Many mammals have been introduced to Mauritius in the last three centuries. These include members of a wide range of taxa, carnivores, ungulates, primates and rodents, together having a wide range of impacts at various levels in the ecosystem. Several species are problems globally, and many have been implicated in the extinction or near extinction of bird, reptile and invertebrate species on many oceanic islands.

One of the most damaging species to the native fauna is the feral cat Felis catus. Many cats were noted on Mauritius by the Van Warwick expedition in 1601, and they may have been introduced by Arab sailors centuries earlier. It is not clear if the introductions were intentional or accidental, but some authors believe the species to have been introduced to control rats. They may be an early breed of domestic cat, possibly originating from the African wild cat Felis lybica, a species the Arab seafarers would have had access to. They were kept on board ships to control rodents, and may have escaped when ships came to land.

Feral cats deep in the Black River Gorges and native forests of Mauritius have many pelage and morphological traits in common with F. lybica, such as a long, banded tail, long legs, broad muscular shoulders, white whiskers, a strip of dark fur running down the spine, with dark stripes running off it, orange fur behind the ears and a strip of dark fur running under the chin. Many of these features are diagnostic of F. lybica. Cats have been given some blame for the extinction of land tortoises and lizards in Mauritius and Rodrigues, and several predation incidents on reptiles have been observed and recorded in the literature.

Cats and mongooses have been extensively trapped at the Mauritian Wildlife Foundation sites since 1992. Traps are simple meter-long wooden box traps, baited with fish soaked in fish oils. They are killed humanely. Standard body measurements are taken, and the skins and skulls are retained. Samples are deposited with Dr. Andrew Kitchener of the Royal Museum of Scotland, where taxonomic studies are being conducted on wild and feral cats. Guts are removed and food items are sorted. In addition to this, all sightings and footprints are recorded, and all cats found in the field are collected and sorted into different food items. Road kills are also collected.

Dietary studies (see graph below) show the cat in Mauritius to have a fairly broad diet, as found elsewhere. This broad diet indicates that the species is able to make use of a wide variety of food resources, making it a successful and ubiquitous invader. Besides rats, mice, reptiles, birds also plant matters feature highly in the diet.