Management of unowned cat colonies

Carole Webb

Abstract

Stray or, more accurately, unowned cat colonies may be an increasing problem in today's society and clearly there is an increased community expectation that the problem be addressed. There are an estimated 150,000-200,000 stray/unowned cats in he Melbourne metropolitan area alone (Anon 1992). Irresponsible cat owners are often blamed for this situation. The populations may become self perpetuating due to the prolific breeding capacity of the domestic cat and readily available food sources. Their impact varies depending on locality, but their presence in an area usually raises animal welfare, conservation and community amenity concerns. This necessitates the humane and effective management of these colonies, the prevention of their reformation and the promotion of responsible cat ownership.

The Cat Protection Society of Victoria (CPS) is the largest cat welfare organisation in Australia, handling some 15,000 cats per annum. For the past 50 years it has had daily interface with the management of unowned cat colonies, with some 9,000 wild cats being trapped and removed annually.

The nature of the stray cat problem is somewhat different to that of the stray dog. The majority of stray cats are unowned, not lost, and are totally unhandleable (65% of CPS intake falls into this category). This necessitates the implementation of trapping programs to remove them from an area (and thereby to solve the problems they cause) and effectively means that the majority of trapped cats will be euthanased.

In addressing the problem a holistic cat management plan is essential. Firstly, responsible cat ownership must be encouraged to prevent the replenishment of the unowned populations by irresponsibly owned cats. This fact must not be lost sight of. Once the owned population has been addressed, it must be recognised that there is already in existence an unowned population which must be effectively and humanely dealt with. As this population creates many of the community concerns, control of unowned cats is an important component of any effective cat management plan.

About the author

Carole Webb BVSc (Hons)

Cat Protection Society of Victoria

PO Box 257

Greensborough Vic, 3088

Tel: (03) 9434 7155

Fax: (03) 9432 0472

Carole Webb has been a practicising veterinarian for the past 17 years, dealing with cats only. She has her own feline practice in Melbourne and joined CPS as a veterinarian, 10 years ago. Since this time,. she has established a feline practice for CPS at the Society, reorganised and renovated the shelter section and actively lobbied for effective and humane legislative measures to address the cat problem. In 1987, she became the Society's senior veterinarian and in 1990, the Executive Director and is now responsible for the Society's overall operation. She has a deep love and respect for the feline species, extensive experience in cat welfare issues and management and has been involved in media and educational programs on responsible cat ownership.

Back to Urban Animal Management Conference Index

Back to Petnet