotes, but they will kill them over disputes over territory or food sources. Coyotes on the other hand, DO eat wolves. Hell they eat anything. In fact Coyotes and Wolves have been known to breed with each other too.


RE: Creative Science
By JasonMick (blog) on 8/9/2012 1:30:03 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
Wolves do NOT eat Coyotes, but they will kill them over disputes over territory or food sources....In fact Coyotes and Wolves have been known to breed with each other too.
The male wolf might want to kill the female Coyote, but he also might want to mate with her...

Is this what happens when you find an attractive liberal woman, Reclaimer? ;)


RE: Creative Science
By JediJeb on 8/9/2012 1:35:31 PM , Rating: 3
The Coyotes began moving in here in Kentucky back in the 70s and their population has exploded. When I let my beagle out in the evenings I keep her on a lead because I don't want her running after them. Coyotes will send out one to get a dog to follow them then when they are out alone they will attack in a pack.

We have open season on Coyotes here year round, but no one really hunts them since there is no reward for doing it yet.

As for cats, don't be fooled thinking they are not devastating to local wildlife if allowed to roam. I have watched cats kill quail and rabbits many times. I have had a mother cat and four kittens living under my shed lately and I am torn whether to get rid of them simply because I like the fact I have not had even a sign of a mouse in my house since she started hanging around, yet I also don't want to lose the quail and rabbits in the fields around me. I am not like many near me who would shoot a stray cat on sight, but it does concern me when I begin to see then hanging around.


RE: Creative Science
By MrBlastman on 8/9/2012 2:09:15 PM , Rating: 2
Rabbits have adapated to natural predation through rapid breeding. I wouldn't worry too much about them. :P


RE: Creative Science
By MrBlastman on 8/9/2012 1:56:01 PM , Rating: 3
quote:
I think it's a bit misleading to say Wolves are the Coyotes natural predator.


Not at all.

http://www.nature.com/news/rise-of-the-coyote-the-...

We have strong evidence to support the theory that the increasing population of wolves is strongly attributable to the decline of the grey wolf.

quote:
At a fast rate, too. Two centuries ago, coyotes led a very different life, hunting rabbits, mice and insects in the grasslands of the Great Plains. Weighing only 10 to 12 kilograms on average, they could not compete in the forests with the much larger gray wolves (Canis lupus), which are quick to dispatch coyotes that try to scavenge their kills.


http://georgiawildlife.com/node/1391

quote:
. With the extirpation of the red wolf in the last century across Georgia, the coyote (Canis latrans) has been able to fill a once occupied void and now can be found statewide.


Red wolves have been hunted to near extinction in Georgia over the last fifty years. Even thirty years ago I barely remember coyotes ever being mentioned in the metro area--Wolves, however, I heard about routinely.

But, in the name of more deer to shoot at, they're gone and we all suffer. Don't get me wrong, I'm not against hunting at all and think it is a fine thing to do. I don't approve though of killing off natural predators to increase the population of something just to kill for sport--because as we all know anything changed in nature can lead to unforseen consequences.


RE: Creative Science
By Reclaimer77 on 8/9/2012 2:19:24 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
We have strong evidence to support the theory that the increasing population of wolves is strongly attributable to the decline of the grey wolf.


Yes but you said wolves were coyotes natural predator. That implies coyotes were a food source. I cannot find ANY source online that claims wolves hunted and ate coyotes for food.

As your article indicated, what's happened here is that through "hybridization", breeding with Wolves and even dog species, Coyotes have been able to skip the evolutionary process and accelerate their advancement much faster than previously though. They've become bigger, faster, more capable hunters in a relatively short time.

http://news.discovery.com/animals/coyote-wolf-larg...

So I guess I'm nitpicking, but it seems to me that eventually Coyotes would have become the dominant species anyway. They're adapting at a much faster rate than Wolves. Hell, they're eating wolves.

quote:
Don't get me wrong, I'm not against hunting at all and think it is a fine thing to do. I don't approve though of killing off natural predators to increase the population of something just to kill for sport--because as we all know anything changed in nature can lead to unforseen consequences.


