Cat personality may be linked to tendency to prey on wild animals

The personality of individual cats may play a role in how much damage they do to native wildlife species. Domestic cats (Felis catus) are responsible for killing a massive number of birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians around the world. Researchers in France surveyed 2,508 people about the personalities of their cats. They found that cats that were more extroverted and less neurotic killed birds and small mammals and brought them back to their owners most often. Cats that were more dominant and less agreeable, on the other hand, brought back fewer dead animals. They also found that cats in urban areas brought back less prey than those that lived in suburban areas. Cats that spent more time outside also brought back more prey, and non-pedigree cats had higher prey return numbers as well.

Read the study at Ecology and Evolution.