Taylor joins the ranks of Canberra suburbs where cats can’t roam free

Holden Caulfield said :

What’s good enough for the cat is good enough for the human; we should contain humans to their houses!

I don’t even know where to begin with this gem. I guess I’ll just say this: if the time comes when cats can discuss their needs with us, then maybe we can consider them as equals. Until that day, they’re just animals.

wildturkeycanoe said :

Holden Caulfield said :

p
Humans kill native wildlife in their cars on the roads. Every. Single. Day.

But humans do not actively seek out native wildlife on nature reserves, under bushes, in trees and anywhere native animals can survive without fear of attack. But cats can and do seek them out for sport. Not a great comparison.
Now, the whole reason for cat containment is not to stop predation in the suburbs, but to prevent cats getting into the bordering reserves and to stop them “mingling” and procreating to further enlarge the wild population.
I ask cat owners this – would they like to see domestic dogs be allowed to wander free 24 hours a day, to enter your backyard, dig up your garden and leave doggy “surprises” in your children’s sandpit? How would you like dogs mating and howling under your bedroom window at 3 A.M?
This is why cats should be incarcerated, for people’s and

property owners’ protection.

These are the salient points with excellent examples of the consequences.

Holden Caulfield said :

p
Humans kill native wildlife in their cars on the roads. Every. Single. Day.

But humans do not actively seek out native wildlife on nature reserves, under bushes, in trees and anywhere native animals can survive without fear of attack. But cats can and do seek them out for sport. Not a great comparison.
Now, the whole reason for cat containment is not to stop predation in the suburbs, but to prevent cats getting into the bordering reserves and to stop them “mingling” and procreating to further enlarge the wild population.
I ask cat owners this – would they like to see domestic dogs be allowed to wander free 24 hours a day, to enter your backyard, dig up your garden and leave doggy “surprises” in your children’s sandpit? How would you like dogs mating and howling under your bedroom window at 3 A.M?
This is why cats should be incarcerated, for people’s and property owners’ protection.

Zultan said :

I still don’t understand the logic of flattening hundreds of acres of trees and habitats, then covering it with concrete and tarmac – and then assessing what impact pet cats might have on the wildlife. Surely the damage has already been done by the time the bulldozers move out?

Feral animals don’t know the difference between native habitat and the developed one that humans live in. That’s why we have foxes in every suburb and rabbits roaming all over Acton (at least).

Some native animals have adapted to human settlement. Kangaroos are always in my front yard but some are also killed on the main roads. The Crimson Rosella has adapted well to human settlement – I have even seen them nest in a roof gutter in Fyshwick.

Domestic cats need to be contained; feral cats need to be shot and indeed there are programmes underway involving rural land holders and shooting organisations to cull feral animals with an emphasis on cats.

This isn’t happening in the ACT though – we only cull native kangaroos.

BoomingOn said :

It’s indisputable that cats, both feral and domestic, kill wildlife, during the day and especially at night, so containment is a viable option in some areas if we as a community want to address this issue. But it’s not just wildlife that suffers at the claws of cats. We are eternally annoyed at the damage our neighbour’s cat does to our garden. It’s always intrigued me too that councils and governments require dogs to be registered but not cats, especially since cats do far more roaming. I wrote more about it here: https://boomingon.wordpress.com/2015/04/12/who-let-the-cats-out/

Humans kill native wildlife in their cars on the roads. Every. Single. Day. In my time in Canberra I’ve seen dead roos on Commonwealth Avenue Bridge three times. What’s good enough for the cat is good enough for the human; we should contain humans to their houses!

To introduce another animal into the equation, the whole cat containment thing to protect native wildlife is shutting the gate well and truly after the horse has bolted.

It’s indisputable that cats, both feral and domestic, kill wildlife, during the day and especially at night, so containment is a viable option in some areas if we as a community want to address this issue. But it’s not just wildlife that suffers at the claws of cats. We are eternally annoyed at the damage our neighbour’s cat does to our garden. It’s always intrigued me too that councils and governments require dogs to be registered but not cats, especially since cats do far more roaming. I wrote more about it here: https://boomingon.wordpress.com/2015/04/12/who-let-the-cats-out/

I still don’t understand the logic of flattening hundreds of acres of trees and habitats, then covering it with concrete and tarmac – and then assessing what impact pet cats might have on the wildlife. Surely the damage has already been done by the time the bulldozers move out?

Garfield said :

I found my post from a couple of years ago on cat containment and domestic vs feral cats.

After doing some reading I’ve learned:
1. 30% of free-roaming domestic cats (an average of 5+ hours outdoors every day or 80%+ of their waking hours) kill 2 animals a week, the other 70% of free-roaming domestic cats don’t kill
2. Domestic cat kill rates are halved when cats are kept inside at night
3. Feral cats kill 5 or more animals every day on average
4. Feral cats have been established in Australia since at least the 1850’s
5. Feral cat numbers fluctuate with the availability of food, but 15 million seems to be a reasonable average figure
6. There are 3.3 million domestic cats in Australia

So the average completely free-roaming domestic cat racks up around 32 kills a year. If kept inside at night that falls to 16. In comparison a feral cat will kill 1800+ animals a year – 57 times as many as a free roaming domestic cat and 114 times as many as a cat that is only allowed to roam during the day. Overall feral cats kill more than 27 billion animals a year. Even if all domestic cats were free roaming cats, which they aren’t, they would kill 105 million animals a year. That’s 0.4% of total cat kills.

tbc …

I have read similar research, with similar results.

Plenty of cats roaming around at night in my cat containment suburb. Have complained to our community association, not much they can do.Impossible to enforce.

I found my post from a couple of years ago on cat containment and domestic vs feral cats.

After doing some reading I’ve learned:
1. 30% of free-roaming domestic cats (an average of 5+ hours outdoors every day or 80%+ of their waking hours) kill 2 animals a week, the other 70% of free-roaming domestic cats don’t kill
2. Domestic cat kill rates are halved when cats are kept inside at night
3. Feral cats kill 5 or more animals every day on average
4. Feral cats have been established in Australia since at least the 1850’s
5. Feral cat numbers fluctuate with the availability of food, but 15 million seems to be a reasonable average figure
6. There are 3.3 million domestic cats in Australia

So the average completely free-roaming domestic cat racks up around 32 kills a year. If kept inside at night that falls to 16. In comparison a feral cat will kill 1800+ animals a year – 57 times as many as a free roaming domestic cat and 114 times as many as a cat that is only allowed to roam during the day. Overall feral cats kill more than 27 billion animals a year. Even if all domestic cats were free roaming cats, which they aren’t, they would kill 105 million animals a year. That’s 0.4% of total cat kills.

tbc …