Feral Cat
Sounds & Calls

Feral cat in the Australian bush

Feral cats are domestic cats (Felis catus) that live outdoors and are not domesticated and usually avoid human contact. In Australia, feral cats have spread across the continent and throughout Tasmania. They are highly-efficient predators and prey on native mammals, birds, frogs, reptiles and insects. Feral cats have contributed to significant declines in populations of many Australian animals and are thought to have caused the extinction of some bird species as well as a number of small mammals.

What does a feral cat sound like? Feral cats sound like domestic cats, and in the wild they can somtimes be heard making ‘meow’ calls. They also make a range of hissing, growling and screeching sounds when males are fighting. These fights are often accompanied by aggressive posturing and loud drawn out yowling sounds know as ‘caterwaul’.

Listen to some examples of feral cat fighting sounds and other calls below.

Listen to Feral Cat Calls

The audio in the video below features the sounds of feral cats fighting & making a range of different calls including yowling, screeching, hissing and growling. At the end of this sample you can hear one of the cats walk past the microphone making more typical meow calls.

Not a sound I was happy to record when out in a relatively remote part of Tasmania in a stunning temperate rainforest, but, an interesting recording nevertheless. You can also hear the occasional squeaky calls of a Common Ringtail Possum, one of the native species cats often prey on.