NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO • December 12, 2023
Scientists reviewed more than 100 years' worth of scientific studies to gain a better understanding of which animals free-ranging cats will prey upon or scavenge. The resulting paper found that free-ranging cats (including domestic and feral) will eat 2,084 different species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The list of creatures cats have chowed on includes 347 species of conservation concern, including Newell's shearwater, green sea turtles, the northern bobwhite quail and the little brown bat. While cute, cats are skilled predators, so much so that they've been documented as a major threat to the biodiversity of bird species in North America. They're also linked to the extinction of more than 60 species worldwide.