Norseman Feral Cat Trapping Program
Published on Thursday, 1 September 2022 at 4:15:00 PM
Poorly managed domestic cats:
- Have a negative impact on wildlife populations through predation or altering home ranges of wildlife by their presence in the environment
- Become a nuisance to neighbors by spraying, depositing scats, yowl, or harassing neighboring pets. Roaming domestic cats can also be a nuisance in the neighborhood by deterring native animals from the area (g. birds) that neighbors may wish to attract
- Have an increased risk of catching or transmitting disease from wild or domestic animals, or humans, as well as infection from other sources
- Secondarily add to the feral cat population by mating with feral cats (if not de-sexed) or directly contributing to the feral cat population when not returning home
- Suffer physical abuse from unfriendly community members
- Suffer injury as a result of roaming behaviors, interacting with other stray or neighboring animals or vehicular accidents. In some cases, this can result in hefty veterinary bill or a great loss to the family
- Be trapped when wandering off the property
What can you do to manage your cat appropriately?
- De-sex your cat to prevent it from adding to the feral cat population
- Microchip and register your cat with the Shire of Dundas so that it can be returned to you if it goes missing
- Keep your cat indoors so that it is not a nuisance to neighbours and does not negatively impact the local wildlife
- Install an outdoor cat play area to provide your cat with environmental stimuli that won't impact on the local wildlife
- Provide toys and play options for your cat to keep it stimulated indoors
- Fit your cat with a bell to alert wildlife to its presence
- Provide food so that your cat has adequate access to, to limit its dependence on wildlife as a food source.
- Don't release unwanted animals into the bush
To view or print this notice CLICK HERE
During this period, you must contain your cats to your property. Cats
trapped not wearing a registration tag or not microchipped will be treated as
strays.