In the ongoing and polarized dialogue concerning the role of non-lethal management, including trapneuter-return (TNR), in managing community cats, reference is often made to studies that demonstrate that this approach does not work. This selected bibliography points to studies that, among others not summarized here, comprise a body of work that shows TNR as a valuable tool in managing cat popul...

Management of freeroaming cats was once a matter of interest primarily to animal control departments, public health officials, wildlife biologists, and a small but dedicated corps of cat colony caretakers. Over the last two decades, however, advocates for feral cats have become increasingly well organized, their ranks have grown substantially, and they have developed “TNR” (trap-neuter-return) ...

OBJECTIVE To estimate and predict changes in the cat population of Australian households from 1979 to 2005. METHOD Telephone surveys were used to estimate Australia's total household cat population for each year from 1979 to 1999. A simple mathematical model based on population characteristics in 1995 was used to predict future population changes to 2005. Estimates and predictions for 1996 to...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy of trap-neuter-return and trap-euthanatize management strategies for controlling urban free-roaming cat populations by use of matrix population models. DESIGN Prospective study. SAMPLE POPULATION Estimates of free-roaming cat populations in urban environments. PROCEDURE Data from the literature describing the biology of free-roaming cat populations in ur...

Concerns over cat homelessness, over-taxed animal shelters, public health risks, and environmental impacts has raised attention on urban-cat populations. To truly understand cat population dynamics, the collective population of owned cats, unowned cats, and cats in the shelter system must be considered simultaneously because each subpopulation contributes differently to the overall population o...

Cat fleas, Ctenocephalidesfelis (Bouché) (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae), are common ectoparasites of companion animals that negatively impact their hosts directly by causing dermatitis and blood loss during feeding and indirectly through the potential transmission of disease causing agents. We isolated and characterized seven novel microsatellite loci from a partial genomic library of the cat flea e...

Genetic variation in cat breeds was assessed utilizing a panel of short tandem repeat (STR) loci genotyped in 38 cat breeds and 284 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped in 24 breeds. Population structure in cat breeds generally reflects their recent ancestry and absence of strong breed barriers between some breeds. There is a wide range in the robustness of population definition, fr...

Sensitivity to cats and exposure to cat allergen is a common cause of asthma exacerbation in children. To date, there is no data on the prevalence of cat sensitivity in children living in North Italy. Therefore, a 7-yr survey was performed in patients attending an allergy clinic for the first time. Skin prick tests (SPT) for perennial allergens and for pollens relevant to the region were perfor...

Understanding animal population size and its demographic features is essential to address Public Health policies as well as to provide valuable information to pet industries and veterinary practitioners. Nevertheless, official data on feline population are not available worldwide. In the present study, the owned cat population size, its demographic attributes, and the ownership profiles have be...