Semi-digested bodies are strewn across the table. Amid the blood and bile lie a knife and the killer – a feral cat.

The blade has been used to spill the contents of the cat’s stomach. The dozens of small mammals, lizards and snakes have all been eaten within the past 24 hours.

That is roughly how long it takes a cat to digest its food, which it mainly eats whole. Both factors make doing the sums on feral cat predation fairly straightforward – provided you know how many cats are out there, and you can access enough of their stomachs.

That is exactly what researchers at the NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub have done.