Though the bib looks obtrusive, 86 per cent of cats in the Murdoch University trial grew accustomed to it in one day.
Credit: Sue Mandeville / Cat Goods, Inc.
SYDNEY: Domestic cats kill an estimated 100 million native Australian animals each year. Now, a study shows that a brightly-coloured 'bib' attached to a cat's collar can reduce hunting effectiveness by 72 per cent.
Cats are believed to have pushed some Australian species extinct on islands and contributed to the dissapearance of ground-living birds and marsupials on the mainland too.
Domestic cats alone have been estimated to catch an average of 32 animals a year and feed on 347 different birds, mammals and reptiles.
Because of this, pet cats have a poor image in Australia and ownership is in decline, said ecologist Mike Calver at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia.
In 2005 Calver was searching the internet for discussion groups on responsible cat ownership, when he chanced across a site advertising a brightly-coloured fabric 'CatBib' that its inventors claimed significantly reduced predation.
Intrigued to discover what impact the product could have on declining native wildlife, Calver asked the manufacturer for some bibs and set up a trial with Perth cat owners. His study is set for publication in an upcoming edition of the journal Biological Conservation.
Over six weeks his team monitored the behaviour of 56 cats. Those chosen were known to kill an average of one or more animals every three weeks – and most lived near native bushland. During the trial each cat spent three weeks with a bib and three without. Dead prey bought home by cats was collected and identified and instances where prey was rescued and released were recorded.
Calver found that the bibs stopped 81 per cent of cats in the trials from catching birds, 33 per cent from catching reptiles and frogs and 45 percent from catching mammals.
Overall he found a 72 per cent reduction in the number of birds killed by cats wearing the bib. This compares favourably with the 34 per cent reduction found for cats wearing bells alone in a 2005 U.K. study.
"It's a very, very good solution for cat owners who are concerned about the hunting behaviour of their cats," said Calver. "Alone or in combination with a bell, these deterrent devices may lead to reductions of [an average of] 50 per cent in the numbers of prey taken by pet cats and may stop some from hunting altogether," he said.
Made from tough, lightweight neoprene, the bibs are attached to collars with velcro. According to Calver, they are safe for cats when fitted to a safety collar and used outside - and the majority grew completely accustomed to wearing them within a few days.
According to Cat Goods Inc., the U.S. manufacturer of the bibs, they work by interfering with a cat's hunting skills and act as a barrier between predator and prey.
But Calver and his team also studied videos of the cats whilst they were wearing the bibs and found that they were able to climb, jump and pounce as usual. "Their movement was uninhibited," he said. "The bib simply helps to alert wildlife to an approaching predator and works as a visual warning."
The bibs could be a viable way to help protect our natural wildlife said Jane Speechley with the animal welfare group RSPCA in Canberra. "If the product can reduce the impact of cats on native wildlife without adversely affecting the cat, we'd certainly see that as a good thing."
However, "we'd still support secure outdoor cat enclosure as an ideal alternative," as that also helps prevent risks to cats posed by allowing them to roam, she said.
CatBibs are available for purchase over the Internet from the U.S. but have not yet been marketed in Australia.
More information:
anti-hunting bib keeps cats in check
What a brilliant, innovative idea! These cat-bibs should be sold in Australia. Of course, cats should be kept inside at night, but they cannot always be indoors. Councils should make the wearing of these bibs compulsory, especially in rural and semi-rural areas. Cats make wonderful, independant pets, but their popularity has declined due to their "bad" reputation with regards to wildlife. These bibs should be a happy compromise. Cats are not endangered, but many of our native animals are!
Vivienne of Hiedelberg
These should be made available for free!
A great invention that should be supported by the government - either through education or subsidising the costs. We have spent a couple of $100 million dollars fighting fire ants - conservation groups and the government should get behind reducing the impact of cats on our native animals.
Thanks for this great article.
The bibs don't go far enough
Perhaps it is time for the cat species to be removed from Australian shores. Surely it is time we adopted native friendly pets!
Well said!
Let's stop killing our wildlife with our pets and actually start embracing, protecting and helping our wildlife.
Remove the cats and start breeding quolls!
Over my dead body
This is preposterous! As a cat lover and owner of 6 cats I am deeply offended by such a silly invention. I know my cats would never hurt another living creature. But, without even meeting my cats, people expect them to wear these dangerous bibs that could cause them to be choked to death (never mind how stupid they look)!
I will NOT be placing bibs on Minxy, Jasper, Mr Tibbs, Tiger, Fancy pants or Snowflake.
Marjorie Penny
Then perhaps over the dead bodies of some of our natives?
You have 6 cats? You let them outside even some of the time? They don't kill? Come on, stop pretending to be so naive!!
Cats are efficient hunters; it's in their nature. However, they kill prodigously, and unfortunately indiscriminately. They don't know which of our many native species are endangered. We, as their owners, do & owe it to those native species to protect them from Minxy and crew.
If dog's must be kept on a
If dog's must be kept on a leash and contained within a yard then cats should have to wear these bibs.
i agree
either cats wear leashes or have the bibs
bibs
The question posed by some of your readers that cats should be on a leash or have bibs, is stupid, as you can't compare these animals. Cats are semi wild and in law are accepted as such. Dogs on the other hand can be trained. Lets have some common sense.
Just put bells on their collars and that will warn some of the wild creatures being attacked.
End of story
Bye
Cat training
In the U.S. in a variety of locations, including a number of cities and towns in the state of Wisconsin, pet regulations require cats to be tethered and leashed in the same manner as dogs are. For three years we lived in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin where everyone complied and no pets roamed free. In yards everywhere we watched cats resting peacefully on their tethers, just like the dogs next door. Every evening after dinner many of our neighbors walked, some with dogs on leashes, others with cats. To our unaccustomed eyes, it was at first an odd sight, but we were delighted with a yard free of cats!