Carramar – cats along golf-course edges and bushland corridors

How layout shapes cat movement

Carramar is a leafy suburb in the City of Wanneroo with housing wrapped around Carramar Golf Course and green corridors that connect to bushland and reserves further north.[S3][S5]

Streets such as Golf Links Drive and Joondalup Drive frame the course and local parks. Many properties back directly onto fairways, park strips or drainage reserves with only a fence line separating yards from open space.

When fence bases open or gates lift on these edges, cats can step straight from private gardens onto mown fairways, tree belts and path networks that carry them deeper into green space.

Wildlife most exposed

• Golf-course roughs, tree belts and water features provide habitat for small birds, frogs and insects that use the interface between turf, shrubs and water.[S5]
• Urban bushland north and east of Carramar supports ground mammals; quenda are recorded in urban bushland reserves across Perth and can move into connected patches when habitat and cover allow.[S1][S17]
• Regional data for Carnaby’s black cockatoo show use of northern suburbs for feeding and movement between coastal and inland vegetation.[S2][S10]

Common cat lifestyles

• Fence-base slip cats – move through gaps under fences backing onto the golf course or park reserves.
• Gate-lift cats – use lifted side gates on lots that face Joondalup Drive or Golf Links Drive, stepping quickly to path networks.
• Dusk-pressure cats – leave yards that back onto fairways at last light when golfers have left but birds and frogs are active around water hazards.
• Pine-belt / creek-line scent followers – follow vegetated drains and green corridors that run between the course, parks and bushland patches.

High-risk zones (specific)

• Back fences on the Carramar Golf Course boundary, where one gap leads directly from yard to fairway, rough or water feature.
• Properties adjacent to drainage reserves and park links between the golf course and surrounding bushland.
• Streets where narrow landscape strips form a continuous line between Joondalup Drive and the course, allowing easy crossing for both cats and wildlife.

Cat rules that apply

Carramar is covered by the Cat Act 2011 (WA), including microchipping, registration and sterilisation requirements.[S3][S12]

The City of Wanneroo Cats Local Law 2023 applies to Carramar and provides limits on cat numbers, nuisance provisions and the ability to identify sensitive areas where cats are not permitted.[S4][S7]

Why containment fits Carramar

In Carramar, a broken fence panel on the golf-course side can place a cat straight onto a fairway or water-edge corridor that wildlife and people share at dawn and dusk.

Better options for cats

• Keep cats indoors during early morning and dusk when wildlife uses course edges most.
• Inspect fence bases after heavy rain or soil movement near course boundaries.
• Use cat netting on fences shared with the golf course, drainage reserves and bushland links.

Helpful links

• City of Wanneroo – Owning a cat: https://www.wanneroo.wa.gov.au/info/20006/animals_and_pets/70/owning_a_cat
• DBCA – Living with quenda: https://www.dbca.wa.gov.au/media/2147/download
• BirdLife Australia – Carnaby’s Black-Cockatoo and Perth–Peel roost information: https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profiles/carnabys-black-cockatoo/
• Back to Wanneroo: https://www.kitty-safe.com.au/cat-safety-network-2/city-of-wanneroo-coastal-corridor-wetlands-bushland-roaming-cats/

Sources

• [S1] DBCA – Quenda distribution and use of urban bushland.[S1][S17][S21]
• [S2] BirdLife / WWF – Carnaby’s black cockatoo use of Swan Coastal Plain woodlands.[S2][S10][S18]
• [S3] WA Government – Cat Act 2011.[S3][S8][S12]
• [S4] City of Wanneroo – Cats Local Law 2023.[S4][S11][S15][S23]
• [S5] City of Wanneroo – Urban Forest Strategy, including Carramar and nearby suburbs.[S5][S3]