This finding aligns with other studies of TNR cat colonies. Cats in this colony mostly did not live past age three, suggesting that coyotes were preying on them. Of those, three died while the colony tenders provided large amounts of food on the ground, and five died while the colony tenders provided large amounts of food on elevated platforms. Researchers observed that eight out of the 20 individual cats at the site (40%) had disappeared by the end of the two years. The total cat population in the Johnston colony decreased during the two-year study, even though 50-70% of the cats were not neutered.
Cats were most likely to visit in the morning. When colony tenders provided a limited amount of food on the ground, skunks didn’t visit at all and raccoons and coyotes were less likely to visit. Cats and raccoons could access the elevated platform, but coyotes and skunks couldn’t. When colony tenders provided a large amount of food on an elevated platform, cats were more likely to visit than they were to visit any other feeding setup. Although they are nocturnal, cats visited the feeding station during the day in order to avoid other animals. 64% of visits were from cats 22% of visits were from raccoons 9% of visits were from coyotes and 5% of visits were from skunks.Ĭoyotes, raccoons, and skunks were most likely to visit when colony tenders provided a large amount of food on the ground. Skunks, racoons, and coyotes were the most frequent non-cat visitors. The researchers observed a variety of wild animals at the feeding stations during the study. A large quantity elevated off the ground.Colony tenders fed the cats three different ways at different times:
They collected data from twelve thousand camera trap images, tracking the number and timing of visits by cats and other wild animals, along with changes to the cat population and age of cats. TNR is a common method for decreasing feral cat populations, which is often deemed necessary for the wellbeing of both cats and wild animals. The study took place at a trap-neuter-return (TNR) feral colony in Johnston, Rhode Island between 20. Researchers sought to understand how different ways of feeding free-roaming cats will affect the cat colony. Furthermore, when humans feed feral cats, the food attracts larger predators, such as coyotes, that kill cats. Feral cats prey on birds and other small wild animals, and can also spread diseases to wild animals. An estimated 10-50 million feral cats live outdoors in the United States.
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