The Committee was considering a petition presented by Erica Rowlands in 2021, and heard submissions from the Ministry for Primary Industries and several other organisations, many of which were part of, or supportive of, the New Zealand Cat Management Strategy Group. The group promotes responsible cat ownership, balancing the views of cat owners and environmentalists. It collaborated with other organisations to produce a report in 2020 which contains recommendations for humanely managing cats to protect both cat welfare and the New Zealand environment.

In its report, the Committee stated:

Hon Eugenie Sage MP, Chairperson of the Environment Committee

We commend the petitioner and the other interested organisations that made submissions for their work and advocacy to improve the management of cats in New Zealand. We appreciate the companionship that pet cats provide to people. But we accept the evidence presented by submitters that the current, largely unregulated approach to cats does not serve the welfare of the large numbers of stray and feral cats. Moreover the stray and feral cat population decimates native wildlife.

 

We agree with submitters it is time to legislate a nationwide cat management framework based on the notion cats should be registered, desexed, and microchipped with appropriate exemptions. Such a framework already exists for dogs and we believe it is time to apply the same approach for cats. We consider that a nationally consistent approach to cat control would provide a more effective outcome than bylaws. Public education and gaining community support for change will need to go hand in hand with legislative and regulatory action but we note the significant and positive change in public attitudes to dog ownership since the enactment of the Dog Control Act in 1996.

In her petition, Ms Rowland noted the problems created by irresponsible cat owners:

It is widely known that cats cause a problem for native species, and that rescue groups face relentless battle against the effects of irresponsible owners. We have committed as a nation to invest in the goal of being predator free by 2050, but with no improvement in sight for the management of pet cats, or the elimination of feral populations. Requiring cats to be registered and desexed will reduce their populations, enforce responsible cat ownership, and protect our wildlife.

The Government was expected to respond to the Committee’s recommendation by 25 October, which is just 11 days after Election Day – so who knows what will happen.

The Committee noted in its report that the ACT Party does not believe that a national cat management framework is required.

» Read the Committee report

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Pekapeka-tou-roa, or the native long-tailed bat, is a threatened species and they seem to be a tasty treat for all Aotearoa’s introduced pests.

And a recent DOC (Department of Conservation) study identified cats as some of the worst offenders.

There is currently no national legislation for managing cats in Aotearoa, but many conservation and animal welfare groups are keen to see a move towards this.

SPCA science advisor Dr Christine Sumner says keeping your cat home is the solution to keeping native species safe.

“There’s a lot of people who de-sex their cats. More and more people are microchipping their cats – but what we would like to see more of is more people keeping their cats at home.”

Christine concedes that it’s not yet “normal” for New Zealanders to contain their cats but says it’s still a worthwhile goal.

“It’s in your pet’s best interest for them to stay at home. Cats stray and become lost. You have the risks of them becoming injured…and cats fight with each other. And anybody who’s had a cat roaming maybe has experienced the cat coming home with an abcess, and that’s not fun either. So these are different risks that cats face when they roam.”

Keeping your cat contained is possible, says Christine:

“Some people have fences with mechanisms on top – little devices like the cat could jump up and there’s a roller bar and they can’t get a grip, and it rolls them back. Or, they put up netting – you see this online.”

Christine adds that the SPCA wants owners to feel they are doing right by their cat.

“The cat having a choice is really important to cat owners – it’s core to the cat’s welfare.”

Listen to the entire programme and learn more about bats (32’22”)

The post Radio programme: Bats versus cats appeared first on CATFENCE.

One of the best ways to keep them healthy – and save you money – is to keep them contained on your property, as explained in an article published today on nzherald.co.nz.

Here is a brief extract from that article, with our emphasis added:

One major advantage of pet insurance is help with medical treatment bills. Claims processed by PD Insurance shed a unique perspective on cat health, and [Michelle] Le Long [chief operating officer of pet insurance specialist PD Insurance] says three of the top five most commonly claimed conditions are diarrhoea, gastroenteritis and conjunctivitis.

“Bladder and upper urinary tract infections are routinely claimed, too. But the biggest by far – and I really do mean by far – is for injuries sustained in cat fights,” she stresses.

“This sends a clear message to every cat parent. The best way to keep your cat safe, uninjured and healthy is to keep them contained on your property, rather than letting them wander beyond the boundaries. There are various non-intrusive ways to do so, from secure catios and cat enclosures to cat-proof fencing,” advises Le Long.

PD Insurance customers are alerted to the risk of cat fights, with policy wording recommending keeping cats contained and claims for injuries from fighting limited to two for the life of the pet.

You can read the full article here.

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Kat is a veterinarian and lecturer in animal welfare in the School of Veterinary Science at Massey University.

Her research focuses on interactions between humans and animals to develop a nuanced understanding of why and how people make the decisions they do about how animals are managed.

Today, she spoke with Kathryn about a number of cat-related issues, including the value of keeping cats contained on the owner’s property.

