Irresponsible cat neighbors?

[Finchbreeder]

Haven't had a cat for a couple of years now. Here you are not allowed to let your cat/s roam.
People of course do. So some do not get them spayed - fortunately this is on the decrease - because they don't want to explain to the vet why they are also not getting a microchip. If it's going to roam and be traceable and you can get fined? All spayed cats here have ear tatoos. Microchips are registered with the local council, yep - the same people who can fine you for puss wandering.

 

[BDutch]

Haven't had a cat for a couple of years now. Here you are not allowed to let your cat/s roam.

What is here? Australia? It’s not on your profile.
Please add your state (US/CA/AU) or country (EU/…) in your account details. Its often handy to understand and give better advice with questions.

 

[Finchbreeder]

Fixed the profile location.

 

[gtaus]

Haven't had a cat for a couple of years now. Here you are not allowed to let your cat/s roam.

That makes good sense to me. I have watched a number of YouTube videos about invasive species in Australia. The one I watched was on Arabian camels which are a big problem. But I did a little online look at Australia's invasive species problem and found this...

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Australia has a significant problem with invasive species, which threaten native wildlife, ecosystems, and agriculture. Over 3,000 non-native species have been introduced since European settlement, and many have caused severe environmental damage.

Major Invasive Species in Australia

• European Rabbits → Introduced in the 1800s, they destroy vegetation, compete with native animals, and contribute to soil erosion.
• Feral Cats → Responsible for the decline of many native species, including small mammals and birds.
• Red Foxes → Introduced for hunting, but now a major predator of native wildlife.
• Carp (Fish) → Overpopulating waterways, disrupting ecosystems, and contributing to blue-green algae blooms.
• Feral Pigs → Destroy crops, wetlands, and even eat sea turtle eggs.
• Phytophthora (Plant Disease) → Affects over 200 native plant species, causing widespread damage.

Impact & Control Efforts

• The Australian government spends billions on invasive species management.
• Biological control methods, like introducing viruses to control carp, are being considered.
• Programs to eradicate or manage populations of invasive animals are ongoing.

Invasive species are one of the biggest threats to Australia’s biodiversity, affecting 82% of threatened species. The challenge is preventing new introductions while managing existing ones.

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Interesting how feral cats was listed as number two in problem invasive species in Australia. It sounds like fining owners for letting their cats roam is an appropriate measure to combat the feral cat situation.

I come from a family of hunters. Grandpa used to bring rabbits home in the winter when other game was not in season. I wonder how many invasive species can be harvested as food for people, or livestock? There seems to be a real problem with people accepting to eat certain types of animals for their meat. But maybe it could be ground up and used as dog food, or livestock protein?

Although I believe in dispatching an animal with minimal trauma, those invasive species kill off entire species of native animals with no concern. We have a big problem with feral hogs here in the US, and it's only getting worse each year. Even massive hunting programs don't seem to slow the spread of feral hogs. Anyways, I think your no roaming cats' program in Australia is a reasonable approach to curb the feral cat problem.

Maybe you guys could resurrect the native Tasmanian tiger from DNA and use it to control feral cats? I hear it's a possibility!

I love watching those YouTube shows on the thylacine sightings and debate on if they are truly extinct, or just so limited in numbers that they cannot be verified as still alive. I think it would be great to see a native species used to control an invasive species. It's too bad they were hunted to extinction by man, but maybe we can bring them back from the dead? Can we correct our wrongs?

 

[Finchbreeder]

Unfortunately West Aust also has some of the most restrictive gun laws too. Which they are currently making even tighter. So If you own less than an acre which most of us do, you have to attend a club shoot at least fortnightly (even if your local club only has monthly shoots) or get authority to shoot on someones property. But then no property can have more than 5 shooters authorised with the new rules. (mum, dad, 3 kids - sorry cuz all used up) even though we have a 10,000 acre station.
As a kid my dad used to trap feral rabbits, and pigeons, and mum did wonderful casseroles.
Would also shoot the occasional wild boar or roo - good tucker.
Some parts of Aust they are trapping and exporting Camels to the middle east - but they only take the best racers or breeders. If we trippled this market it still wouldn't solve the problem of increased desert due to the damage they are causing.
BIG country when you consider Texas would fit into Western Aust 4 times.

 

[gtaus]

BIG country when you consider Texas would fit into Western Aust 4 times.

I have been to Australia a couple of times when I was in the navy. Perth was one of our favorite port of calls. We always looked forward to visiting Australia.

To make the trip extra special, the America's Cup race was being held in Perth. That was way back in 1987. Seems like a lifetime ago.

 

[Finchbreeder]

That was definately a life time ago. My daughter wasn't even born.
And son was one handful of a bouncing baby boy.
Birding was only minor league back then.

 

[Rillowen]

The past couple of days there has been a young black and white cat, no collar, hanging out around my garage. Tonight, it tried to get into the house. The cat looks well fed and allowed me to pick it up to bring it outside. While I was bringing the cat outside, I noticed my neighbor's light was on in their house (~8:30 pm). These are some new neighbors that live just a couple houses down the way.

I walk the cat down to their house, knock on the door, and ask the neighbor lady if the cat was theirs. It was; indeed, they just got it on Easter, 10 days ago. I told her that it had been hanging around my garage for the past few days and wondered if it was their cat, because I knew that they had some small dogs and a bunch of kittens last summer. Well, yes, she said that all those kittens went away so they got a new cat this Easter. Well, I said their cat was back home safe. She thanked me. I left.

On my way home I thought to myself, I'm not really a cat person, but who would have a bunch of kittens and just let them run wild until they all vanished? We live on a lake, lots of wildlife including Bald Eagles and hawks, fox and wolves, and I imagine those kittens never made it to a happy home. I don't know these new neighbors very well, and I'm trying not to point my finger at anyone, but maybe some of you cat people here on the BYC forum can tell me if that is the way you normally treat your cats - just let them run outside wild and replace them if they never come back?

Oh yeah, she left the cat outside and did not bring it into their house. I suspect I'll be seeing more of this cat, until it just vanishes one day...

We do have outdoor cats, but they have a sheltered place next to the house (a small dog house with a box) and are dotted on constantly while small, even taken into the garage on cold winter nights, they also have collars, no jingle though, and are fixed. Cats are surprisingly good at taking care of themselves after adulthood, they can even take down owls and Hawks that might try to attack them, or even foxes. I had a cat that scared off a whole coyote pack from our chicken coop for us (we got a dog after that one!). "Not coming back" is a pretty rare thing unless they decide they dont like it there. The neighbors cats probably all dissappeared because they didnt really feel like they had a home there. A shelter, water, ocasional loving hand, and snacks are all it really takes. There's a reason feral cats are such a problem, and why bird lovers often hate all cats, they are good survivors! And an apex predator far more efficient than their size would suggest. I have seen kittens drag up rats almost the same size as them. A cat that has lived its whole life indoors is very different though. Not bringing the cat in isn't a problem to me, no collar or place for it, and not realizing it was gone for 3 days are far more worrying.