Cat Haven's Position on Cat Containment

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This position statement relates to domestic and unowned cats and does not cover such cats as feral cats, barn cats or colony cats as these are outside of Cat Haven’s jurisdiction.

Cat Haven is WA’s leading and only open admission Cat Shelter taking in around 8,000 – 9,000 cats a year.

Cat Haven advocates for and espouses responsible cat ownership in the form of:-

• Desexing of all cats by no later than the age of 4 months to prevent the oversupply of cats
• Cats kept indoors for the duration of their lives
• Escape proof cat enclosures being constructed adjacent to the family home
• Free standing cat enclosures placed outside, preferably on grass and taking into consideration weather conditions
• Escape proof fencing improvements (such as Oscillat) which prevents cats from escaping their own backyards

If any of these methods are used, physical and psychological enrichment must be proved to ensure best welfare practices.

Roaming cats have a life of expectancy of 3 -5 years and roaming usually occurs when cats are undesexed and are seeking mates. The risks to cats which wander include, but not limited to:

• Serious injury or death from motor vehicle accidents. In the event of serious injury, this may lead to owners electing to euthanize their cat due to financial constraints
• Cat fights which can lead to costly abscess treatment by a vet, FIV and FeLK. As above, this may lead to euthanasia or surrender to a shelter
• Skin cancer on ears and nose of cats with white faces. White cats themselves are 5 times more prone to skin cancer than the general cat population. This leads to serious pain and costly treatment such as ear removal. In the case of cancer of the nose, there is little which can be done once the cancer has reached a certain stage
• Trapping/baiting of cats by disgruntled neighbours or cat haters
• Poisoning from plants toxic to cats found in gardens
• Cats trapped in lethal traps
• Mishaps such as getting into roof cavities of buildings or between houses and fences – where rescue is very difficult or near impossible

Complaints from the public regarding wandering cats include:

• Defecating in children’s sand pits/gardens
• Perceived/actual risk of toxoplasmosis
• Waking sleeping dogs causing them to bark- it is believed one barking dog can affect 150 people within its vicinity
• Endangering nocturnal wildlife
• Distressing owned and contained cats by “hanging around” and thus leading to behaviour issues with the owned cat
• Undesexed tom cats spraying on property including cars
• Damage to property including cars
• Cats fighting and disturbing people and babies sleep

Background

Years ago it was common to see dogs wandering the streets without any restrictions. Laws have changed, and now it is law that all dogs be contained to properties unless outside in which case they must be on a leash. There are some places where dogs can remain of leash e.g. dog specific beaches and parks, but still must always be under the control of the owner at all times.

Excessive barking dogs are a common complaint for neighbours and dog owners receive infringement notices for not picking up their dog’s faeces. For years, cats have been allowed to wander deemed “impossible” to stop from wandering and cruel to contain them. Especially from people who have had cats “all their lives”.

There is now a growing ground swell that the laws which are applied to dogs’ should be applied to cats.

Cat Haven believes that cat containment should happen at the youngest age possible.

We also believe it is possible to adapt an older cat into being an indoor only cat- but it will require more work and commitment on the part of the owner.

Cats can be trained to walk on a leash and harness, which helps provide enrichment.

If council by-laws and/or the Cat Act are to be amended to include cat containment, then a grandfather clause needs to apply to ensure that no cats are surrendered to shelters or euthanized due to owners not being able to afford cat enclosures, enrichment tools etc. Nor should those owners of roaming cats be fined but re-educated as to the benefits of cat containment.

Cat Haven understands that several councils are considering a “Cat Curfew” from dawn to dusk to apprehend wandering cats. Whilst this may sound good in theory, there are a number of factors which need to be considered:

• Who will “police” the wandering cats and how-cats are very agile and difficult to catch.
• Do smaller councils have the resources to manage making cat curfews?
• The only way to effectively catch a roaming cat is to trap it. Who will set traps, and where will traps be placed? In the event of a desexed or unchipped cat wearing a collar, what action takes place then? Where will the cat be taken to.

It would seem the call to arms for a cat curfew, would be based on passing the by-law, but taking no action, and relying on cat owners to do “the right thing”.

Cat Haven believes the best way to encourage cat containment is by constantly education cat owners on the benefits of contained cats.

The education needs to happen with people who “have had cats all their lives” and believe it is cruel to keep cats inside.

This education cannot come from Cat Haven and animal welfare groups alone, but from all stakeholder including State and Local Government and the Veterinary Profession.