Australian Study Finds Pet Cats Are Highly Efficient Killing Machines

Some cat owners will tell you the species can be kind and loving and wouldn't hurt a fly.

Most non-cat owners will probably have a couple of stories about their encounters with the cold, spawn of satan, stare into your soul in a negative way, calculated beings.

A new Australian study had cast light on the way cats, if they're allowed outside the home, certainly live up to that image.

PA

The research, published in the journal Wildlife Research, has discovered that a single domesticated pet cat is capable of killing up to 186 reptiles, birds and mammals in one year.

That's up to 8,100 animals per square kilometre per year for the area inhabited by pet cats.

Around 2.1 million cats are allowed outside the owner's home in Australia - however another study found that a large portion of felines sneak out without the owner knowing, so that figure could be much higher.

The murder rate is even worse for feral cats, who are believed to kill 748 reptiles, birds and mammals each year.

Cats have been known to bring their owners a dead bird or another animal they caught and present it like a prized trophy. But it seems like cats do a lot more killing without showing it off. The Australian study found that cats only bring back 15 per cent of their prey.

In a more sickening twist, data shows that cats will hunt even when they're not hungry.

So, you can ditch the thought of ramping up Mittens' food intake.

While many people would shrug and call it pest control, these killings are actually doing some serious damage to wildlife populations.

PA

Research has showed that cats have directly impacted a feather-tailed glider population in New South Wales, a skink population in a Perth suburb, and an olive legless lizard population in Canberra.

In order to control this terrifying statistic, pet cat owners are being told to ensure that their feline stays inside. That's the only way the cat will be prevented from hunting.

The taste of blood is too sweet.

Not only will it save a couple thousand of animals every year, but it will also stop your pet from getting into backyard scraps with other cats and potentially dogs.

Topics: News, Interesting, Animals, Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie