Trapping cats

Important information regarding trapping feral or un-handlable stray cats

There are thousands of feral and stray cats roaming around the state of Tasmania but this situation appears worse when a colony of cats forms and disrupts your personal life at home, on a farm, or at a workplace.

One of the hardest things we have to do is convince people to not feed them – and we understand how hard this is for our cat-loving friends.

However, once you start feeding a colony of cats they will tend to stay put and make this area their home – now it becomes a problem, and while not wanting to upset anyone, it actually becomes “your problem”.

We receive many calls at Just Cats about a stray or feral cat that has suddenly appeared at a property, and it becomes understandably stressful when that one cat soon becomes an entire colony of cats. We are often blamed for it and told that it’s our responsibility to get rid of the problem. However while we are concerned for the welfare of all cats, this is neither our mandate nor our responsibility.

Just Cats offers a service to the public as a place where feral and stray cats are able to be handed in – but this isn’t a free service nor is this a place that ‘problem’ cats can be offloaded with no responsibility.

From time to time we need to remind the public that feral cats are actually regarded as a ‘pest’. While this is a sad situation for any cat to find itself in, just like any other creatures that people regard as “pests” such as mice, rats, possums, snakes and spiders – no one placed them on your property and if you need them removed then there are ways to do this BUT most have fees associated if assistance is required to resolve the issue. This is because there are costs involved in the process, and the same holds true for cats.

There is legislation in place surrounding the use of traps for cats, created by the Tasmanian Government to promote responsible cat ownership. The Cat Management Act 2009 and the Cat Management Regulations 2012 provide support for the community in managing the health, welfare, and impact of cats.

Please use this link to read about the current Legislation- https://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/invasive-species/cat-management-in-tasmania

What can Just Cats do to help?

As a Cat Management Facility, we have the correct equipment to deal with un-handleable cats. This equipment is safe to use for both staff and the cats, keeping in mind that our main focus is to make this process as stress-free for the cats as possible.

It’s really important that you register with Just Cats if you need to set a trap to catch a feral or stray cat. This is so that we can assist you with the legislation, guide you on how and when to trap, hire out a trap to you if needed, and then prepare our facility and our staff for the cat’s arrival.

Once you have registered with Just Cats we are better placed to offer assistance and our services to you. However, if you arrive at our facility with a trapped cat without having followed this process we may not be able to assist – we have many competing priorities and limited resources so we may not have staff or space available in this instance.

Please keep in mind that Just Cats is not funded by the Government to cover the cost of handling Feral Cats. Under the current legislation, we are legally not able to set traps on your behalf unless it becomes an animal welfare concern for the cat due to illness or injury.

To register that you are trapping a cat please call us on 6388 9202 Monday – Friday 9:00am – 4:00pm.