An interesting article that I read this morning discusses a proposed ban on cats being allowed to venture outdoors. The Nillumbik Council of Victoria, is currently drafting a plan that will extend the current ban on cats being outdoors (7.30pm - 6am) to cats being confined indoors or within cat enclosures 24 hours, 7 days per week. Not surprisingly, the extension has been provisionally supported by both the RSPCA and the Cat Protection Society, although the Cat Protection Society notes that the proposed law must consider the conditions permitted in relation to enclosure/confinement of cats.
I for one have always been supportive of restricting outdoor cat’s behaviour, mainly due to the potential impact on the local wildlife. After all, cats will always be cats and no matter how “domestic” a cat becomes it will always have the urge to hunt. In addition to this, outdoor cats have approximately half the life-expectancy of in-door cats; more than enough reasons to ensure that both my Tonkinese cats Charlie and Milly are indoor-only cats. With proper care and consideration of the needs of an indoor-only cat, most cats can live perfectly happily indoors (you may want to read my post Top Tips to Keep an Indoor Cat Happy).
One question however does come to mind - if the proposed ban is successful, how does the Nillumbik Council plan to actually police this policy? Other than the odd cat being caught and identified by the cat catcher (is there such a thing?), I cannot imagine a great deal of non-law abiding cat owners ever being caught and reprimanded for their cats being outdoors.
I would be interested in hearing what other cat owners think of the proposed ban - please leave a comment below.
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May 2nd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
My cat Otto spends most of his time sitting on me or following me around the house. Letting him outdoors is a nice way to get some time to myself, especially when my dog Scrappy chases him out the back — Scrappy also spends most of his time following me around. In my tiny place, outdoors is just about the only place Otto can go to get away from the overly friendly dog. That said, keeping cats indoors over night is a good safety move and protects that local wildlife, which mainly comes out at night.
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:11 pm
I agree with you Richard, the real danger is to local nocturnal wildlife in my mind (hence presumably the reason the current curfew of 7.30pm - 6am is in place). As for a day-time ban, I really do not think that within the inner-city this is an option. With many cat owners having small homes, the option of having an outdoor cat enclosure is not really possible.
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:10 pm
As a non cat owner and not a particularly cat friendly person I totally agree with cats being kept contained overnight be it inside or in an enclosure. It will be a difficult ruling to enforce and I guess it will be left up to the owners to abide by the ruling. I am sure that the majority of cat owners will comply, it will be just the few, that as usual spoil it for others.
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:33 pm
I think that is the key there Pam - restricting overnight outdoor access for cats is a good thing, not only for the native nocturnal wildlife but also the welfare of the cat. Thanks for the comment!
May 7th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
The reason we need a 24/7 bans on cats being outside is to protect our birdlife.Cats are the main killers of birds and birds do not come out at night.There killed by cats in the day time.
The best thing in our country is to reduce the cat ownership.This law, imposed Australia wide, and the recent law in NSW banning the sale of kittens in Petshops will help.
Lover of Australian wildlife , especially birds
May 7th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
Thanks for the comment Robert. I understand your concern in relation to the potential danger to native birdlife and there is no doubt in my mind that domestic cats are responsible for many birds being killed. I do however believe that the key is responsible cat ownership; which for me is having an indoor only cat. I do also wonder whether the impact to native birds is that great in the inner-city suburbs of large cities? Depending on the suburb of course, I would imagine that often the habitat is not suited for many birds and hence the danger to birds of cats being allowed out doors for restricted hours is minimal. Your thoughts?
May 17th, 2008 at 4:31 am
Hmm, this issue is a tough one. While I agree that we need to protect out native animals and birds, it seems cruel to legislate that a certain animal may never go outside unless in some kind of enclosure. I know that indoor cats can be happy but they’re still animals and depriving them of the ability to roam outside somewhat freely seems harsh. It reminds me of the deplorable conditions we subject animals to in zoos.
May 17th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Thanks for the comment Mia. I agree it is a tough issue and I think the success of any legislation is whether it finds that balance between protecting our wildlife but not at the expense of cruelly treating outdoor cats.