Shellfish

I am the first to admit that cats can be a problem. I try my very best with my cats, don't allow them out at night, fit them with bells and leave them reasonable amounts of food all in an effort to curb their hunting.

However, these people who, in my opinion, who go around shooting cats do so, not in an attempt to save the environment but rather as a sadistic streak. I reckon these 'enviromentalists' also use disposable nappies, happily munch away on Mcdonald's burgers and waste water and electricity. I think someone else mentioned that cats could never even come close to the damage that humans have managed to inflict on the world.

Incidently, I saw a documentary which showed that aboriginees in the outback eat feral cats.

NickyC

You seem to be suffering from the common misconception that there are zillions of British migrants coming here each year, over-running the place. There are not. They are a minority. Around 15,000 migrants a year (approx 12-15% of the total) come from Britain. The rest come from China, India and elsewhere - and none of them are bringing cats with them, thank goodness.

And why the hell should we and our wildlife 'adapt' to your cats? Let your cat's behaviour adapt to us. If the poor little mites can't handle being kept under control - stay home with them in the UK.

wombat42

Remember local councils in OZ place strict controls on cats. They all have to be registered and have a microchip inserted in them with the name and address of their owner. If not the cats are taken away and put down.

Stormz

Cats are exceptional hunters, especially of the defenceless marsupials and lizards of Australia. Birds get killed sure, but at least they can try to keep out of the way of cats (except in their nests).

Australian wildlife has never had any real predators like cats before. They cause havoc when you`re not looking.... even you`re prescious one.

http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/dse/nrenpa...F00093CAF?open

"All cats, even well-fed pet cats, can kill wildlife. In Victoria, on average, each pet can kill 25 creatures every year; this adds up to 12.5 million creatures every year. At the same time, feral cats eat the equivalent of seven native rosellas each week, over 70 million creatures each year."

wombat42

Thats because they eat their cats along with their dogs.

Stormz

lol!!!

jayr

Australian wildlife, however, may not have had time to evolve to a stage to avoid being killed by cats.

ABCDiamond

Or they could do what the previous owners of my house did: There was netting everywhere to ensure the cats didn't get out, and native wildlife couldn't get in. I considered them to be very responsible cat owners, but it took me ages to remove all the netting !!

ABCDiamond

Not all councils insist that cats are microchipped, or even registered. However, All dogs over 3 months must be registered, and re-registered every 12 months.

Our local council rules on cats include:

• Make sure your cat wears an identification tag - if it does not have a tag and is trapped off your property and impounded, it will be considered an unowned pet.
• Keep your cat confined to your property.
• Keep your cat inside at night.
• If your property is not fenced, make sure your cat is enclosed when outside.

Elvira

What?? Does this come with instructions on how you're meant to accomplish this?

My cat wouldn't stand for it - now way

ABCDiamond

You can ask the councils for advice.

But those are the rules, and the risk if a person chooses to ignore rules, is that the cat is treated the way the rules allow, ie: if it does not have a tag and is trapped off your property and impounded, it will be considered unowned.

I know some people with cats that choose to follow the rules, and are able to, and their cats cause no problems.

People with cats (and Dogs) should consider the rules in the area that they are looking at, and decide if they wish to choose that area to move to.

jayr

I saw a cat wandering around my suburb this morning whih I thought very strange. It's probably only the 2nd or 3rd time I've ever seen a cat on the loose.

Phoenixuk2oz

Oh dear...maybe I started this off with the incident that occurred yesterday.

Before I explain my views on this topic....I'd like to share something....

We had a ginger and white cat in the UK before we came here. We got him about 12 years before from a rescue home and the day we brought him home he was covered in fleas and sores [in those days they didn't always de-flea them before sending them out ]. He was the smallest cat in the centre and we felt sorry for him as he looked soooo pathetic. Anyways, unbeknown to us he was the runt of the litter and stayed small throughout his adult life, often gaining the sympathy vote as people thought he was still a young kitten/cat. His name was Tigga.

Eventually Tigga was joined by Nina the Springer Spaniel, another runt [I always go for the ones no one else wants] Anyways....Tigga and Nina did everything together, in fact as Tigga was older than the dog....he taught her his ways, even to this day Nina brushes past you like a cat does, and paws for things like a cat . They did everything together and we'd often see them sleep under the fir tree in our front garden in UK and they even shared the bloody dog basket in the kitchen. Pathetic pair they were .

Anyways, in preperation for coming to Aus, we took Tigga [cat] and Nina [dog] to the vets for a checkover to make sure all was in order for them to come here. The vet said Nina was good, but Tigga, by now 12 years old, had a few rotten teeth which funnily enough had just started playing him up.

