If you see a cat roaming around in your neighborhood, chances are it’s not owned. Stray cats are a common sight in Australia. An estimated 700,000 live without proper care, either on farms, near rubbish dumps, or around urban areas.
Cats that are unowned are often called “stray”, “semi feral” or “stray cats”; they or their parents were owned by people but have been abandoned or are lost. Stray cats that are not owned rely on humans for shelter, food, and breeding. Feral cats live wild in the wilderness and are not dependent on humans for food.
Unowned cats can be a threat to public health, as they are feral cats. They may fight or spread diseases among pet cats and kill local wildlife. They also suffer from poor health. Our recent research shows that cats who are not owned live significantly less time than cats with owners, and fewer than half of them survive their first year.
What’s the most effective way to do this?
The lives of street cats are short and hard.
The lives of free-roaming street cats are difficult. It’s not just the cats that are in trouble.
Many international studies have reported high mortality rates among roaming cats. Causes include accidents on the road, and accidental toxicity. They are also often injured or killed when dogs attack them.
In 2017, even Prime Minister Jacinda Adern’s “first cat”, Paddles was hit and killed by a vehicle.
The same problems can arise in unowned cats without an immediate owner who will provide veterinary care. It’s not surprising that unowned, free-roaming cats live a short life.
The demographics of unowned free-roaming cats were analysed in Perth, Western Australia. We found that the 145 cats studied lived significantly less than those 899 pets. Unowned cats had a median age between eight and ten months. The median age of pet cats is about five years.
Our study found that the cats who were not owned looked healthy and reproductive. They also had a few parasites on their external surfaces. These animals had lived long enough for them to be captured and studied. When cats are ill or traumatised they will hide.
A shocking 58% of cats examined by us had eaten dangerous refuse, including sharp items, indigestible materials, or other dangerous objects that obstructed their digestive tracts. Nearly 95% carried a substantial load of transmissible parasites.
Trap and euthanasia or trap and adoption are the two most common methods used by local government to control unowned cats in Australia’s urban and rural areas.
Another approach is to trap, desex and return cats to their point of capture (called “trap-neuter-return”). While this practice is being carried out by individuals or groups of people in some cities and capitals, it’s illegal in most Australian jurisdictions, because it can be construed to mean abandoning the cats.
1. Euthanasia
Where unowned cats are a problem, in most areas of the nation, these animals will be trapped and removed. Normal euthanasia is the result.
In Brisbane, for example, an effective council program that has been running since 2013 decreased the number of cats without owners by euthanasia. Over five years, complaints about stray animals fell from 140 per year to only ten.
Euthanasia rates for cats that are not owned can pose a problem for many, including veterinarians. Euthanising healthy cats because they’re unwanted can be difficult and traumatic.
2. Trap-neuter-return programs
Many people believe that desexing and returning cats to the street with additional feeding is an effective solution for large numbers of unwanted cat population, as it prevents euthanasia.
However, overseas studies show that trap-neuter return programs can encourage abandonment at cat feeding stations. The number of cats may actually increase despite all efforts.
What is the life quality for cats that are returned? Trap-neuter and return programs may be less ethical, but they are also likely to have poorer welfare results for cats. In Japan, there have been requests to review trap-neuter return policies due to the poor health of cats.
May be in violation of state law if you return neutered animals where they are found. It is important to enforce these laws in order to decrease the number of unowned cats and improve their welfare.
3. Adopt a cat
The ACT Government released a ten-year plan in May with a vision of “all cats will be owned and loved by responsible cat owners by the year 2031”. The ACT government released a ten-year plan in May with the vision that, by 2031, “all cats will be owned and cared for by responsible owners”.
It was developed in order to improve the standards of best practices, and to recognize the responsibility of caring for the cats’ health and wellbeing.
It starts with owners who are responsible. The document calls for better compliance with compulsory registration and desexing. The ACT Government will offer free desexing or at a low cost, as well as free microchipping to encourage compliance. The ACT government is planning to introduce mandatory containment of new cats purchased after July 1, 2020.
The plan includes a method to capture roaming cats. Pet cats are better identified, and can be returned to owners. Unowned cats in the neighbourhood will also be placed up for adoption.
What can we do?
We know that two things are crucial: to remove unowned cats off the street and reduce unwanted breeding of abandoned cats.
Programs such as trap-neuter and return can be harmful because the cats are still living tough life in the street. This may cause some people to feel comfortable leaving unwanted cats on release sites. While euthanasia is effective, making the decision to do so can be difficult.
Instead, Australia should increase efforts to socialise, and adopt unwanted cats and enforce laws that prevent owned cats from roaming freely. It will take a lot of community education to make this happen, but the result is that it addresses all issues caused by cats roaming free (owned and unowned).
Contact your local cat welfare organization or council if you are inspired to adopt a new cat. If you have an existing pet cat, keep him or her on your property 24/7. This is important not just to preserve native wildlife but also to safeguard the cats themselves.