Identification guide to the prey your cat brings home

This book presents in field guide style how to identify the spectrum of small vertebrate prey that your cat(s) bring into your home, the reasons for this behavior, and if captive prey is badly injured, how best to euthanize it and dispose of the remains. It also traces the relatively recent introduction of the European House Cat in the Western Hemisphere and why it is now our most successful predator on small vertebrate species. Prey identification is at the vertebrate family level and uses common terminology to do so. The author compares his experiences on zoological collecting trips to that of cat owners who are periodically presented with samples of the small wildlife species that inhabit their greater property area and how to determine the ecological status of the land their presence reflects.

Sam McGinnis is a Professor Emeritus of Zoology, CSUEastBay, and a consultant to the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife on projects involving endangered vertebrate species. He has authored and coauthored three major books on the freshwater fishes, amphibians, and reptiles of California. He and his wife Molly, also a zoologist, and their cat(s) live in a 100+ year old farm house near the Stanislaus River in Central California, where they farm almonds.