Free roaming domestic cat survey

I am a SUNY Cobleskill student in the wildlife management discipline taking part in a field study I designed for class. I am seeking participants with free-ranging domestic house cats to fill out this survey. Free-ranging domestic house cats are owned, fed, cared for, and reside in human dwellings but are allowed to roam free outdoors without restriction for periods of time. These will not include barn cats or stray cats that are occasionally fed and spend the larger percentage of their time self-foraging. Many cat owners that allow their pet cat to roam free outside know the feeling when their pet brings home dead animals. Some may have even wondered what kind of wildlife their cat has the biggest impact on. This survey focuses on the impact free-ranging domestic cats have on wildlife based on the habitat their owners reside in. Most importantly in this survey a participant should submit a clear picture or video of the deceased wildlife to help me analyze and synthesize the data for an accurate study.

To participate in the survey on Epicollect, you will need an email account through Google, Apple, or to make a new account on the website. Click “Login” in the upper right corner using your email address. Once logged in, find this survey again and click "View Data" that takes you to the entry page where there is space to add an entry at the top right corner symbolized by a plus (+) sign. Epicollect5 is also a free downloadable app where you can join this project and keep it on your phone for easy access. This message and link are shareable, can be reused to submit new data from the same cat, and accepts as many available survey respondents as possible. This project will run now until April 12, 2022. I thank everyone for their participation, and please share if you can!

This survey is confidential, and you can take it online via the online survey application, Epicollect. Research data will be stored in the researchers’ password protected SUNY Cobleskill account digital file storage. Researchers Alyssa Jaffee and Dr. Amy Quinn (both members of SUNY Cobleskill) will be the only people who can analyze data.

Your participation in this study is completely voluntary you may stop participating at any time. If you have any questions about being in this study, you can contact either Alyssa Jaffee at jaffeea160@cobleskill.edu or Amy Quinn at quinnac@cobleskill.edu. If you have any concerns or questions about your rights regarding this survey, please contact the SUNY Cobleskill Institutional Review Board at irb@cobleskill.edu.

I have read the information above and understand the purpose of this study. I understand that my participation in this study is voluntary and that I may withdraw my consent to participate at any time. I also understand that if I choose to withdraw from the study there will be no penalties or repercussions. I voluntarily agree to take part in this study and my survey participation serves as my consent.