Sterilization Reduces Sex-Based Disparity in Space Use by Urban Free-Roaming Cats
Faculty Mentor
Charlotte Milling
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
May 2025
End Date
May 2025
Location
PUB NCR
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Biology
Abstract
Feral cats are one of the most prevalent invasive species around the world and pose significant threat to many populations of local wildlife. Due to their short generation time, and large litter size, population control methods must be applied intensively to be effective. We sought to understand how trap- neuter- release (TNR) methods affect cat behavior as measured by home range size. We hypothesized that due to a reduction in reproductive drive and roaming behavior, a male cat’s home range would be the same size as that of a female. We fit cats that had undergone TNR in Chicago with GPS tracking collars that collected an animal location every 1.25 hours. We observed no difference (p = 0.49) in home range size between altered male (4.8 hectares ± 0.8) and female (3.5 hectares ± 0.5) cats. These results suggest that TNR methods may equalize space use by cats in the same area. Moreover, TNR methods might be effective at reducing the ecological footprint of individual cats in urban spaces.
Recommended Citation
Crawford, Gage A., "Sterilization Reduces Sex-Based Disparity in Space Use by Urban Free-Roaming Cats" (2025). 2025 Symposium. 36.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2025/ps_2025/p2_2025/36
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Sterilization Reduces Sex-Based Disparity in Space Use by Urban Free-Roaming Cats
PUB NCR
Feral cats are one of the most prevalent invasive species around the world and pose significant threat to many populations of local wildlife. Due to their short generation time, and large litter size, population control methods must be applied intensively to be effective. We sought to understand how trap- neuter- release (TNR) methods affect cat behavior as measured by home range size. We hypothesized that due to a reduction in reproductive drive and roaming behavior, a male cat’s home range would be the same size as that of a female. We fit cats that had undergone TNR in Chicago with GPS tracking collars that collected an animal location every 1.25 hours. We observed no difference (p = 0.49) in home range size between altered male (4.8 hectares ± 0.8) and female (3.5 hectares ± 0.5) cats. These results suggest that TNR methods may equalize space use by cats in the same area. Moreover, TNR methods might be effective at reducing the ecological footprint of individual cats in urban spaces.