I hear ya. Well if these Coywofs have come to your town, those deer hunters are in trouble. Because these things can kill and eat deer!


RE: Creative Science
By mindless1 on 8/10/2012 1:16:58 PM , Rating: 2
Wolves hunt and eat coyotes for food. If they're hungry enough, otherwise they'll pick easier prey.

Now you have a source. lol.


RE: Creative Science
By Ammohunt on 8/9/2012 1:49:52 PM , Rating: 2
Coyote hunting goes in cycles here in Colorado usually they wait until the population of coyotes gets so bad that farmers and citizens demand something be done at which time the coyotes only predator comes into play human with a rifle. Too much of any one specifies is a bad thing if we are to manage wildlife properly we can't play favorites.


RE: Creative Science
By jihadjoe on 8/13/2012 4:14:21 AM , Rating: 2
So the coyote problem was brought about by people hunting wolves. Makes sense as less wolves = more deer, but then whoever set open season on wolves forgot to take notice of other animals that wolves keep in check, like those coyotes.

Seems to me like whenever down any one specific animal, we should be responsible for hunting down anything else that animal hunts as well.

I'm willing to be theres also other sorts of other animals (snakes, wild boards or whatever) that coyotes keep in check. If we keep "balance" in mind, the decision to hunt any one animal becomes hugely complex. How about we just shoot anything that moves in the jungle and be done with it? It'll probably have better overall effect than just hunting down one specific animal, like what happened with those wolves.


RE: Creative Science
By Ammohunt on 8/13/2012 2:55:41 PM , Rating: 3
Its called a cull and its an effective means in game management to bring out an equilibrium. I have never seen a wolf out on the Pawnee where coyotes roam and i would love to watch coyotes try and take a wild boar!


RE: Creative Science
By GotThumbs on 8/9/12, Rating: 0
RE: Creative Science
By MrBlastman on 8/9/2012 3:20:29 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Lazy owners (parents) should not be allowed to own pets...dogs, cats or any other.


I'm lazy because I own four cats, a big dog and have a wife and two-year-old daughter?

Hilarious.

Just because I let my cat out and he gets rid of all the mice around my house along with other vermin doesn't make me lazy. Instead, it lets my cat earn his keep. That's responsible.

Unlike dogs, Cats don't go poop all over your yard, dig up your flower garden or chase your kids. Well, unless you are superstitious. I once had a neighbor that was scared of black cats (I've noticed this tendancy being in almost everyone of a particular race). If he so much as got next to or or within sight, she'd leap in the air, shriek in fear, scream and run off.

I couldn't help but laugh.


RE: Creative Science
By freedom4556 on 8/10/2012 4:38:55 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Where I live, the cats aren't the predators anymore. All across town (I live in Metro Atlanta) cats are being eaten by coyotes--everywhere.


So get a shotgun and shoot any coyote you see doing something threatening.


RE: Creative Science
By Integral9 on 8/9/2012 9:18:38 AM , Rating: 3
That does seem to be a bit odd. With only 12% of their kills being birds (according to this study), I find it hard to believe that cats are wiping them off the map. We need more evidence about this.


RE: Creative Science
By Reclaimer77 on 8/9/2012 9:39:51 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
I find it hard to believe that cats are wiping them off the map. We need more evidence about this.


You've obviously never owned an outdoor cat lol

When I was a kid we had this female Tabby "Sandy". Sweet cat, or so we thought. Little did we know we had opened our home up to a serial bird killer!

One day my mom and I decided to plant a garden in the side yard, so we started digging on the side of the house. What we discovered was shovel full after shovel full of perfectly intact bird skeletons that Sandy had been burying in the side yard for who-knows how many years. There must have been hundreds!

And this is a cat that was being fed by us every day! Can you imagine the impact stray cats have who actually kill to eat as well?


RE: Creative Science
By bupkus on 8/9/2012 10:24:09 AM , Rating: 2
Yesterday my male tabby, after eating more than he usually does of a new premium cat food called Innova, hunted down a big outdoor field mouse and ate him, in 2 sittings.

Thankfully, I haven't seen him kill any birds or found their feathery remains in my garden but so far it seems to be just mice and young rabbits, both of which are overpopulated.


