Foods of Feral Cats Felis catus on Jarvis and Howland Islands, Central Pacific Ocean / by Ralph D. Kirkpatrick and Mark J. Rauzon

Abstract

Food habits of feral cats (Felis catus) were studied on two small uninhabited islands in the central Pacific Ocean. Cat stomach contents, collected on Howland Island in May 1979 and on Jarvis Island during May 1979 and June-July 1982, revealed that sooty terns (Sterna fuscata) were the primary prey species. Other seabirds, lizards, insects and, on Jarvis Island, house mice were also eaten. Fetal cats may have virtually exterminated the wedge-tailed shearwater colony on Jarvis Island.