ROAMING PET CATS ON BORROWED TIME, AS COUNCILS CONSIDER CURFEWS TO PROTECT NATIVE ANIMALS

They’re playful and gentle companions. Clean, independent and smart. For many people, cats are the perfect pet.

But they are also known to be killing machines. Just ask wildlife veterinarian, Maren Beeston. Almost every day she witnesses the devastating fallout from free-ranging cats. One of her recent patients was a majestic boobook owl.

It had to be euthanased after being brought in by a cat owner who had discovered the injured bird in their pet’s mouth.

The owl was treated with antibiotics to counter the bacteria from the bite.

But an X-ray of its wing showed a chip fracture to its elbow joint.

Even after treatment, it would never be able to fly properly again due to the severity of the injury.

“We couldn’t release him because he wouldn’t be able to hunt effectively and unfortunately he would starve to death in the wild,” Dr Beeston said.

“I’m a huge cat lover.  I have two at home … but I’m definitely a proponent of keeping them indoors.”

Native birds, quendas among cat prey

About 450 native animals, predominantly small birds and quendas (a type of bandicoot) are brought to the WA Wildlife hospital in Perth’s south each year after an encounter with a cat.

Those are just the attacks that staff can conclusively prove cats were responsible for.

In reality, the figure is certain to be much higher, with many more of the 5,000 animals admitted to the facility each year suffering from injuries consistent with a cat attack, according to operations director Dean Huxley.

“The latest statistics show that every year they [pet cats] predate more than 180 native animals, that’s just one pet cat,” he said.

“Cats are evolving and learning about the different wildlife and they’re now getting better at hunting these animals.

“And the more we clear habitat, which we are doing at an alarming rate, these animals have got less places to hide.

“It’s going to be a losing battle for wildlife if we don’t make some serious changes now.”

Cat curfews introduced

Mr Huxley has been heartened by a movement across Australia to make owners responsible for their cat’s behaviour.

In Canberra for example, owners of new cats will have to contain them to their properties from mid next year while in the City of Greater Bendigo, a cat curfew has just been extended to a 24/7 ban.

In Western Australia, Fremantle is leading the push for cat containment, with a proposal to ban cats from all public areas.

Councillor Adin Lang says cats are currently banned from bushland areas, but under the proposed changes, they would also be prohibited from all city property, including roads, verges and footpaths, unless on a lead.

The proposal still needs to go out for public comment and needs the final tick off by a state parliamentary committee.

But Cr Lang believes if it’s approved, it will spark momentum for further change across the state.

“I think like dogs, cats will soon be inside and our future generations will look back and say to us: ‘you guys let cats roam around Australia, eating all our wildlife all these years?’.”

Stray cats an issue

Cat breeder Pamela Lanigan is fully supportive of cats being contained.

She’s also the spokesperson for Cats United WA, a group representing breeders and owners.

Much of the harm to wildlife, she argues, is caused by cats that are either stray or “loosely owned” by several households.

She says councils should focus on encouraging responsible cat ownership rather than bringing in more laws.

This could include encouraging more enclosures for pets and access to low-cost desexing programs for low-income earners.

Ms Lanigan suggested trap-neuter-release (TNR) programs could be rolled out to limit colonies of stray cats in bushland around Perth.

“What can be done is they can be trapped, they can be desexed and then they can be released back into that environment so they actually can’t reproduce anymore, but they will stop other cats from coming into that environment, and that’s something that’s done a lot in America,” she said.

Ms Lanigan says cat ownership was evolving from the old-school inside-outside model, which existed when more people lived on large suburban blocks, to cats living in enclosed spaces in small houses and apartments.

Desexing, cat enclosures could help

She suggests local government could use cat registration fees to support low-cost desexing programs.

Adin Lang agrees that is worth considering.

“If we can bring in the laws as one measure but also bring in other incentives to try and help people with instructions on how to build a catio [enclosure] or funding for these other suggestions, then I think that will absolutely help the cause,” he said.

One of the challenges is convincing owners that it is not cruel to keep your cat contained, according to Dean Huxley.

“Once people see that their cats are happier and healthier, they’re going to start to make that change,” he said.

“Cats do adjust very well to captivity.

“You will find that cats that are contained within the house are a lot gentler, they’re a lot calmer because they are not getting into fights with other cats.

“One of my cats was a wild, caught cat and is now the sweetest, smoochiest house cat you will ever find.”