RE: Creative Science
By Reclaimer77 on 8/9/2012 10:51:56 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Yesterday my male tabby, after eating more than he usually does of a new premium cat food called Innova, hunted down a big outdoor field mouse and ate him, in 2 sittings.


lol Cool. Innova? Hmmm, I'll look into that. I have my buddy on Blue Buffalo currently.

Years ago I inadvertently brought a family of field mice into my home via a couch that I had in storage. Thank god for my cats! They wiped them out for me, free of charge lol.

Amazing how much of that hunter instinct house cats have. They're like little lions. My boys were strictly indoor cats since birth, but when they found those mice, it was on! They knew what to do.


RE: Creative Science
By Camikazi on 8/9/2012 10:44:26 AM , Rating: 2
Well you can thank your cat for the dirt being so good for planting :P


RE: Creative Science
By Reclaimer77 on 8/9/2012 10:46:34 AM , Rating: 1
Oh and in case anyone got worried, I'm not supporting the articles premise at all. Just stating a fact from my own experience from being a 20+ year owner of cats, that they can be very effective killers indeed.

The article would have been fine without the environmentalist viewpoint, but /shrug. If you read a Tiffany piece, you know what you're getting into lol.


RE: Creative Science
By FITCamaro on 8/9/2012 10:48:59 AM , Rating: 2
That's not a house cat then is it.


RE: Creative Science
By Integral9 on 8/9/2012 10:52:43 AM , Rating: 2
Actually, up until my current cat, all of my cats were outdoor cats. And we definitely got our fair share of the spoils from him. Mostly moles and mice though. Maybe he ate all the birds? Or maybe he had his own graveyard we didn't know about. I have never heard of a cat burying it's kills though. ime, they either eat it, carry it off to eat or leave it as is.

I don't disagree that cats kill birds, but if birds are only 12% of their kills, other predators need to be looked at or more studies need to be done on the cats. Including strays in the next study would be a good idea. For example. Pigeons are all but non-existent in DC after the city brought in Red Tailed Hawks. I for one, do not miss them and the hawks are pretty cool to watch when they are tearing a pigeon a part.
-"you've pooped on your last car buddy"


RE: Creative Science
By kingmotley on 8/9/2012 11:24:45 AM , Rating: 2
12%? What does that mean? Nothing by itself.

If a cat is killing 1000 things a day, but "only 12%" are birds, that's an aweful lot of birds dying every day. Now if they are killing 1 thing every month, 12% isn't a lot I suppose.

Point being, 12% does tell us very much until they disclose how many kills that actually is.


RE: Creative Science
By rdhood on 8/9/2012 1:42:24 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
12%? What does that mean? Nothing by itself. If a cat is killing 1000 things a day, but "only 12%" are birds, that's an aweful lot of birds dying every day. Now if they are killing 1 thing every month, 12% isn't a lot I suppose. Point being, 12% does tell us very much until they disclose how many kills that actually is.


Ah, but you are STILL missing the point. There are an estimated 70 million housecats in the U.S. and 60 million feral cats. If each takes one bird per week in the spring/summer/fall, thats about (130million x 26 weeks).. 6 billion birds a year! Now, not all cats will be outdoors, or killing birds. But the shear numbers of cats each killing a few birds a year results in half-billion to a billion birds a year that die due to cats... every single year.

Cat lovers are in denial.


RE: Creative Science
By mindless1 on 8/10/2012 1:24:30 PM , Rating: 2
Where you fail is lack of science. That 12% of kills were birds tells us nothing in particular.

Any given habitat can only support a certain # of birds. Are cats the primary cause of death? Probably not. Most birds caught by cats are sick or recently de-nested hatchlings which are more often killed by other bird species than cats.

To say 1 in 3 species are becoming extinct tells us nothing about how the other 2/3rds are doing. Are they increasing in numbers? Are they decreasing due to another cause that may also be affecting the species becoming extinct? Are they simply larger species that cats don't attack or are predators or at least dominant? There are far too many variables for the study to jump from 12% kills to "cause of extinction" and as such, the conclusion is incompetent at best.


