Cats banned from going outside in Australia, could it happen here?

[JamBiscuitBun]

I'm interested to hear thoughts on this. Article here I can't ever see it working in the UK. I also remember Australian farmers having apocalyptic mice problems on some of their farms, so I'm not sure how this fits in with that. Though there are many people who'd love to never have the neighbour's cat pooing in their garden again. What d'you think?

Not just Australia. A municipality in Germany has a springtime ban on outdoor cats for one of its neighbourhoods for the second year running now. It's to do with a specific local bird population that's under threat of extinction - UN red-listed in fact. Cats can still go outside but only on a leash if it's in breeding season. So a limited, reasonable measure but there's still self-absorbed cat owners who can't be bothered (one of them just got fined €600 for violating years ban.)

www.nationalgeographic.de/tiere/2022/05/hausarrest-fuer-katzen-ausgehverbot-fuer-den-vogelschutz

@BeachDayz

That’s really interesting!

Do you keep him on the lead because of his own safety or to stop him being a nuisance to your neighbours or because you’d get in trouble if he was roaming around?

If he got out would you get a fine or anything?

Do you think less people are getting cats because of these rules?

My community (in rural Australia) has a 'no cats' covenant to protect the wildlife. We do have a particular species here that is threatened. However, I do own a cat that I keep indoors and occasionally take outdoors on a leash. We have snakes so it is too dangerous for her to be outdoors on her own. My neighbour let his cat wander, and the cat ended up killed by a dingo.

I bloody hope so! Sick of the neighbours cats shitting over my garden!!

cats are banned from being left out overnight but not many people take notice of the rule.
It’s not enforced strictly, bit like our lockdowns.

but.. if your wandering cat is nabbed by the ranger after hours, he will lock the cat at the pound and we are given a hefty fine that must be paid before we get our pet back. The fine is $110 (depending on your state) + $36 for every day the cat is at the pound.
on a positive. The pound wash, feed, groom, de-lice (if needed) microchip, desex -

All included in the $110.

I like cats enormously but cat shit just smells so bad. I've got a drive that cats think is a litter tray and they also like to go in the veg bed and randomly on the lawn. It's horrible and I really hope a ban on roaming comes to the UK.

I lived in Brisbane about 10 years ago and this was the rule. Was wonderful as we had so many birds, little green frogs and ghekos going about.

Can’t find the post re rats and mice issue but I was wondering about that too. Cats can be useful for that. I suppose rats were imported too.

Hate cats with a passion but even I couldn’t get behind this

My two cats are happy indoors - however they have access to a netted balcony so do get some fresh air. One is pure white so at risk for skin cancer.

I think there are plenty of cats that would be happy indoors only, while others would not. Same as humans. The perfect compromise is things like netted balconies and cat runs/catios.

On a planet with finite resources I think we will eventually see an end to dogs and cats being kept as pets. They are becomming a huge issue in terms of wildlife. Birds are under serious threat from bird flu so bird eating cats could become a health issue - bird flu has already jumped the species barrier to some wildlife species.

It won't happen in the UK but it should. The number of songbirds killed for fun by otherwise well-fed pets is appalling and completely avoidable. And as for keeping rats and mice numbers down, that's a really weak argument with even a basic grasp of maths.

Why basic grasp of maths? I’m pretty good at maths actually so what do you mean

History shows cats can be useful wrt rats

I have 3 indoor cats, all neutered/dressed and very happy and content living indoors. They’ve been indoor since kittens and don’t know any different.

I think it would be stressful and potentially quite cruel to force an older cat, who’s always been an outdoor cat, to live indoor and adapt to things like using a cat litter tray again. There would be problems with stressed cats emptying their bowels on the floor in distress and a lot more I think, abandoned cats for that reason and there’s already a crippling issue with cat rescues being over loaded and under funded.

www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/advice/gardening-for-wildlife/animal-deterrents/cats-and-garden-birds/are-cats-causing-bird-declines/

I have found that my farm cat that lives in a barn catches many more mammals than birds. I think it is mainly garden cats that are tempted by birds. My cat spends all its time usefully stalking mice.

Lol. As if. My cat occasionally brings in a sparrow but it’s mostly rats and mice, every 2 or 3 days. Ds plays with him loads so he’s not bored, he’s just a natural born killer. I hate to think of cats or dogs being kept indoors, or any animals for that matter.

I wouldn't do this, my cats would hate it. We had to keep them in for a while after moving house and one of them was so desperate to get out they jumped out of an upstairs window we'd opened a crack because it was summer.

If it became law, once my cats had died I wouldn't replace them because I think it's cruel. I couldn't be happy myself if I wasn't allowed outside.

I agree that humans are more destructive than cats.

This! And since we all know hell will freeze over before this dog obsessed nation does that, I think my cat is safe continuing his daily wander round the garden.

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10993051/amp/Bass-Coast-Shire-Council-announces-cat-ban-fines-protect-Phillip-Island-penguins.html
A number of councils have introduced it and more will do it once the benefits to local wildlife are seen.

I think domestic cats should
be subject to the same controls as domestic dogs. Not perfect by any means but surely a huge improvement

Oh yeah? What does the study on humans reveal? Because I’m fairly sure we’re at the helm of this global destruction tank we perpetually drive.

As ever, animals are suffering from irresponsible pet ownership. People who don't bother neutering their cats, who then breed and breed and breed. Like my neighbours cat, they didn't bother spaying her until she had two litters of kittens, who each had a litter of kittens, who all lived out in our back gardens. One morning I walked out and saw 13 intact cats and thought fuck this, borrowed a trap from the vets and spent the next 2 weeks trapping, neutering and releasing them. The expense and work that went into doing that compared to what it would have cost that one cat owner to neuter their one cat.

Lol at all the angry cat owners up in arms 😂

People have cats because they’re lazy. Heaven forbid you actually expect them to care for their pest by cat proofing and picking up after them!

@Ylvamoon the problem with farm cats, when we had the mouse plagues all the farmers got cats, didn't desex them and they then had litter after litter of kittens. There is now a problem with finding homes for them as they are wild, not trained and not being cared for.

I had a couple in my home last year which I fostered after some young travellers doing farm work called a charity to say the farmer was shooting them. This was happening up and down the east coast.

There is a law that says domestic cats must be chipped and registered by 4months old. It's also recommended to keep them inside between dusk and dawn. I live in sydney so metropolitan area and cats are very often killed by cars and there's a big problem with them killing wildlife.

I have an indoor cat, she's quite content, i wfh full time so she has company. I also take her out on a leash twice a day as we live in an apartment.

She also killed a rainbow lorikeet while she was on my balcony before Xmas which had obviously gotten too close.

Cats do most of their hunting at dusk and dawn, so ensuring they are not outside at those times might help protect songbirds rather than an outright ban.