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BC Conservation Data Centre: Species Summary


Felis catus
Domestic Cat

 
Scientific Name: Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758
Scientific Name Synonyms: Felis silvestris
English Name: Domestic Cat
English Name Synonyms: Feral Cat
 
Classification / Taxonomy
Scientific Name - Concept Reference: Jones, J. K., Jr., R. S. Hoffman, D. W. Rice, C. Jones, R. J. Baker, and M. D. Engstrom. 1992a. Revised checklist of North American mammals north of Mexico, 1991. Occasional Papers, The Museum, Texas Tech University, 146:1-23.
Classification Level: Species
Species Group: Vertebrate Animal
Species Code:
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Craniata Mammalia Carnivora Felidae
   
Conservation Status / Legal Designation
Global Status: GNA (Jan 2011)
Provincial Status: SNA (Mar 2024)
BC List: Exotic
Provincial FRPA list:   
Provincial Wildlife Act:
COSEWIC Status:
SARA Schedule:
General Status Canada: 7 - Exotic (2005)
   
Ecology & Life History
General Description:
Global Ecology Comments: See Turner and Bateson (1988) for information on social behavior. In Brooklyn, New York, cat distribution varied with availability of shelter, not dependent on food supply (Calhoon and Haspel 1989); home range averaged 2-3 ha (Haspel and Calhoon 1989). Feral populations may attain densities of up to a few hundred per sq. km (Kitchener 1991). Coleman (1992) estimated a density of 33/sq. km in rural sections of one Wisconsin county.

See Tomich (1986) for brief overview of literature regarding feral cat populations throughout the world.
Migration Characteristics:
(Global / Provincial)		 
    Nonmigrant:
    Local Migrant:
    Distant Migrant:
    Within Borders Migrant: 		Y /
N /
N /
na /
Habitats:
(Type / Subtype / Dependence)
Global Habitat Comments: Mainly in or not far from areas inhabited by humans but also in natural habitats up to several miles from a village or town.
Food Habits: Carnivore: Adult, Immature
Global Food Habits Comments: Diet of feral populations dominated by rodents, rabbits, and/or birds; also eats lizards and arthropods.
Global Phenology: Circadian: Adult, Immature
Global Phenology Comments: In Brooklyn, New York, nighttime activity peaked at 0100 h and at sunrise; activity levels declined throughout fall and increased in spring (Haspel and Calhoon 1993).
Provincial Phenology:
(1st half of month/
2nd half of month)
Colonial Breeder: N
Length(cm)/width(cm)/Weight(g): / /
Elevation (m) (min / max): Global: 
Provincial: 
   
 
Distribution
Endemic: N
Global Range Comment: Feral populations occur worldwide in terrestrial habitats, including all main Hawaiian Islands, though populations are small or absent where winter climate severe. The Old World wild cat, from which the domestic cat originated, ranges widely throughout the Palearctic region, from Scotland to South Africa and from Morocco to central and southern China.
 
Authors / Contributors
Global Information Author: Hammerson, G.
Last Updated: Mar 08, 1994
Provincial Information Author:
Last Updated:
   
References and Related Literature
Amarasekare, P. 1994. Ecology of introduced small mammals on western Mauna Kea, Hawaii. J. Mamm. 75:24-38.
Calhoon, R. E., and C. Haspel. 1989. Urban cat populations compared by season, subhabitat and supplemental feeding. J. Anim. Ecol. 58:321-328.
Coleman, J. S. 1992. A survey of owners of free-ranging domestic cats. Abstract, 6th Annual Meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology, p. 46.
George, W. C. 1973. Domestic cats as predators and factorsin winter shortages of raptor prey. Wilson Bull. 85: 384-396.
Hall, H. F., and M. R. Pelton. 1979. Abundance, distribution and biological characteristics of free-roaming house cats in northeastern Tennessee, USA. Carnivore 2: 26-30.
Haspel, C., and R. E. Calhoon. 1989. Home ranges of free-ranging cats (Felis catus) in Brooklyn, New York. Can. J. Zool. 67:178-181.
Haspel, C., and R. E. Calhoon. 1993. Activity patterns of free-ranging cats in Brooklyn, New York. J. Mamm. 74:1-8.
Jehl, J. R., Jr. 1984. Conservation problems of seabirds in Baja California and the Pacific Northwest. Pages 41-48 in Croxall et al., eds. Status and conservation of the world's seabirds. ICBP Tech. Pub. No. 2.
Kitchener, A. 1991. The natural history of the wild cats. Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell Univ. Press, Ithaca. xxi + 280 pp.
Kramer, R. J. 1971. Hawaiian land mammals. Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc., Rutland, Vermont, and Tokyo, Japan. 347 pp.
Laundre, J. 1977. The daytime behaviour of domestic cats ina free-roaming population. Animal Behaviour 25:990-998.
Pearson, O. P. 1971. Additional measurements of the impact of carnivores on California voles (Microtus californicus). J. Mamm. 52:41-49.
Randi, E., and B. Ragni. 1991. Genetic variability and biochemical systematics of domestic and wild cat populations (Felis silvestris: Felidae). Journal of Mammalogy 72:79-88.
Simons, T. R. 1984. A population model of the endangered dark-rumped petrel. J. Wildlife Management 48:1065-1076.
Tomich, P. Q. 1986. Mammals in Hawai'i. A synopsis and notational bibliography. Second edition. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 375 pp.
Turner, D. C., and P. Bateson. 1988. The domestic cat: the biology of its behavior. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge and New York. x + 222 pp.
 

Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for definitions of the data fields used in this summary report.

Suggested Citation:

B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 1994. Species Summary: Felis catus. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Apr 4, 2026).