A case study of habitat use by the community cats (Felis silvestris catus) 　managed in the university campus

Abstract

For better management practices, the habitat use by ten community cats managed outdoors in the agricultural university campus (about 12 ha) that includes a lot of green space was compared individually. The cat’s visit to the feeding sites was recorded every day from June 1st to December 31st, 2020. The use of the cat shelter built by carrier boxes near the feeding site was observed for 24 hours continuously for about ten days every month from September to December using an infrared sensor camera. The cat’s position was collected at 1-minute intervals by attaching a collar with a GPS logger, and a 24-hour home range was measured from September to October. The shelter was used by two kittens almost every day and was only used by two specific adults. They used it on rainy days (Mean±SD：352.5±172.2 minutes) longer than on other days (110.8±66.3 minutes) (P<0.05). In the first month of this study, four adult cats did not visit the feeding sites for nearly a week, but the percentage of visiting days throughout the entire period was 84 to 100% for all cats, including the cat never used the shelter. One male cat, which was castrated at the beginning of the study, had the daily home range of 12.4-16.3 ha and had multiple core areas outside the campus in addition to the core area near the feeding sites. However, the other individuals had the daily home range of 0.8 to 5.5 ha, regardless of the sex or the use of the shelter, and were mostly confined to the university campus.