Australia’s unique animal species are in sharp decline, with more than 40 mammal extinctions over the past 238 years. This atrocious mammal conservation record is the worst in the world.

Unfortunately, this is not simply a historic problem – almost 700 animals are currently at risk of future extinction. At least 200 of these are directly threatened by feral cats, as well as other pressures such as land-clearing, disease and invasive species.

Feral, domestic and stray cats now occupy almost the entire continent and are estimated to kill more than 1.5 billion native animals each year. These estimates are based on more than 100 cat diet studies, which identified prey animals using the traditional scientific methods of examining stomach contents and scats (droppings).

However, our new research – the first in Australia to use DNA for cat stomach analysis – shows traditional methods may greatly underestimate the true number of native animals killed by feral cats.

Stomachs, scat or DNA?

Scientists traditionally study the diet of predators such as feral cats by manually looking through their stomach contents or scat samples. Searching for hair, bones, feathers or other partial remains is an unpleasant task that can help identify a cat’s........

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