Australia asks 'Who's for cats?'

Carole Webb

• Introduction
  
• Cats in Australia
• Formation of AWAC Working Group 6 (WG 6)
• Background Research
• Characteristics of the Cat Problem
• Impact of the Cat Problem
• Outcomes from WG6
  
  
• (Continued) The Campaign
  
  • Creative Concept
  • Implementation
  • Evaluation
  • Future Direction
  • Conclusion
  
  
• References

• Appendix One
  Definitions – the Cat Continuum
  
  
• Appendix Two
  Reproductive Capacity of the Cat
  
  
• Appendix Three
  Results of the Cat Tracking Project
  
  

Introduction

Cats present a unique challenge in the Australian community. In an increasingly busy, urbanized world, cats make ideal companions particularly for the elderly and disadvantaged, costing less to feed and not requiring owner supervised exercise as do dogs. Scientific studies have proven cat ownership reduces stress and lowers incidence of heart attack. The popularity of cats is evidenced by Australia’s high cat owning population (estimated 26% of households own 1.47 cats)^7,12 confirming their place here.

However, cats are not native to Australia and as highly effective, adaptable predators able to reproduce rapidly in our ideal climate, irresponsible or semi ownership transforms them into a major community problem - causing nuisance, threatening owned cats and wildlife, and suffering themselves from disease and malnutrition with thousands of unwanted cats euthanased in shelters annually.

This paper examines Victoria’s approach to this complex issue and highlights the newly launched “Who’s for Cat’s”(WFC) campaign which illustrates the translation of research into practical, effective education at the coalface and shows that with broad stakeholder cooperation, much can be achieved on a small budget. The campaign has been developed and supported by the Victorian State Government and 10 major animal welfare and industry groups. This widespread support indicates the magnitude of the cat problem – it is such that groups that are often adversarial have put aside their differences and concentrated on the views they have in common – the overriding concern - the welfare of the 500,000 unowned cats currently leading a life of neglect throughout Victoria and a need to address this.

Cats in Australia

It is widely acknowledged in Australia that there is a cat problem and it is a complex issue. Varying opinions exist about its magnitude and best methods of addressing it; statistical surveys have tended to concentrate on particular facets of the issue rather than the whole; cat management programs focus on a particular activity, usually the endpoint (e.g. banning cats from environmentally sensitive areas, feral cat eradication ) rather than a holistic approach, and overall a comprehensive, coordinated and effective cat management plan has yet to be implemented and its effectiveness scientifically measured. It is not a cat problem per se - it is the way people mismanage their cats that causes problems and in concert with Australia’s unique fauna which hasn’t evolved with cats as natural predators provides a significant challenge.⁴ Overall, there is broad agreement that responsible cat ownership(RCO) is the key to effective cat management.

Formation of AWAC Working Group 6(WG 6)

The nature of the cat problem is different to that of dogs, though historically they have been identically handled. This arose partly from a political compromise – in developing the Domestic Animals Act(DAA) to incorporate cats into legislation (thereby improving their welfare by giving them a legal status and a statewide pound system), animal welfare groups conceded to cats being treated as dogs. In 1996, Victoria introduced the DAA. On the surface it provided a sound basis for dealing with the cat problem requiring registration (revenue provision), identification (clearly linking cat and owner), a comprehensive education program run by the State Government and the ability for Local Government to address cat complaints. There was insufficient understanding and acknowledgment of the cat issue at this time to address it independently. The DAA by recognising cats as companion animals has increased community awareness re RCO, has increased identified cat numbers and reclaim rates and produced, although not fully utilized revenue and the framework for cat management programs. Significantly though, unwanted cat numbers in the community haven’t decreased. The animal welfare organisations (NPO), who lobbied strongly for compulsory desexing in 1996, had signalled to the Government that if shelter intake didn’t decrease following a reasonable implementation period, they would renew their campaign. In 2004 the Cat Crisis Coalition reactivated this initiative.
Since 1994, community expectations had changed considerably, increasingly demanding that cat issues and high euthanasia rates are addressed. Environmental concerns about impact of cats on wildlife continued to surface. In addition, whilst the problem remained unaddressed, cats acquired a poor image as killers and nuisances. Due to the surplus, cats are readily available and regarded as disposable - this undervaluing continued to exacerbate the lack of responsibility in some cat owners.

In 2005, AWAC identified the cat problem as a welfare issue needing urgent attention and formed WG6 comprising a broad cross section of stakeholders to examine the issue and develop solutions.

