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[Miss_Croft]

Jozz
Like anywhere there are rats/mice – there are human introduced cats– Cats are a problem – there are groups who count and control the feral population. I personally do not see many feral cats like the ones reported in Australia – but often do see cats while walking to the office along Houston Street. I sometimes (may be once a year) see chewing on a bird or rat in Central Park. But most I see are someone’s pet cats.
Also note cats are native to the US – we have many species of wild cats like Bobcats/Puma and our animals are use to them. These larger cats also prey on the smaller domestic cats controlling them in the parks. I don’t think Australia has any cat predators and as a result – each generation domestic cats become larger (island effect).

The biggest issue to animals here in the US is habitat destruction (Development such as paving over hibernating tortoises) and the introduction of exotic diseases and parasites from pet populations.

You can find some more information on The Feral Cats database here
http://www.neighborhoodcats.org/