Vaqueirinho, Serra da Lousã, Portugal, Vaqueirinho Republic! : My 34th page... Cats Prey on More Than 2,000 Different Species

Cats Prey on More Than 2,000 Different Species

For the first time, scientists have put together a comprehensive record of all the different creatures domestic cats will eat—and the list is long. Cats have been documented preying on more than 2,000 species, according to a new paper published Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications.

Scientists have long known that free-ranging cats—those that spend unsupervised time outdoors—can affect biodiversity by hunting and eating insects, birds, reptiles and mammals. These “invasive carnivores” are not picky eaters and will consume just about anything and everything they can catch, the researchers write in the paper.

But the team wanted to get a better understanding of the threat cats present, especially to threatened or endangered species.

Researchers sifted through hundreds of previous studies, books and reports to put together a database of every animal cats have been recorded eating, as well as the location.

In the end, their list featured 2,084 species, which includes 981 birds, 463 reptiles, 431 mammals, 119 insects and 57 amphibians, plus 33 additional species from other groups. Some of the creatures that made the list—including humans—are too large for cats to hunt but reflect their scavenging tendencies.

The list is far from complete, scientists caution, because in many cases of predation, especially with insects and other invertebrates, the species the cat was munching on could not be identified.

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Vaqueirinho, Serra da Lousã, Portugal, Vaqueirinho Republic!

My 34th page... Cats Prey on More Than 2,000 Different Species

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