CatMap Project
The first statewide effort to map feral cat colonies in Hawaiʻi. Over 900 colonies and 6,500 sightings logged, with confidential location handling so colony managers and conservation staff could share a map without anyone burning trust to do it.
What CatMap did
CatMap was the first statewide attempt to put feral cat colonies and sightings onto one map that agencies, researchers, and caretakers could actually use. nene.org built it. What came out of it:
- Over 900 mapped colonies across the main Hawaiian Islands
- 6,500+ community sightings from 550+ contributors
- A spatial record that fed into work on nēnē, ʻuaʻu (Hawaiian petrel), and other native species exposed to cat predation and toxoplasmosis
- A reporting workflow that kept colony locations confidential so caretakers would participate
- The data and the lessons that became FeralMap
How it worked
Confidential colony mapping
Exact colony locations stayed private. Density patterns were visible to anyone.
Overlap with native species
Colony and sighting data could be cross-referenced with known nēnē and seabird habitat.
Community reporting
Anyone with a phone could log a sighting. Most of the dataset came from people who do not work in conservation.
Toxoplasmosis context
Cats are the only definitive host for Toxoplasma gondii, which is the most common infectious disease diagnosed in nēnē.
By the numbers
CatMap totals
550 people, almost none of them working in conservation, on a map agencies use.
Why locations stayed confidential
Colony locations are sensitive. Caretakers worry about retaliation against the animals. Conservation staff worry about nēnē nests sitting downstream of a known feeding site. Keeping exact coordinates private was what made the dataset possible at all.
Why cats matter for nēnē
Cats hit nēnē two ways. They prey on goslings directly, and they shed Toxoplasma gondii oocysts that nēnē pick up while grazing. Toxoplasmosis is the most common infectious disease diagnosed in nēnē, with 21 to 48 percent of birds tested on Kauaʻi, Maui, and Molokaʻi showing exposure. Toxoplasma also reaches Hawaiian monk seals and other native species. Mapping where cats concentrate is step one for any of that work.
From CatMap to FeralMap
FeralMap is the successor
Cats are not the only invasive species people will report if you give them a usable tool. FeralMap carries the cat workflow forward and covers ten species that field staff and the public actually run into: mongoose, coqui frogs, little fire ants, axis deer, and others.
Lessons from CatMap
- •People will report wildlife if the form takes under a minute
- •Location privacy is the difference between participation and silence
- •A report only matters if an agency can act on it
- •One form per species. Not one form for everything.
What FeralMap adds
- •Ten invasive species, one app
- •Routing to the right agency by species and island
- •Mongoose reports on Kauaʻi flagged for biosecurity
- •Runs in any phone browser
Species now tracked in FeralMap
Feral animals
- • Feral Cats (from CatMap)
- • Feral Pigs
- • Feral Goats
- • Axis Deer
- • Mongoose
Invasive pests
- • Coqui Frogs
- • Little Fire Ants
- • Coconut Rhinoceros Beetles
Invasive birds
- • Rose-ringed Parakeets
Where CatMap data lives now
The cat sightings and colony records from CatMap moved into FeralMap, which keeps the cat workflow and adds ten other species. There is no separate CatMap site to maintain.
FeralMap displays sightings as H3 hexagons. Density is visible. Exact points are not.
Press coverage
Report on FeralMap
Cat sightings, colony reports, and other invasive species now go through FeralMap.
Use FeralMap
Cats and ten other invasive species get reported on FeralMap.