We were advised he should have a general anaesthetic and to have the few rotten teeth removed and the remaining cleaned. He was in perfect health... in fact this was the one time in life it came in handy him being a runt becuase due to his smallness, he was agile, fit and healthy with not an ounce of fat, a good heart on him too for a cat his age the vet said.

So we took Tigga to the local village vetinary, an old vet who we'd seen for years, a bit like Seigfreid Farnham from All Creatures Great and Small...lol

Tigga came home the next morning after an overnight stay in the vets. The "operation" was apparently a success..... and the vet was still in one piece.......so all was good.

Then the following morning Tigga started acting strange. At first we thought it was the after effects of the aenasthetic...that was until he got up and walked into a wall and just stood there, head againt the wall miowing. Now that is NOT something a cat would do..... and further more.....when we attempted to pick him up and cuddle him he hissed...... as if he didn't know who we were. This was a cat that in 12 years was a real baby. We took him to the vet straight away.

Tigga never returned home. He suffered a brain heomorrage which in turn made him blind, hence him not recognising us and hissing. The vet said the kindest thing was to put him to sleep.

I'm not ashamed to say we cried and cried.

Now the reason I'm sharing this is because I wanted to explain that we had a cat and that that was one of the hardest times for us as a family. We loved that flea bitten mongrol of a runt.....he was as much a part of our lives as we were of his. The dog pinned for MONTHS afterwards. We'd find her going to all his hidy holes, sniffing to see where he was. We had an annex that the dog never went to .....never ever, as it was at the other side of the house......that is until the cat had died. She knew that was his favorite haunt..... and the times we'd find her sniffing under the eaves for him...amazing how she knew where they were...she must have been able to smell him still. And then she'd come back and flop in her bed all morose and sad like. Strange but they seem to have a sixth sense dont they....

Anyways.... fast forward now to Aus:

In a way I'm glad we didn't bring Tigga. Now I'm not advocating that it's wrong for people to bring cats to Aus. Good god no. Afterall I brought my dog with me and we were intending to bring Tigga too. However....for me personally, since now living here.....and experiencing Aus first hand......I can see why Tigga would never have been happy. He was a catcher you see. He never ate his prey..he played with it though and that was cruel, but it's natural and Tigga was doing what came natural. He'd even eventually let them go, alive and well. Stooopid pouddy cat he was.

Only in Aus..weather we like to hear it or not......apparently cats are killing the wildlife. It's not the cats fault. I ask myself if it's THAT detrimental then why do they still allow us to bring them in And the wildlife is sooo beautiful here.....so I can see why people get upset. However what they omit to see though is it's not the cats fault, nor is it always the owners fault. Have you ever tried giving a cat a "home time" or keeping a cat in? I know with Tigga that at times wild horses wouldn't have kept him indoors. We lived in Yorkshire where there were farms around and he loved playing outside, especially at night.

Those who are repsonsible cat owners here in Aus who make sure their cats are in at a certain time have my total respect. The reality is you have to watch your cats with an eagle eye cos there are some people that dont like cats and without scaremongering....there is little sympathy for cats.....again....because of the damage they can cause to the wildlife

It doesn't help either that there have been the odd programme about people who have killed feral cats and made them into hats [shame there's not a sick Smilie here]

This bad publicity just adds fuel to the fire if you ask me. However the moral of the story is....whether you leave your cat behind in UK or bring it with you...neither is an easy option. And anyone who has had a pet that has become a part of your family will understand this. However whatever choice you make...it'll be the right one for you and your pet. No one else. Australia has lots and lots of animal loving people and like anywhere there are the odd few lunatics who take it upon themselves to do horrible things to animals. This also happens in the UK so we need to get this into perspective.

So make your choice of whether or not to bring your pet to Aus based on your capacity to understand how it will "fit in" with Aus....and not the other way round ....cos afterall...this is another country.....with different views..... and it is us and our pets that are the visitors ...not the other way round

Badge

WHat I don't quite understand is why cats are not seen as a problem in the UK - they kill birds and wildlife there too, don't they?

Welsh bloke - just don't let your cat out at night.

Badge

renth

It's do do with ecological niches. In Europe there have been wild cats wandering around for millenia, killing stuff so the animals they kill and the cats end up balancing out, ecologically.

In Australia there were no cats, sure there would be carnivorous animals, but they too would have evolved into an ecological niche over thousands of years.

With introduced cats and foxes what we are seeing is the ecological balancing out i.e. cats and foxes kill most of the small furry animals, when this happens the cat and fox population drops to a much lower level, because there are no small furry things to eat anymore.