RE: Creative Science
By JediJeb on 8/9/2012 3:14:24 PM , Rating: 2
Exactly, and if there are 1,000,000 lizards for every 5 birds in the wild then 12% bird kills would be a huge amount comparatively. You have to know all the variables to know if the article is alarmist or factual.


RE: Creative Science
By mindless1 on 8/10/2012 1:25:54 PM , Rating: 2
It can only be alarmist. The only way to get appropriate data is to monitor the species becoming extinct, NOT only one of its predators.


RE: Creative Science
By rburnham on 8/9/2012 9:36:38 AM , Rating: 2
And yet it's not.


RE: Creative Science
By TSS on 8/9/2012 9:38:06 AM , Rating: 5
No it sounds like a made up fact from Tiffany. From the source article USA Today:

quote:
cat predation is one of the reasons why one in three American birds species are in decline


Decline =/= Endangered.

Screw your sensationalism Tiffany. This news message is more then enough fun on it's own. I actually came here first out of all news i haven't seen today because it looked like one of the more fun science i've heard in a long time. Why you go and ruin that for me?


RE: Creative Science
By bupkus on 8/9/2012 10:27:36 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Sounds like another made up "fact" from the environmentalists.
How funny that an anti environmentalist statement would be rated up so much.
Your statement is only supported by... nothing.


RE: Creative Science
By PaFromFL on 8/9/2012 12:03:13 PM , Rating: 2
Forgive me for not taking provocative environmental pronouncements at face value. Based on past experience, I think the odds are in my favor.

Before humans arrived on the scene, birds were killed by a large variety of predators (including themselves). Humans greatly reduced the number predators, so maybe we need cats to restore the ecological balance. Who really knows what the "normal" population of birds should be?


RE: Creative Science
By geddarkstorm on 8/9/2012 1:24:29 PM , Rating: 2
So, how many birds per month does this 12% represent? You know, while we're on the subject of actual facts.


RE: Creative Science
By Arsynic on 8/9/2012 2:09:45 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Sounds like another made up "fact" from the environmentalists.

So not only are humans responsible for destroying planets, animals that they brainwashed are also responsible.

If you listen to envirowhackos enough, you'd think that humans invaded Earth from the planet Polluto two hundred years ago.


RE: Creative Science
By MrBlastman on 8/9/2012 3:25:51 PM , Rating: 3
This is why they should self-volunteer for the suicide mission to Mars. Once there, they will have little to worry about (assuming no life is discovered which I don't think will be). They can live happily amongst themselves, worrying about how they might disturb the "rocks" natural habitat, preventing them from breeding dust particles and blocking their natural sunlight with shadows.


RE: Creative Science
By Reclaimer77 on 8/9/2012 5:06:58 PM , Rating: 2
No Starbucks on Mars....that could be a problem.


RE: Creative Science
By whitt107 on 8/11/2012 1:59:05 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
"In fact, house cats are one of the reasons that one in three American bird species are becoming endangered."

Sounds like another made up "fact" from the environmentalists.


3 out of 4 environmentalists would "disagree".


RE: Creative Science
By whitt107 on 8/11/2012 2:03:39 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
"In fact, house cats are one of the reasons that one in three American bird species are becoming endangered."

Sounds like another made up "fact" from the environmentalists.


3 out of 4 environmentalists would "disagree".


I wonder
By captainBOB on 8/9/2012 2:39:43 AM , Rating: 2
How many cats they left out because they drank some antifreeze lying on the ground.




RE: I wonder
By Amiga500 on 8/9/2012 7:06:11 AM , Rating: 5
Doesn't matter if they were left out or not.

Its not as if they are going to freeze to death.

[I'm here all week :-D]


RE: I wonder
By bupkus on 8/9/2012 10:34:22 AM , Rating: 2
???

I must be extremely warped. I actually thought this funny, sorta.


*** NEWSFLASH ***
By omgwtf8888 on 8/9/2012 11:48:37 AM , Rating: 2
Cats eat birds and mice!!!

In a shocking revelation it was disclosed today that if you leave your cat outside for 8 hours it will indeed eat birds, and mice. As further proof of this i offer as case evidence Tom Cat v. Jerry Mouse, also Sylvester Cat v. Tweety Bird. Future research will hope to prove that dogs let out of the house will chase annoying cats roaming the neighborhood.




