ORIGINAL ARTICLE A continental-scale analysis of feral cat diet in Australia Tim S. Doherty 1 *, Robert A. Davis 1 , Eddie J. B. van Etten 1 , Dave Algar 2 , Neil Collier 3 , Chris R. Dickman 4 , Glenn Edwards 5 , Pip Masters 6 , Russell Palmer 2 and Sue Robinson 7 1 School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia, 2 Science and Conservation Division, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Woodvale, WA 6026, Australia, 3 Faculty of Sustainability, Leuphana University, Lueneburg, Germany, 4 Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia, 5 Department of Land Resource Management, Alice Springs, NT, Australia, 6 Natural Resources Kangaroo Island, Kingscote, SA 5223, Australia, 7 Invasive Species Branch, Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia *Correspondence: T. S. Doherty, School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, 270 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia. E-mail: t.doherty@ecu.edu.au ABSTRACT Aim Reducing the impacts of feral cats (Felis catus) is a priority for conserva- tion managers across the globe, and success in achieving this aim requires a detailed understanding of the species’ ecology across a broad spectrum of cli- matic and environmental conditions. We reviewed the diet of the feral cat across Australia and on Australian territorial islands, seeking to identify bio- geographical patterns in dietary composition and diversity, and use the results to consider how feral cats may best be managed. Location Australia and its territorial islands. Methods Using 49 published and unpublished data sets, we modelled trophic diversity and the consumption of eight food groups against latitude, longitude, mean temperature, precipitation, environmental productivity and climate-habi- tat regions. Results We recorded 400 vertebrate species that feral cats feed on or kill in Australia, including 28 IUCN Red List species. We found evidence of continen- tal-scale prey-switching from rabbits to small mammals, previously recorded only at the local scale. The consumption of arthropods, reptiles, rabbits, rodents and medium-sized native mammals varied with different combinations of latitude, longitude, mean annual precipitation, temperature and environ- mental productivity. The frequency of rodents and dasyurids in cats’ diets increased as rabbit consumption decreased. Main conclusions The feral cat is an opportunistic, generalist carnivore that consumes a diverse suite of vertebrate prey across Australia. It uses a facultative feeding strategy, feeding mainly on rabbits when they are available, but switch- ing to other food groups when they are not. Control programmes aimed at culling rabbits could potentially decrease the availability of a preferred food source for cats and then lead to greater predation pressure on native mammals. The interplay between cat diet and prey species diversity at a continental scale is complex, and thus cat management is likely to be necessary and most effec- tive at the local landscape level. Keywords Australia, biogeographical patterns, conservation biogeography, critical weight range, diet, feeding habits, Felis catus, feral cat, invasive predator, predation. INTRODUCTION Invasive mammalian predators are a global threat to biodi- versity (Salo et al., 2007). Species like the red fox, Vulpes vul- pes (Johnson, 2006), some rats, Rattus spp. (Jones et al., 2008; Capizzi et al., 2014), and the domestic cat, Felis catus (Dickman, 1996; Medina et al., 2011; Duffy & Capece, 2012), have caused numerous declines and extinctions of native spe- cies worldwide. The domestic cat is a medium-sized carni- vore occupying a range of habitats across a broad global distribution (Turner & Bateson, 2000). Humans keep cats as companion animals, but cats also live in self-sustaining feral ª 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/jbi 1 doi:10.1111/jbi.12469 Journal of Biogeography (J. Biogeogr.) (2015)