Below is an edited version of the interview. You can hear the full interview at rnz.co.nz.

The post Cat containment discussion with Dr Kat Littlewood appeared first on CATFENCE.

The programme is The Panel, hosted by Wallace Chapman, with guest co-hosts Lana Searle and Ed Amon.

The interview was very brief, but lots of fun.
 

 

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Rob interviewed Neil, our managing director, about the Oscillot cat fence system, and it was clear that Rob had done his research. He was aware of the different approaches to cat containment as well as some of the advantages and disadvantages of each.

We talked about purpose-built catios, which may be great for people with lots of space, but which are less practical with the very small yards that we are seeing in many new housing developments. In these situations, every square metre of garden is precious, so being able to use the space for multiple purposes as well as cat containment is an appealing solution.

This has been our busiest year since starting catfence.nz six years ago, and we are sensing a general increase among cat owners of the advantages to keeping their beloved pet contained.

The post Cat containment featured on Stuff news site appeared first on CATFENCE.

Cat containment is a contentious topic in the media and Sarah says it is important to remember it’s not about demonising cats for the impact they can have on our environment – it’s also about keeping cats healthy and safe.

“Cats allowed to free-roam can lead to predation of wildlife, including native wildlife, disruption of wildlife behaviour, spreading disease like toxoplasmosis, which is a threat to our endangered marine mammals and can be transferred to humans as well, but cats are also at an increased risk of injury or harm to themselves,” says Sarah.

The study aimed to examine which factors best predict engagement in cat containment, and whether there are unique audiences of cat owners in New Zealand that differ significantly in the set of factors that predict their behaviour.

Sarah surveyed 395 New Zealand cat owners using a Lucid Marketplace online sample. Responses came from a broad audience.

“Our findings were that respondents rarely intended to perform or engage in cat containment, which is what we expected based on previous research. From all the factors assessed, people’s engagement in cat containment and intentions to engage in the future were influenced by a broad range of factors, not just one,” she says.

Factors included if someone had the physical and psychological capability to engage, the social and physical opportunity to participate and the motivation to engage. This includes if someone had positive interpersonal influences (a vet that supported cat containment for example), whether they had the time or resources available to modify their home or environment, were concerned about the negative consequences related to free-roaming cats and believed that cat containment is beneficial for cats.

The findings enabled Sarah to segment cat owners into four distinct audiences. The groups were labelled engaged: 6%, receptive: 17%, ambivalent: 48% and opposed: 30%.

“Each audience differed significantly in the set of factors predicting their behaviour and also performed cat containment to significantly different extents. The engaged segment participated in cat containment the most and believed it is beneficial to cats. In comparison the opposed segment participated the least and were the least concerned about the negative impacts of free-roaming.”

Cat containment could include keeping cats inside (or keeping cats inside at night), cat enclosures, escape-proof fenced yards, and supervising cats outside.

Sarah says it is important to look at cat management in New Zealand.

“Broadly speaking, in future I’d like to see a rethink on what it looks like to be a responsible cat owner. An important part of this is bringing people on the journey and changing attitudes. I don’t think it is just about putting rules and regulations in place at a council level, you have to change people’s beliefs and attitudes, educate them about the issue, and give them the tools and resources to make it easy to engage.”

“Key contributions from the research are that now we understand the main causes of people’s decisions to participate or not, interventions can be designed that actually address these things for different audiences of cat owners.”

Sarah has decided to keep her cats at home, building them a ‘catio’ which gives them access to the house and outside.

Sarah completed a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing and Psychology at Victoria University of Wellington and a Master of Science in Marketing at the University of Bath. She is now completing her Master of Science in Psychology at the University of Canterbury, supervised by Psychology Professor Don Hine, and intends to enroll to complete a doctorate.

She says her background in marketing has provided valuable skills in social marketing, audience segmentation and behaviour change.

“Some ideas to increase engagement in cat containment based on these findings is to educate people about the prevalence of roaming-related cat injury, use influencers on social media as role models to build positive associations with keeping cats at home and environmental restructuring – making tools easily available for cat containment.”

– University of Canterbury

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Sometimes that’s because the location is a bit tricky – but, no matter what the problem is, we’re happy to share our cat-proofing expertise so you get exactly what you need. And our years of experience are yours for FREE!

Please check out our new HELP! page and find out how easy it is to draw a simple plan, take some photos, and send them to us so we can get to work for you.

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We are very grateful to Bec at Oscillot in Australia who conceived of this one and offered us a chance to share our contact details on it.

We think it’s pretty cool, and hope you do too!

The post Amazing escape attempts in our latest Oscillot® video appeared first on CATFENCE.

Here she is in a recent video, talking about how to keep your stay-at-home cat safe and happy. And we have to agree with every word!

Thanks to Purina for doing this interview with Arnja.

For more on how to care for non-roaming cats, please visit our More Resources page – which we’ve just updated.

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