Spatiotemporal and Individual Patterns of Domestic Cat (Felis catus) Hunting Behaviour in France

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Domestic cats prey on many small animals throughout the year. However, the role of the environment and season on this hunting behaviour still needs to be clarified. Based on a citizen science project, we assessed the role of age and sex, the seasons, and the degree of human-related environmental degradation on the number of preys returned home on a monthly basis over 8 years by 5048 pet cats in France. Prey (n = 36,568) were mostly represented by small mammals (68%; voles, mice, and shrews), birds (21%; passerines), and reptiles (8%; lizards). More shrews, birds, and reptiles were brought home by young cats. Shrews peaked in summer, rodents in summer–autumn, birds in spring–summer and autumn, and lizards in spring and summer. The number of voles and mice increased where human degradation pressure was low, and conversely, lizards and birds increased where this pressure was high. Rainfall played a minor role, and cats caught animals according to their distributional geography (e.g., lizards in southern regions). Bearing in mind that the number of preys brought home underestimates the true number caught, we need now to evaluate the amount of prey available in a cat’s home range, and how many are really caught within, to fully understand predation impact. ABSTRACT: Domestic cats (Felis catus), one of the most popular pets, are widespread worldwide. This medium-sized carnivore has well-known negative effects on biodiversity, but there is still a need to better understand the approximate causes of their predation. Based on a citizen science project, we assessed the role of spatiotemporal (i.e., latitude, longitude, and seasons), climatic (i.e., rainfall), anthropogenic (i.e., human footprint, HFI), and individual (i.e., sex and age) variables on the number of preys returned home by cats in metropolitan France. Over the 5048 cats monitored between 2015 and 2022, prey from 12 different classes (n = 36,568) were returned home: 68% mammals, 21% birds, and 8% squamates. Shrews brought home by cats peaked during summer, while rodents were recorded during summer–autumn. Birds brought home by cats peaked in spring–summer and in autumn, and lizards peaked in spring and in late summer. Lower HFI was associated with more voles and mice brought home, and the opposite trend was observed for lizards and birds. Younger cats were more prone to bring home shrews, birds, and reptiles. Although environmental factors play a minor role in prey brought home by cats, some geographical characteristics of prey species distribution partly explains the hunting behaviour of cats.