3
ORIGINS OF ESSEX CATS
By Roger Tabor
The domestic cat has been virtually ignored as
part of our wildlife, not just in Essex, or
even Britain, but world-wide until quite recently.
Household cats as predators of garden fledgelings
and small mammals obviously have an impact on
those prey species. Nonetheless we have for
long not liked to recognise the next step, that
a large proportion of domestic cats have been
living their lives as a full part of our wild
life, as feral or gone-wild cats. This is
nothing new, for cats have been living feral
in Essex for at least 1,500 years, and
probably longer . However the image we have of
the fireside cat on our lap stops us recognising
that a large proportion of the cat population
not only can, but do lead more independent
lives.