If you live in If you live in Bouvard, Clifton, Coodanup, Dawesville, Dudley Park, Erskine, Falcon, Greenfields, Halls Head, Herron, Lakelands, Madora Bay, Mandurah, Meadow Springs, Parklands, San Remo, Silver Sands or Wannanup, your cat is affected by this.
Mandurah council is working on some pretty strong Mandurah cat bylaws. They involve traps, baits and fines, according to news articles. It’s a part of a trend, where local councils are beefing up their legislation to reduce the access that cats have to native wildlife.
You will be in violation of the bylaw if cats that are outside your property, but it’s worse of the cat is discovered in a protected space like a nature reserve, fines can reach five thousand dollars. Ouch!
This is not all bad news for Mandurah Cats.
Many of us like to let our cats roam and hunt, and the vet bills are a small price to pay. We love our cats, we want them to have a good life. We might ask – how much damage can they do? After all, we feed them, they don’t need to hunt down dinner.
It’s a fair question and it’s easy to get annoyed at yet another council bylaw. Luckily, (or regretfully, depending on how you feel) there are some solid statistics behind the steps. The domestic cats in Kwinana that roam, not the strays, kill almost one million (914, 355) native animals per year, just in Mandurah. And all this damage bu Mandurah cats, is why the shire has taken action.
Let’s not forget that cats that are not allowed to roam live three times longer (That’s 50 cat years!) and don’t get into scraps with strays. That saves vet bills. They also don’t need as many vaccinations because they’re not coming into contact with other cats as much.
Can Mandurah cats have both?
But how to keep both the Mandurah council and the Clifton cat or happy? How do we give our cats the nature experience they need, and also keep them contained?
Many people think about taking their cats for a walk on a leash. This will get them up and about, and will let them have new experiences. It’s not exactly roaming free, however. Cats need stimulation, and walking on a leash will provide only a part of that.
Toys can be important, allowing our cats to exercise those hunting instincts. A combination of toys, exposure to the outside and attention from you will help to stimulate the cat. But really our cats, like us, need to option to go outside and take a breath. They need freedom. The real question, is how to give that to them without cutting a slice out of the local wildlife. The good news, is that we can.
Soft netting
To give their cat a more natural experience and allow an outdoor experience, some people opt to build steel mesh cages in or around their property, but these things look ugly, and who wants to live in a cage? The right way to do this, does not involve building an old school zoo cage in your back yard.
Soft, strong Vinyl netting stretched between the fence and the house will keep your cat contained, but will also let her experience the outside world, chase butterflies and lie in the sun. It’ll also look awesome and improve the rentability of any property. After all, 27% of households have a cat, and if they want to live in Mandurah they’ll have to keep it contained.
There’s a way to Kittysafe any space, be it the dead side of the house, a patio, verandah or courtyard. All it takes is some imagination and some handy skills. We don’t sell netting supplies, but these are readily available if you wish to attempt your own installation, otherwise you know that can always call Kittysafe in, to do a long lasting professional install for you. We can Kitttysafe spaces large and small, and your Mandurah cat will suddenly get on with the Mandurah council
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