Yes
Although feral cats are the same species as domestic cats, only predation by feral cats has been identified as a key threatening process. Feral cat populations are mostly located far from human habitation, and do not depend on stray domestic cats to keep up their numbers. A group of scientists from the epicenter of the debate on community cat colony management recently made a discovery they termed surprising.. A report in the journal Global Ecology and Biology showed that native mammals were most likely to die off on islands that had rats, but not cats, foxes, or dingoes. Cats are the villains du jour of the environment. The 9.6 million pet cats and 50 million ferals in the US are held responsible for various crimes against nature, including a role in the killing of 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion mammals every year. In Washington D.C. alone, for example, there are more than 300 known feral cat colonies. Wildlife are victims of this problem, but feral cats are too as conditions for survival are tough. And as with so many other environmental banes, the root of the problem neatly traces back to a single source: humans. The story behind feral cats is as much about human intervention as it is about the feral cat’s impact on and relationship with their environment. In one sense, feral cats are the result of a partnership between man and animal gone rogue. Feral cats are misunderstood. They are not abandoned, homeless or stray cats which still retain and may even need human interconnections. Feral cats are literally wild – born in the streets or born in the wild, totally disassociated from humans. Globally, it is estimated that there are 100 million or more feral cats with at least 60 million living in the US alone, 12 million in Australia and one million in Britain. So, the next time you see a feral cat with a rodent or a bird in its mouth, don’t assume that it just killed off the best and strongest of its species. Remember that the predator-prey relationship is a delicate dance and that in many cases, those cats are making prey stronger and smarter. The greatest risk to wildlife is probably from colonies of unowned, feral cats, rather than roaming pets. Cats without owners probably account for about 69% of bird kills and 89% of mammal kills, according to ecologist Scott Loss and his colleagues in their 2013 study. Among the most powerful of these groups is Alley Cat Allies, a nonprofit whose main program, the Feral Friends Network, teaches people how to care for community cats.. ACA, whose budget was $5.3 million last year, has enjoyed generous grants from cat-food vendors like PetSmart and Petco.
http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/pestsweeds/TheThreatOfFeralCats.htm http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/feral-cats-wildlife-australian-study http://www.theguardian.com/vital-signs/2014/nov/03/feral-cats-working-pest-mice-control-trend http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/feral-cats-kill-billions-of-small-critters-each-year-7814590/ http://www.ecology.com/2013/08/27/global-impact-feral-cats/ http://www.ecology.com/2013/08/27/global-impact-feral-cats/ http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/feral-cats-wildlife-australian-study http://gizmodo.com/feral-cats-can-destroy-the-environment-1730710563 http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2011/06/cats-tnr-birds-feral
are feral cats good for the environment