Loading...
Cats, Colonies, and Cities: A Geospatial Analysis of Feral Domestic Cats in Lawrence, Kansas
Smith, Kiera McKenna
Smith, Kiera McKenna
Citations
Altmetric:
Abstract
Feral cat colonies are a widespread spatial phenomenon that attract controversy for treading the physical and cultural line between invasive urban wildlife and domesticated pets. These feral cats are constantly negotiating their place outside the home and choosing their own habitats in urban environments. The objective of this research is to explore what environmental variables of the human landscape in Lawrence, Kansas influence where feral cats congregate and reproduce to create colonies, trying to better understand the complexities of feral cat habitats using a mixed methodology of participant observation, collaborative research, and GIS analysis. The results of this research should be considered exploratory, but they reveal links or ecological connections between human population densities and cat colony locations. Different architectural structures and site characteristics provide anthropogenic food sources that are important environmental variables influencing where feral cats make their homes. Some evidence suggests feral cat colonies prefer residential areas over other types of land use. Overall, my results suggest feral cat colonies have reoccurring environmental variables that influence their choice of habitat, while maintaining each colony unique in its physical and cultural context.
Description
Date
2022-08-31
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Kansas
Collections
Files
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Geography, Geographic information science and geodesy, Feral Cat, GIS