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There are estimated 247429 stray cats in urban areas of the UK. Recently, a modelling study published in Scientific Reports showed that there may be more stray cats (feral cats, lost cats or abandoned cats) in urban areas with high population densities and less resources.
The Haywards Heath Cat Conservation Society Jenni McDonald and Elizabeth Skillings modeled based on 3101 surveys of residents of 5 towns and cities in England between 2016 and 2018.
The researchers analyzed the findings using 877 independent resident reports and 601 expert reports. There are two important factors in the model to predict the number of stray cats: one is the lack of socio-economic resources (can predict 31% of stray cat number differences); the other is population density (can predict 7% of stray cat number differences).
The researchers also expanded the model to estimate stray cat density in england and across the UK using data on population density and resource scarcity. The results show that the UK has an average of 9.3 stray cats per square kilometre, but in different regions, the number of stray cats per square kilometre ranges from 1.9 to 57. The researchers believe that in areas with high population densities, more people treat cats as pets, which can breed accidentally, be abandoned by their owners or get lost; in densely populated areas, stray cats are also more likely to obtain nutrient sources such as human food scraps. They speculate that in resource-poor settings, barriers that limit the timely sterilization of pet cats may also affect stray cat density.
The researchers caution that their model is based only on estimated data, and that there are many factors that affect population density everywhere. But they think the model could help understand stray cat density in the UK or help develop interventions to manage those cats. (Lu Yi)
Source: China Science Daily