Species Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758

Museums

Regional Maps

• Felis catus Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundem classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentis, synonymis, locis. Editio decima, reformata. Holmiae : Laurentii Salvii Vol. 1 10, 824 pp. [42].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown (not found in ZIUU or NHRM), 'Europae australis sylvis'; Thomas (1911: 136) identified the type locality as 'Upsala', Sweden.

  Type locality references:

  Thomas, O. 1911. The mammals of the tenth edition of Linnaeus; an attempt to fix the types of the genera and the exact bases and localities of the species. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1911: 120-158.
• Felis domestica Brisson, M.J. 1762. Regnum Animale in classes ix. Distributum, sive synopsis methodica sistens generalem animalium distributionem in classes ix, & duarum primarum classium, quadrupedum scilicet & cetaceorum, particularem divisionem in ordines, sectiones, genera & species. Cum brevi cujusque specie descriptione, cicationibus auctorum de iis tractantium. Nominibus eis ab ipsis & nationibus impositis, nominibusque vulgaribus. Lugduni. Batavorum : Theodorum Haak 296 pp. [191] [recorded from Australia by Woodward, B.H. 1902. 7. Fauna. pp. 211–285 in Fraser, M.A.C. (ed). Western Australian Year-book for 1900–01. Perth : Government Printer Vol. 1 iv 490 pp.[200]].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown, unknown locality, name not recorded in Brisson op. cit.

  Secondary source:

   Woodward, B.H. 1902. 7. Fauna. pp. 211-285 in Fraser, M.A.C. (ed.). Western Australian Year-book for 1900–01. Perth : Government Printer Vol. 1 iv 490 pp.
• Felis torquata Cuvier, G.L.C.F.D. 1827. Chat a collier du Népaul. 225 in Temminck, C.J. (1824–1827). (ed.). Monographies de Mammalogie, ou description de quelques genres de mammifères, dont les espèces ont été observées dans les différens Musées de l'Europe. Ouvrage accompagné de planches d'Ostéologie, pouvant servir de suite et de complément aux notices sur les animaux vivans, publiées par M. le Baron G. Cuvier, dans ses recherches sur les ossemens fossiles. Paris : G. Dufour et E. D'Ocagne Vol. 1. [publication date established from Husson, A.M. 1962. The bats of Suriname. Zoologische Verhandelingen 58: 1–282 pls 1–30 [276]] [255] [the account by Cuvier, F. 1826. Chat du Népaul. in Geoffroy [Saint-Hilaire], É. & Cuvier, F. Histoire Naturelle des Mammifères avec des figures originales, coloriées, dessinées d'après des animaux vivans (1819–1842). Paris : A. Belin 2– 1 pl. pp. has often been recorded as the original description of F. torquata, but since torquata is not used in combination with a generic name in that place, it is not an available name there; recorded from Australia by Pocock, R.I. 1951. Catalogue of the Genus Felis. London : British Museum viii 190 pp. [15]].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown, 'Népaul' and 'Bengale'.

  Secondary source:

   Cuvier, F. 1826. Chat du Népaul. in Geoffroy [Saint-Hilaire], É. & Cuvier, F. Histoire Naturelle des Mammifères avec des figures originales, coloriées, dessinées d'après des animaux vivans (1819–1842). Paris : A. Belin 2- 1 pl.; Pocock, R.I. 1951. Catalogue of the Genus Felis. London : British Museum viii 190 pp.

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Pocock, R.I. 1951. Catalogue of the Genus Felis. London : British Museum viii 190 pp. [6]
• Hickman, G.C. 1981. National mammal guides: a review of references to Recent faunas. Mammal Review 11: 53-85

 

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Introduced from Europe.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Ben Lomond (BEL), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Coolgardie (COO), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Finke (FIN), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Flinders (FLI), Gascoyne (GAS), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Jarrah Forest (JF), Kanmantoo (KAN), King (KIN), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Nandewar (NAN), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Tasmanian Central Highlands (TCH), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Tasmanian Northern Midlands (TNM), Tasmanian Northern Slopes (TNS), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR), Tasmanian West (TWE), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL)

Ecological Descriptors

Coastal, montane, noctidiurnal, peridomestic, predator, terrestrial, territorial.

Extra Ecological Information

Feral.

 

General References

Abbott, I. 2002. Origin and spread of the cat, Felis catus, on mainland Australia, with a discussion of the early impact on native fauna. Wildlife Research 29: 51-74

Barratt, D.G. 1997. Predation by house cats, Felis catus (L.) in Canberra, Australia. I. Prey composition and preference. Wildlife Research 24: 263-278

Barratt, D.G. 1998. Predation by house cats, Felis catus (L.), in Canberra, Australia. II. Factors affecting the amount of prey caught and estimates of wildlife impact. Wildlife Research 25: 475-488

Brothers, N.P., Skira, I.S. & Copson, G.R. 1985. Biology of the feral cat, Felis catus (L.), on Macquarie Island. Australian Wildlife Research 12: 425-436

Catling, P.C. 1988. Similarities and contrasts in the diets of foxes, Vulpes vulpes, and cats, Felis catus, relative to fluctuating prey populations and drought. Australian Wildlife Research 15: 307-317

Clutton-Brock, J. 1981. Domesticated Animals from Early Times. London : British Museum 208 pp.

