Cat Management
Cat Management
Owning a Cat
Owning a cat can be a wonderful and rewarding experience for the whole family. Cats are excellent companion animals, being affectionate, intelligent, clean, and easy to care for. Cats can live for 16 years or longer, and a commitment to responsible cat ownership benefits not only you and your cat but also the wider community.
Owning a cat comes with many responsibilities. In addition to providing food, shelter, and care, you must prevent your cat from producing unwanted kittens and from causing nuisance to neighbours. By being a responsible cat owner, you are giving your cat the best opportunity to live a long, healthy, and happy life.
Many stray cats are fed by well-intentioned animal lovers; however, this behaviour often prolongs a lifestyle of danger, disease, discomfort, and illness.
If a cat is visiting your property, contact the Port Pirie Regional Council on (08) 8633 9720 to discuss the available options.
To learn more about responsible cat ownership, visit Owning a Cat. If you are experiencing issues with a nuisance cat, visit Read More for information and assistance.
Registering Your Cat
In South Australia, cats must be microchipped and desexed, and owners are required to maintain their cat's details in Dogs and Cats Online. This helps authorities identify and return your cat if it becomes lost.
Visit the Dogs and Cats Online website website for more information about registering your cat.
Neighbourhood Cat Problems
Community concerns about cats, both owned (domestic or pet cats) and unowned (stray or feral cats), stem from a number of issues.
Public Nuisance
Stray or wandering cats may cause a variety of nuisance problems, including:
- Property damage
- Noise, odour, and faecal pollution
- Harassment of other pets
- Unwanted intrusion onto private property
Health Concerns
Stray or wandering cats can contribute to a range of health concerns. There is a potential risk to public health through the transmission of diseases and parasites such as toxoplasmosis, ringworm, and fleas. Stray cats can also spread feline diseases to owned cats.
Limits on the Number of Cats
Council has a by-law in place that limits the number of cats permitted on a property to two.
If you wish to keep more than two cats, you must apply to Council for approval. Approval may be granted where the cats comply with relevant legislation and no valid complaints have been received.
Keeping more than the permitted number of cats without Council approval may result in an expiation notice of $312.50 for breaching the by-law.
What Can You Do?
Contain
Cats should be contained within your property at all times. Wandering cats can create nuisance issues on neighbouring properties, harm local wildlife, and place themselves at risk of injury, illness, or death.
Identify
Legislation requires all cats to be microchipped. More cats lose their lives due to a lack of identification than for any other reason. Help ensure your cat can be returned if lost by providing identification through a microchip, collar, and identification tag.
Desex
Legislation requires cats born after 1 July 2018 to be desexed.
Desexing, when combined with responsible cat ownership, helps address many common cat-related issues. It can reduce caterwauling, urine spraying, roaming, and fighting, while also preventing unwanted litters.
Maintain
Maintain your cat's health through:
- Annual veterinary check-ups
- A nutritionally balanced diet
- Protection against fleas and other parasites
- Plenty of love, care, and attention