RE: *** NEWSFLASH ***
By mindless1 on 8/10/2012 1:28:43 PM , Rating: 2
lol, exactly.

Pseudo-science proves what we already knew except the conclusions they tried to extrapolate, weren't even proven.


Herp
By sigurdur12 on 8/9/2012 3:55:19 PM , Rating: 2
RE: Herp
By really on 8/10/2012 2:07:11 PM , Rating: 2
That would be true if cats where indigenous to the area. Most cats aren't. In fact if I remember correctly there is only one or two know cats that are indigenous to North America the rest where all brought by settlers or brought by settlers and then cross bred with the indigenous cats. The rest are all imports from China. :D


Not exactly news....
By Adam M on 8/9/2012 7:58:06 PM , Rating: 2
No one should be surprised by the study or the results. The only thing novel about this study is the addition of the kittie cams. There was one study preformed in Britain that asked cat owners to fill out questionnaires regarding pray animals returned to the home by the owners cats. Bells were even used on some cats to study the bells affect on predation. I am sure numbers provided through video footage are more accurate then the questionnaire but it wouldn't to surprise me to find that the percentages were similar. Personally I love cats although I would never own another due to the furniture clawing and litter box issues. Given their true impact on the ecosystem around them, I would also factor that in to any though of adding a cat to my home. I am sure there is no perfect answer but




RE: Not exactly news....
By Adam M on 8/9/2012 8:01:12 PM , Rating: 2
but.. I should finish my thought before posting... There is no perfect answer but responsible pet ownership does include reducing the stray population by having your own pets spayed or neutered.


.
By StevoLincolnite on 8/9/2012 1:58:39 AM , Rating: 2
But they're so cute and cuddly!




no subject
By cokbun on 8/9/2012 2:04:23 AM , Rating: 2
unleash the kitty drones !!




same old same old ...
By Spind on 8/9/2012 2:24:38 AM , Rating: 2
... obesity problem?




LOLCATS
By 457R4LDR34DKN07 on 8/9/2012 7:07:08 AM , Rating: 2
This is the most work being done in the congress these days.




Sexy
By Belard on 8/9/2012 10:48:56 AM , Rating: 2
At least none of these cats seem to be having unprotected sex with cats or other...




Excellent use
By FITCamaro on 8/9/2012 10:50:20 AM , Rating: 2
Of research funds.




I Am Very Glad...
By mmatis on 8/9/2012 12:59:34 PM , Rating: 2
that you took the high road with this headline, instead of going with "Pussy Cams Identify Killers".

Even though that headline would have gotten FAR MORE clicks...
}:-]




In Related News...
By mindless1 on 8/10/2012 1:30:13 PM , Rating: 2
We shall soon see a new porn fetish, Cat POV Cam. Who knew fluffy was such a beast?




Cat Owner
By really on 8/10/2012 2:04:06 PM , Rating: 2
I love cats and currently own two that are indoor cats. Our past three cats have all been strays that we "rescued". That said cats can present a prblem when allowed to become feral. I live outside Pasadena California and we do have issues with large colonies of feral cats that were once domestic but because of either the cats wandering off or people realizing they don't want the responsibility have set them free. After a couple generations which happens very quickly with cats the cats are more wild(feral) than their previous domestic ancestors. Almost everyone is familiar with the term F@#$k like rabbits but cats are almost as prolific. One female in heat can actually get pregnant from multiple males which is why sometimes you see such a diverse look or coloration in a single litter and she can have anywhere from 2 to 13 kittens in a litter.

In our area there are many trap and release programs where you bring in strays and have them neutered or spayed to help control the population. They can't reproduce so that removes a lot from the population and your aren't just outright killing them when I think is rather cruel.




Further funding sought
By senecarr on 8/15/2012 2:26:48 PM , Rating: 2
I hear that the scientists who did this study found ample funding for this and their next project when they sought donors who would be interested in attaching the same device to cougars. Most interested donors did so in return for access to the footage.




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