Cat categories

Unlike dogs, there are various categories of cats in our community including:

Owned: These cats are identified with and cared for by a specific person and are directly dependent on humans. They are usually sociable although sociability varies.

Semi-owned: These cats are fed or provided with care by people who do not consider they own them. They are of varying sociability with many socialised to humans and may be associated with one or more households.

Unowned: These cats are indirectly dependent on humans with some having casual and temporary interactions with humans. They are of varying sociability, including some who are unsocialised to humans, and may live in groups.

Feral: These cats are unowned, unsocialised, have no relationship with or dependence on humans, and reproduce in the wild.

Roles of government

State and local governments are primarily responsible for legislative responses and regulatory actions to manage cats within their jurisdictions. The Commonwealth Government focusses on areas such as pests, threatened species and habitats and matters of national environmental significance, and on Commonwealth land.

The state laws relating to South Australian cat ownership are set out in the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995 (the Act). The Dog and Cat Management Board oversees the administration and enforcement of the Act and sets the strategic direction of dog and cat management for the state. Local councils are responsible for the day-to-day administration of dog and cat management laws.

Under the Act it is not an offence to allow a cat to roam. The Act does not permit the seizure or detention of an owned cat.

In South Australia, cat owners must:

• have your cat desexed and microchipped (unless exempt)
• register your cat on Dogs and Cats Online (DACO)
• make sure your cat isn’t a nuisance.

Our approach

Council has been advocating to the state government for a statewide approach to cat management. While a review of the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995 is underway, council is:

• promoting desexing of all cats born after 1 July 2018
• promoting mandatory microchipping and registration with Dogs and Cats Online
• promoting cat containment
• making cat traps available to hire so residents may capture unowned cats and deliver them to our impound facility
• applying orders under the Local Nuisance and Litter Control Act 2016 to manage reports of cat ownership creating a nuisance.

Challenges

Finding the best way to address issues associated with roaming cats is complex.

Evidence for the effectiveness of laws requiring cat containment is poor and their administration will incur new ongoing costs which will be significant in a council of Onkaparinga’s size.

Council’s position is that it is the function of state government to respond to community expectation regarding roaming cats.

This position recognises that the state government is best placed to determine the effectiveness of any changes to the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995, the impacts on cat owners to comply, enforcement costs for councils and any unintended consequences that may arise.

State government, through the Dog and Cat Management Board have introduced resources to support cat owners to contain their cats, including Good cats play at home and Roam to home.