Data from: Free-ranging farm cats: home range size and predation on a livestock unit in Northwest Georgia

This study’s objective was to determine seasonal and diurnal vs. nocturnal
home range size, as well as predation for free-ranging farm cats at a
livestock unit in Northwest Georgia. Seven adult cats were tracked with
attached GPS units for up to two weeks for one spring and two summer
seasons from May 2010 through August 2011. Three and five cats were
tracked for up to two weeks during the fall and winter seasons,
respectively. Feline scat was collected during this entire period. Cats
were fed a commercial cat food daily. There was no seasonal effect (P
> 0.05) on overall (95% KDE and 90% KDE) or core home range size
(50% KDE). Male cats tended (P = 0.08) to have larger diurnal and
nocturnal core home ranges (1.09 ha) compared to female cats (0.64 ha).
Reproductively intact cats (n = 2) had larger (P < 0.0001) diurnal
and nocturnal home ranges as compared to altered cats. Feline scat
processing separated scat into prey parts, and of the 210 feline scats
collected during the study, 75.24% contained hair. Of these 158 scat
samples, 86 contained non-cat hair and 72 contained only cat hair. Other
prey components included fragments of bone in 21.43% of scat and teeth in
12.86% of scat. Teeth were used to identify mammalian prey hunted by these
cats, of which the Hispid cotton rat (Sigmodon hispidus) was the primary
rodent. Other targeted mammals were Peromyscus sp., Sylvilagus sp. and
Microtus sp. Invertebrates and birds were less important as prey, but all
mammalian prey identified in this study consisted of native animals. While
the free-ranging farm cats in this study did not adjust their home range
seasonally, sex and reproductive status did increase diurnal and nocturnal
home range size. Ultimately, larger home ranges of free-ranging cats could
negatively impact native wildlife.