Denny, E., Takovlevich, P., Eldridge, M.D.B. & Dickman, C.R. 2002. Social and genetic analysis of a population of free-living cats (Felis catus L.) exploiting a resouce-rich habitat. Wildlife Research 29: 405-413

Dickman, C.R. 1996. Overview of the Impact of Feral Cats on Australian Native Fauna. Canberra : Australian Nature Conservation Agency.

Eason, C.T. & Frampton, C.M. 1991. Acute toxicity of sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) baits to feral cats. Wildlife Research 18: 445-449

Edwards, G.P., Piddington, K.C. & Paltridge, R.M. 1997. Field evaluation of olfactory lures for feral cats (Felis catus L.) in central Australia. Wildlife Research 24: 173-184

Gibson, D.F., Lundie-Jenkins, G., Langford, D.G., Cole, J.R., Clarke, D.E. & Johnson, K.A. 1994. Predation by feral cats, Felis catus, on the rufous hare-wallaby, Lagorchestes hirsutus, in the Tanami Desert. Australian Mammalogy 17: 103-106

Hemmer, H. 1978. The evolutionary systematics of living Felidae: present status and current problems. Carnivore 1: 71-79

Horsup, A. & Evans, M. 1993. Predation by feral cats, Felis catus, on an endangered marsupial, the bridled nailtail wallaby, Onychogalea fraenata. Australian Mammalogy 16: 83-84

Jones, E. 1984. The feral cat on Macquarie Island. Tasmanian Naturalist 79: 16-17

Jones, E. & Coman, B.J. 1981. Ecology of the feral cat, Felis catus (L.), in South-eastern Australia. I Diet. Australian Wildlife Research 8: 537-547

Jones, E. & Coman, B.J. 1982. Ecology of the feral cat, Felis catus (L.), in South-eastern Australia II. Reproduction. Australian Wildlife Research 9: 111-119

Jones, E. & Coman, B.J. 1982. Ecology of the feral cat, Felis catus (L.), in South-eastern Australia III. Home ranges and population ecology in semiarid North-west Victoria. Australian Wildlife Research 9: 409-420

Jones, E. & Horton, B.J. 1984. Gene frequencies and body weights of feral cats, Felis catus (L.), from five Australian localities and from Macquarie Island. Australian Journal of Zoology 32: 231-237

Letts, G.A., Bassingthwaighte, A. & de Vos, W.E.L. 1979. Feral Animals in the Northern Territory. Report of the Board of Inquiry 1979. N.T. : Govt. Printer xvi 234 pp.

Leyhausen, P. 1979. Cat Behavior the predatory and social behavior of domestic and wild cats. (Translated by B.A. Tonkin). New York : Garland STPM Press xvi 340 pp.

Long, J.L. 1972. Introduced birds and mammals in Western Australia. Agricultural Protection Board Western Australia Technical Service 1: 1-30

Mahon, P.S., Banks, P.B. & Dickman, C. 1998. Population indices for wild carnivores: a critical study in sand-dune habitat, south-western Queensland. Wildlife Research 25: 11-22

Mahood, I.T. 1980. The feral cat. Proceedings of the Post-graduate Committee of Veterinary Science University of Sydney 53: 447-456

Martin, G.R., Twigg, L.E., Robinson, D.J. 1996. Comparison of the diet of feral cats from rural and pastoral Western Australia. Wildlife Research 23: 475-484

May, S.A. & Norton, T.W. 1996. Influences of fragmentation and disturbance on the potential impact of feral predators on native fauna in Australian forest ecosystems. Wildlife Research 23: 387-400

Meek, P.D. & Triggs, B. 1998. The food of foxes, dogs and cats on two peninsulas in Jervis Bay, New South Wales. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 120: 117-127

Mivart, St. George 1881. The Cat. An introduction to the study of backboned animals especially mammals. London : J. Murray xxiv 557 pp. 1 pl.

Molsher, R.L. 1999. The ecology of feral cats, Felis catus, in open forests in New South Wales: interactions wih food resouces and foxes. PhD. Thesis. Sydney : University of Sydney.

Newsome, A. 1995. Feral Cat Felis catus. pp. 700-702 in Strahan, R. (ed.). The Mammals of Australia: The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife. Sydney : Reed New Holland 756 pp.

Paltridge, R., Gibson, D. & Edwards, G. 1997. Diet of the feral cat (Felis catus) in central Australia. Wildlife Research 24: 67-76

Pocock, R.I. 1907. On English domestic cats. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1907: 143-168 pls 8-10

Risbey, D.A., Calver, M. & Short, J. 1997. Control of feral cats for nature conservation. I. Field tests of four baiting methods. Wildlife Research 24: 319-326

Rosenblatt, J.S. & Schneirla, T.C. 1962. The behaviour of cats. pp. 453-488 in Hafez, E.S.E. (ed.). The Behaviour of Domestic Animals. London : Baillière, Tindall & Cox.

Short, J., Turner, B., Risbey, D.A. & Carnamah, R. 1997. Control of feral cats for nature conservation. II. Population reduction by poisoning. Wildlife Research 24: 703-714

Tidemann, C.R., Yorkston, H.D. & Russack, A.J. 1994. The diet of cats, Felis catus, on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean. Wildlife Research 21: 279-286

Triggs, B., Brunner, H. & Cullen, J.M. 1984. The food of the fox, dog and cat in Croajingalong National Park, southeastern Victoria. Australian Wildlife Research 11: 491-499

 

Common Name References

ABRS 2001. Census of Australian Vertebrates. Australian Biological Resources Study. (Cat)

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
16-Oct-2013		13-Dec-2010	MOVED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)