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Cats Eat Over 2,000 Species, Including Endangered Animals, Study Finds

Largest dataset ever created on cat diets reveals cats are 'generalist predators' that consume a wide range of species, raising concerns for conservation efforts.

  • Cats globally eat more than 2,000 species, including endangered animals and other species struggling with low numbers, according to a study published in Nature Communications.
  • Researchers from Auburn University in the US created the largest dataset ever from all previous studies on cat diets, identifying 2,084 species eaten by cats, of which 981 were birds, 463 were reptiles and 431 were mammals.
  • Surprisingly high numbers of insects (119 species) and amphibians (57 species) were also identified.
  • Cats were found to eat 347 species which are classed as a conservation concern, either critically endangered or extinct in the wild.
  • The true number of species eaten by cats is probably larger than the 2,084 found in this paper and the number of known consumed creatures is likely to rise with ongoing research.
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