Problem Solving: Too many cats
Each year thousands of kittens and cats are surrendered to Ten Lives.
Many are the result of owners not desexing their kitten prior to them reaching sexual maturity, which occurs from 4 months of age; or continuing to not desex their cat and/or their offspring, allowing them to continue to have litters of kittens which allows the number of cats/kittens to rapidly increase.
People may feed neighbourhood strays, without either attempting to find the cats owner, or in the event it is unowned not taking on full responsibility of the cat and having it desexed, microchipped and so on.
People may acquire cats through adoption/breeders/give away etc.
Visit: dpipwe.tas.gov.au/invasive-species/cat-management-in-tasmania/information-for-cat-owners for information on The Law and Desexing cats in Tasmania and Reasons to Desex your Cat.
The law and how many cats can be owned
- The Tasmanian Cat Management Act 2009 currently has no restrictions on the number of cats that can be kept at a property in Tasmania.
- Proposed changes to this Act, the Cat Management Amendment Bill 2019, legislates that the number of cats allowed at an individual property without a permit will be limited to four cats over the age of four months, with exemptions to registered breeder, boarding facilities, and foster carers working with cat management facilities.
- A person who wants to keep more than four cats at their property will be able to apply to the state government or their local council for a permit to keep more than four cats.
- Penalties may apply to cat owners who fail to comply with this section of the Act.
What can you do?
- Abide by the Tasmanian Cat Management Act legislation.
Click Here for information regarding desexing, selling or giving away cats or kittens. - Do not feed stray cats. If you are unable to find the owner, surrender the cat/s to a shelter.
- Click Here for information on Found Cats Fact Sheets.
- Carefully consider the implications of taking on the ownership of additional cats.
The Issues with Too Many Cats
- Cost associated with providing for the needs of multiple cats.
- There may be disputes among cats living in multi-cat households; Click Here for information on Multi-Cat Household Disputes Fact Sheet.
- Complaints about neighbourhood disturbances/hygiene/diseases/wildlife destruction from too many cats in one household.