You gotta be a kitten to me! Study finds there are estimated to be around a quarter million stray cats living in cities across the UK
- Cats Protection researchers collect stray cat sightings in five UK regions
- These were Bradford, Beeston, Bulwell, Dunstable/Houghton Regis and Everton
- Stray cats found in large numbers in deprived or high population areas
- Using a population model, the team estimated the total number of people living in the UK
about a quarter of a million stray cats – Wild, Lost Living in urban areas in the United Kingdom is estimated to be either abandoned or abandoned, the first study of its kind has concluded.
Researchers from feline welfare charity Cats Protection collected sightings of unidentified cats from 3,101 resident surveys and 877 reports between 2016-2018.
These were taken in five urban areas in the UK – Bradford, Beeston, Bulwell, Dunstable & Houghton Regis and Everton.
Next, the team connected Cats Protection’s community teams to the confirmed locations of 601 cats known and integrated all the data into the population model.
This indicated that more stray cats are found in densely populated and deprived areas, from which it was possible to estimate a total of 247,429 unidentified cats in the UK.
For comparison, this number is equal to the current human population of the city of Southampton.
The researcher’s model shows that there are an average of 9.3 unidentified cats per square kilometer in the UK – although this figure varies from 1.9–57 by location.
One study concluded that around one million stray cats – feral, lost or abandoned – are estimated to live in urban areas across the United Kingdom. Pictured: Cats on the street
Researchers from feline welfare charity Cats Protection collected sightings of unidentified cats from 3,101 resident surveys (green) and 877 reports (yellow) between 2016-2018. These were taken in five urban areas in the UK – Bradford, Beeston, Bulwell, Dunstable & Houghton Regis and Everton. Next, the team added Cats Protection Experts (RED) to the confirmed locations of 601 cats known and integrated all the data into the population model.
The model (pictured) indicated that more stray cats are found in densely populated and deprived areas, from which it was possible to estimate a total of 247,429 unidentified UK cats.
‘So far, there are no evidence-based estimates of the number of stray and feral cats in the UK,’ said paper author and feline epidemiologist Jenny McDonald of Cats Protection.
‘This has presented a challenge in the first part because of the problems with accurately distinguishing ownership from unknown cats.
‘However, our population-modeling method provides a solution, combining valuable data from residents with confirmed sight, giving us a robust means of studying nationally unknown cat populations.
“This is a major step towards understanding the true scale of wild and stray cat populations in the UK,” McDonald concluded.
Unknown cats that have not been spayed or neutered are of concern because they have the potential to increase their numbers very quickly.
In their study, Dr. McDonald and her colleague, Elizabeth Skillings, found that the numbers of unidentified cats varied wildly among local areas – but that the highest numbers were found in the most densely populated and disadvantaged communities.
(In fact, population density predicted 7 percent of the variation in unknown cat abundance, while socioeconomic deprivation accounted for 31 percent.)
Unknown cats that have not been spayed or neutered are of concern because they have the potential to increase their numbers very quickly. Pictured: A wild cat and her kittens
Jane Clements, Cats Protection’s Head of Neutering, said: ‘We support communities like this and find homes for friendly unknown cats.
‘If any cats are not fit to be domestic pets, we also neuter them and give residents the means to care for them in their community, such as by providing materials and designs for building cat shelters.
‘Involving the community is the key to ensuring that all cats are cared for in a long-term and sustainable manner and this research will enable us to adopt cat watch Programs for areas of greatest need.’
The full findings of the study were published in the journal scientific report.
Case Study: Wiggle
Image: Shake the cat before it finds its new home
Wiggle was an ex-stray cat who was recently helped out by Cats Protection.
The poor little cat – who regularly visited a garden in Everton, Liverpool – was infested with fleas, had difficulty breathing and swollen abdomens as a result of parasitic worm infestations.
Cats Protection was able to determine that Wiggle had been microchipped and had disappeared from his previous owners’ residence about two years ago.
The charity took care of Wiggle’s medical needs and – with the consent of his previous owners – was able to find him a new home.
More information on how to help feral and stray cats can be found here Cats Protection Website.
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