Background Research

The Bureau of Animal Welfare(BAW) had commissioned several research projects to characterize, quantify and understand the factors contributing to the cat problem to enable evidence based solutions.^6,8,13,19 McMurray ⁸ identified cat problems were different to dogs, a key difficulty being the overpopulation of feral and semi-owned cats. Whilst generally accepted that most dogs have “owners”, many cats do not, so reclaim rates are low. In addition the cat’s remarkable reproductive capacity accounted for large numbers of unwanted healthy kittens admitted to shelters, many euthanased as surplus to demand⁶

The shelters had also collected data and conducted extensive literature searches in Australia and overseas, compiling these into The Cat Project²² attempting to define the magnitude and nature of the problem and set a baseline to assess future changes. It concluded that the cat problem is different to dogs and to address it effectively required examination of the biological and behavioural characteristics of the feline species and the development of specific solutions that properly reflect these. ²² WG6 also conducted an extensive literature review and analysed this data.

Characteristics of the Cat Problem

1. Cats are ideally suited to Australia’s climate removing the climatic population controls found in the colder Northern Hemisphere. Effective, adaptable predators requiring little fresh water cats survive independently throughout Australia.
   
   
2. Cats are prolific breeders (A2)
   
   
3. Most “stray” cats are semi or unowned not lost, therefore reclaim rates are negligible as no responsible owner is looking for them. Australian and international figures consistently demonstrate that introducing cat legislation increases reclaim rates from virtually zero, to approx 3.2% compared with 41% for dogs^(6,8,22). However, they plateau here, reflecting true ownership rates and the differences between cats and dogs - for cats the problem is overpopulation, large shelter intakes reflecting thousands of unwanted kittens which have no "owner".
   
   
4. Cat Colonies are maintained by human feeders^{(19, 21)}
   Unlike dogs, there are many semi and unowned cats particularly in urban areas which are responsible for many of the nuisance cat complaints received by Councils, mostly relating to undesexed cat behaviour.,²² These cats are maintained by human feeders who feed them to prevent starvation but in so doing enable the cat to breed and perpetuate the problem. Control of the food source is a valuable management tool ²¹
   
   The cycle is simple – a stray cat appears and is offered food – a normal nurturing instinct. The reliable food source improves the cat’s condition and enables breeding, increasing numbers. The problem quickly spirals out of control (a colony of 40 cats can be established in 12 months) overwhelming the feeder’s capacity and the cats are taken to the shelter or abandoned and the cycle begins again. The Cat Tracking Project(CTP)⁶ identified two peak entry times for strays – a few days after being found (correct action), and another 6 months later when the cat had given birth to kittens. Ifasked, the feeder will say “it is not my cat”, and takes no further responsibility so it isn’t desexed, microchipped, etc. They don’t go looking if it goes missing.
   
   The act of feeding arose from a motive of kindness but in fact fed a bigger problem and increased the unowned cat population. Research showed 22% of the population fed a cat they didn’t own; these semi-owners tend to be women, the most common category, retired women over 65, followed by women 46-55 who are professionally employed or on home duties; they engage in a single behaviour that indicates cat ownership – feeding (93%) but don’t claim ownership.⁽¹⁹⁾ They have genuine care, concern and feel sorry for these unowned cats. Although they believe cats are independent and able to fend for themselves they continue feeding. When asked what would happen if they stopped they assume someone else will. They won’t stop feeding because of sympathy for the cat and they don’t believe they are doing anything wrong. Further research indicated that asking them to stop wouldn’t be enough. There is a need for education about the consequences of their behaviour and its impact on the overall unowned population and a need to appeal to their love of cats to question if their actions are in the overall cats’ best interests. This group is difficult to reach and behavioural and attitudinal change is required
   
   
5. Cats aren’t contained by fences
   
   
6. Cats are acquired passively (person isn’t specifically looking for a pet but one appears and they accept ownership) cf dogs which are acquired actively (person specifically seeks out the pet).⁽¹³⁾ The majority (59%) are acquired under 3 months of age. There is a general belief that people who actively acquire their pet and pay for it are more responsible owners. McMurray⁸ found a greater proportion of dogs registered (64%) cf cats (41%), supporting this theory given that most dogs are actively acquired. As a result, cats are undervalued and poorly looked after as no real thought has gone into acquisition resulting in diminished acceptance of responsibility. Often it is just fed. By reducing the oversupply, cats would be actively acquired and better looked after.
   
   
7. Unowned cats require trapping to remove them from an area
   
   
8. Cats are an emotional issue polarizing a community if issues aren’t handled sensitively. To reach cat owners, management methods must be delivered in cat friendly terms
   
   
9. There is a continuum between owned and feral populations and cats move freely between these. Irresponsibly owned and surplus unwanted cats become/create increasing numbers of unowned cats which progressively become feral and disperse outwards from human settlement. These feral populations are self-sustaining, require specialized humane control and contribute significantly to the cat’s poor public image as a killer and pest. Responsible management of the domestic population can prevent their replenishment. Different measures will be required along the continuum and all populations must be addressed to be effective.
   
