A game of cat and mouse

From Tom and Jerry to Puss in Boots, many have been fascinated by the relationship between cats and mice. Despite an estimated population of 500,000 feral cats in New York City, their potential impact to urban zoonotic disease systems remains largely unexplored. This study examines the role of urban feral cats in the Lyme disease system as potential predators of the main host of the disease, the white-footed mouse. The aims of the study are to determine if cats eat white-footed mice and if their presence in urban parks changes the activity and distribution of mice, both of which may have implications for Lyme disease prevalence.