Traditional livestock activities modify the spatial behavior of small wildcats in the high Andes

•The effects of livestock grazing on small felids are poorly understood, due to the low detectability of species.•Employing camera trap data, we evaluated the effect of grazing on occupancy by the Andean and Pampas cats.•Occupancy models showed negative effects of camelid abundance on Andean cat and Pampas cat.•We suggest mechanisms can be implemented to compensate the negative effects of livestock on small cats populations.