Summary of Domestic Cat Home Ranges

Danielle Robertson, Compassionate Pet Services, P.O. Box 801, Granby, MA 01033

Table 1. Summary of Home Range Size

HR Radius Diameter Resources
a
Category (ha)b (m)c (m)d
Outdoor-Access House
1.89 77.49 154.98 1, 3, 4, 6, 8
Cate
Free-rangingf
10.40 181.90 363.81 8, 9, 10
Suburban/Urban
Free-ranging Rural 143.16 675.07 1350.14 1, 2, 5, 7, 11

a
HR = home range; bha = hectare (10,000m2) or 2.47 acres
c
Radius = converted home range to a circular area and calculated radius in meters
{ r = √(ha*10,000)/п)}
d
Diameter = estimated max travel distance from home or primary shelter
e
Outdoor-Access House Cat: owned cat that is fed and sheltered in a house
f
Free-ranging Cat: may be feral, stray or farm cat

Fig 1. Example Home Range Map

(Map radii drawn using Free Map Tools: http://www.freemaptools.com/radius-around-point.htm)

KEY
Blue balloon = Cat A’s home
Red points = locations where Cat A has been observed
Yellow points = locations of a family of 6-8 semi-feral cats (larger circle is their feeding &
resting location)
Red circle = expected home range of Cat A if his home is the central point

Updated: 2/13/11 www.CompassionatePetServices.com 1

Blue circle = radius has been doubled to show all possible locations of Cat A’s home range if his
home is at the edge of his territory instead of centrally located
Pink circle = based on observations, Cat A’s home range is actually shifted South to
accommodate the semi-feral cats

Notes: I converted the home range estimates from hectares to circles expressed as radii because I
find this much easier to visualize and map. However, this representation is not a very accurate
estimate of the actual area used by the cat because it assumes that the cat uses its home range
uniformly with a single center of activity. Most outdoor-access house cats probably do have one
center of activity (their home), but they are not likely to use the area around their home
uniformly and their home isn’t likely to be at the center of their home range. Therefore, to use
this model most effectively, I would suggest doubling the home range radius, and then focusing
the initial search in likely cat habitat within this area.

Resources Cited

1. Barrat, David. 1997. Home range size, habitat utilisation and movement
patterns of suburban and farm cats Felis catus. Ecography 20(3): 271–
280.

2. Germain, E., S. Benhamou 3 & M.-L. Poulle . 2008. Spatio-temporal sharing

between the European wildcat, the domestic cat and their hybrids.
Journal of Zoology 276(2): 195-203.

3. Kays, Roland and Amielle DeWan. 2004. Ecological impact of inside/outside

cats around a suburban nature preserve. Animal Conservation 7: 1-11.
(Online: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/staffpubs/docs/15128.pdf )

4. Meek, Paul. 2003. Home range of house cats Felis catus living within a
National Park. Australian Mammology 25: 51-60.
(Online: http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=AM03051.pdf )

5. Molsher, Robyn, C. Dickman, A. Newsome, and W. Muller. 2005. Home ranges

of feral cats (Felis catus) in central-western New South Wales,
Australia. Wildlife Research 32: 587-595.

6. Morgan, S.A., C.M. Hansen, J.G. Ross, G.J. Hickling, S.C. Ogilvie, and A.M.
Paterson. 2009. Urban cat (Felis catus) movement and predation activity
associated with a wetland reserve in New Zealand. Wildlife Research 36:
574-580.

7. Palomares, Francisco and Miguel Delibes. 1994. A note on the movements

of a free-ranging male domestic cat in the southwestern Spain. Hystrix
5 (1-2): 119-123.

8. Schmidt, Paige, Roel Lopez, and Bret Collier. 2007. Survival, fecundity, and
movements of free-roaming cats. Journal of Wildlife Management 71(3):915-
919

Updated: 2/13/11 www.CompassionatePetServices.com 2

9. Steen-Ash, Sara. 2004. Intraspecific spatial dynamics of urban stray cats.
Shaw et. Al. Eds: Proceedings 4th International Urban Wildlife Symposium: 222-
227.
(Online: http://ag.arizona.edu/pubs/adjunct/snr0704/snr07042s.pdf )

10.Tennent, Jaclyn and Colleen T. Downs. 2008. Abundance and home ranges
of feral cats in an urban conservancy where there is supplemental
feeding: a case study from South Africa. African Zoology 43(2):218-229.

11.Warner, Richard. 1985. Demography and movements of free-ranging

domestic cats in rural Illinois. Journal of Wildlife Management. 49:340-346.

Updated: 2/13/11 www.CompassionatePetServices.com 3