We wanted to find out how feral cats respond to fox control. In one of the biggest studies on this issue to date, we worked with land managers to set up 3,667 survey cameras in a series of controlled experiments. We studied the effects on cat behavior and population density.

Our research shows feral cats are more abundant and more brazen after foxes are suppressed.

In some regions, cats need to be managed alongside foxes to protect native wildlife.

Could feral cats benefit from fox control?

Foxes and cats were brought to Australia by European colonizers more than 170 years ago. They now coexist across much of the mainland.

While foxes are bigger than cats, they compete for many of the same prey species.

But most wildlife conservation programs in southern Australia only control foxes. That's largely because controlling foxes is relatively straightforward. Foxes are scavengers and readily take poison baits. Feral cats, on the other hand, prefer live prey. So they're much more difficult to control using baits.