Home range of house cats Felis catus living within a National Park

Abstract

Fourteen house cats living in residential areas surrounded by National Park were studied using radio telemetry to determine whether they roamed beyond the urban boundary. Eight cats were recorded using natural habitat, predominantly heath the most abundant habitat type adjacent to residential areas. Ninety two percent of fixes were taken within the fringes of the urban boundary. Mean home range size of house cats was 2.9 ha and two categories of cats were identified based on their tendency to wander away from home. Wandering cats had a home range of 5.1 ha and sedentary cats had a range of 0.4 ha. The mean distance travelled by male cats was 70 m and 30 m for females (range 1.5 – 272 m). The longest straight line distance travelled by a house cat in a single foray from a residence was 1.17 km. The major proportion of forays away from the home environs were undertaken at night and in the afternoon.