   
10. Overall there are two components to the "cat problem" - supply exceeds demand ie overpopulation and surplus and irresponsibly owned cats cause problems
    
    

Impact of the Cat Problem

1. Large numbers of unwanted cats euthanased in Victorian Shelters In 2005-6, Victorian shelters received 53,000 cats. Within the pound system, 74% of cats are euthanased, 15% rehoused and 11% reclaimed8 Within the shelter system, 3.6% are reclaimed, 30.4% rehoused and 66% euthanased^.6,22 Nationally 120,000 cats are admitted to shelters annually with similar fates.⁽¹⁷⁾ These figures have remained remarkably consistent through time, and across the nation suggesting that feline specific measures need to be investigated to address the issue. Although euthanasia is humane, ethically the wastage is unacceptable. There is increasing community concern over high euthanasia rates and expectations these be reduced.
   

   Comparison of total number of cats received by Victorian Shelters from 1990 to 2006

   
   
   
   The CTP tracked 25, 810 cats through 3 shelters over 13 months confirming a current oversupply of cats in Victoria, and characterizing the nature of the cat overpopulation problem
   
   
2. Poor welfare of semi/unowned cats
   
   
3. Stress associated with impoundment
   
   
4. Emotional stress in shelter workers
   
   Research exploring Perpetration Induced Traumatic Stress showed over 30% of shelter workers experienced moderate to significant traumatic stress as a result of euthanasia, particularly the large numbers euthanased as "surplus to demand"⁽¹⁶⁾
   
   
5. Financial burden on shelters/councils
   
   Negligible reclaim rates mean there is no ability to recover costs, pounds keep cats for the whole statutory holding period adding significant cost with larger percentages euthanased. Cost estimates illustrate it is cheaper to desex cats than address the problems they cause left undesexed. Currently shelters heavily subsidize cat management costs (estimated $6 million/year)⁽⁸⁾. If numbers reduced, these resources could be directed to more positive cat welfare activities
   
   

Source of Cats entering Shelters

The CTP provided a clear understanding ^(A!,A3)

Outcomes from WG6

WG6 met during 2005-7 providing regular reports to AWAC Many strategies developed for dogs also applied to cats and were addressed by legislative amendments. A monitoring brief on the effectiveness of these was recommended eg compulsory microchipping for new registrations.
Broad agreement existed that to address the cat problem holistic plans were required, that these are costly and labour intensive and needed to incorporate different strategies for each group of cats. Broadly:

1. Registration (revenue provision)
   
   
2. Microchipping (link between cat and owner)
   
   
3. Desexing (reduces production of unwanted kittens) – the main and significant disagreement was around legislative change to require compulsory desexing as opposed to using education, subsidised desexing and other incentives
   
   
4. RCO education particularly to change behaviour of the 22% feeding cats they don’t own, and to promote active acquisition
   
   
5. Trapping of unowned cats to allow cats to be surrendered or “owned”
   
   
6. Improved DAA education for AMO/community
   
   
7. Urban design, affordable cat enclosures for humane cat containment
   There was broad agreement that the nexus between owned and feral populations must be broken to allow these populations to be addressed effectively as they required different techniques. Setting aside the differences in opinion on compulsory desexing, WG6 reached agreement on three areas requiring further work:
   
   
   1. Poor image/under valuing of cats – contributed to many of the issues. Research found 22% of the population feed a cat they don’t own. Whilst this is from kindness the cat isn’t valued highly enough for the feeder to accept full ownership. Many of the unwanted kittens entering shelters came from this source. An attitudinal change was needed.
      
      
   2. Passive acquisition of cats resulted in a large group of cats that are "not in the system" preventing accessibility to their carers. In Victoria 59% of owned cats aren’t registered and a large percentage of these aren’t desexed. Many of the unwanted kittens entering shelters came from this source. Registered cats are generally identified and desexed, less likely to be admitted to shelters and if admitted reclaimed faster – ie had better welfare outcomes.
      
      
   3. The unowned wild cat problem
      
      

WG6 broadly agreed that promoting RCO and improving the cat’s image were key solutions and to reach the target audience – the 59% of owners with unregistered cats, and the 22% that feed cats they do not own - a multimedia community awareness campaign was required, as these people are not in the system. The benefits:

• cats are better valued hence better cared for
  
  
• increase in registered cats – registration is positively to RCO
  
  
• decreased numbers of unwanted cats entering shelters in the long term, thus decreasing impounding stress
  
  
• impounded, identified owned cats can be quickly reclaimed minimizing stress
  
  
• decreased emotional and financial burdens on shelters allowing better resource utilization
  
  
• fewer unowned cats - as these are generally in poor condition with a high disease incidence overall suffering will be reduced.
  
  

A proposal was recommended to and endorsed by AWAC that

1. BAW develop and produce advertisements promoting RCO and the importance of taking responsibility for semi-owned cats through ownership or surrender to the council
   
   
2. The NPO secure CSA time to screen them and disseminate them through their extensive networks (a valuable and synergistic partnership to enable limited resources to have the greatest impact – TV although most effective is the most expensive media) All major stakeholders agreed and a small budget was allocated - $200,000 to date.
   
   
   

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