Category: Cat law

The reasons we are so intolerant towards cats.

Cats inhabit every continent except Antarctica and the world is full of cat lovers who find nothing more relaxing than the company of one purring on their lap. For this reason they rank second in popularity in most countries to the dog. But their popularity doesn’t extend to everyone and governments, conservationists, hobbyists and scientists are among the many who dislike them for a variety of reasons.

It seems cats cannot do anything right.

For every person who loves cats there is probably another who hates or has a phobia about them. If a cat digs a hole in someones flowerbed or even worse the vegetable patch, many gardeners will run for their air rifle or garden hose, or resort to even crueller deterrent methods. Dogs though seem to be able to poo wherever they wish and we mostly turn a blind eye to the mess they leave behind or to the abandoned plastic poo bags littering the ground. This is because a large proportion of society do not like cats invading their space even though they have the decency to cover up their toiletry antics unlike dogs.

cat with bird in mouth
Cats are vilified for being predators.

We find them to be the cause of our allergies, are frightened they will asphyxiate our sleeping babies, spread disease and infest us with fleas. We view them as vicious and bad tempered and declaw them, classify them as pests just like rats and are afraid of their aloof attitude or believe they are demonic with their ‘evil’ stare. Hoarders keep hundreds of them confined in their houses little understanding the suffering they are causing.

In retaliation for their perceived crimes or just for fun many torment them, poison them, shoot them with airguns from their bedroom windows. Or kill and mutilate them as in the case of the notorious “cat ripper of Croydon” who allegedly stalked the London Borough luring an estimated 400 cats to their deaths with chicken, before strangling, decapitating and mutilating their bodies. Prosecutions for cat cruelty are common and the offences often vicious.

We hate cats for following their predatory instincts

cat, bird, cat chasing bird
Cats are vilified for decimating bird populations

And we are only talking about pet cats here. When it comes to stray and feral cats it is all out war against them the world over. So what is going on. It would seem that cats are being vilified for just being cats. Their main crime is that they pursue their natural instincts and behaviours as predators and through feckless ownership they have become pests in many people’s eyes.

So who are these people who have an aversion to cats? Well, as already mentioned, there are the gardeners who cannot stand these free roaming creatures that trespass and soil and damage their land. Then we have bird, small mammal, reptile and amphibian enthusiasts who are appalled that they sadistically chase, play, kill and eat hundreds of millions annually.

So called feral cats bear the brunt of all the antagonism. Most feral cats prefer to live alongside us, but remain disassociated from us, preferring to scavenge and hunt in order to survive. But being ‘animal lovers’ we insist on trying to help them, by feeding, catching and neutering them, causing them to live in closer proximity to us. This can then cause conflict when local residents begin to view them as vermin because they cause smells, mess and damage similar to rats.

Governments and conservationists in Australia and New Zealand and many island nations are paranoid about their feral cats because of their impact on small native species of birds, reptiles and small mammals particularly marsupials. Australia has a five year plan ending in 2020 to kill 2 million of them by various methods such as shooting, trapping and poisoning.

They may not be able to breed but they can still eat

Conservationists, many individuals and local and state governments believe extermination is the answer and decry any other initiatives like trapping, neutering and releasing. They believe it is not cost effective and doesn’t decrease numbers because it is impossible to neuter them all and stop owners from abandoning more. And it just maintains large cat colonies which in some circumstances can cause havoc in nearby sensitive wildlife areas. They may not be able to breed, but they can still eat is the stance that the exterminator lobby take.

Cat trapping, feral cats, feral cat colonies
Trap, Neuter & release (TNR). Many observers say they may not be able to breed but they can still kill.

The town of Omaui in New Zealand has plans to be the first authority to ban cats by stopping owners from replacing their pet after it dies to gradually phase them out. Some countries want to ban them going outside at all, others have curfews and bans on letting cats out if they live near vulnerable wildlife. There is a worldwide movement to basically curtail cat owning and stop cats from enjoying a natural life.

Unfortunately, there are far too many people who cannot accept or tolerate the fact that they are predators and no matter how much you try, you can never take the killer instinct out of a predator. In fact it is unfair to do so, or for that matter chide them for doing so. It is through our feckless ownership that we have created the problem of so many stray and feral cats and have put them into this position. Therefore it is only fair that we should endeavour to have more tolerance, otherwise even more stringent regulations will make it impossible for them to enjoy natural lives.

The right to roam, cats cannot trespass
We need a UK Cat Act
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We need a UK Cat Act

U.K cats need more legal protection.

Time and again whenever laws are introduced to control or protect animals in the U.K. cats always miss out with preference always given to the control and welfare of dogs. Even the basic requirement for cats to be microchipped is not legislated for and recently the Governments reluctance to give any status or protection to them was borne out by their response to the Gizmo legacy petition.

Following the death of her microchipped cat Gizmo in a road accident, whose body was subsequently disposed of by a veterinary surgeon without scanning, the owner began a petition to make it a legal requirement for dead cats to be scanned. The government’s response was that scanning legislation is unnecessary “as local authorities, veterinary practices and rehoming centres  are encouraged to do it anyway and they have scanners because the law requires dogs to be microchipped and scanned”.

They also reiterated that “whilst microchipping cats is good for their welfare, and it is important to publicise those benefits, lost and stray cats do not pose the same public safety risk as dogs, and therefore making cat microchipping compulsory is not considered necessary at this time“.

We do not take a cats’ welfare seriously.

The only protection UK cats have is under antiquated property laws. There is no mandatory need to neuter or vaccinate them, no restriction on how many you can have in your possession, no licensing or registration and no controls over breeding and this is where the problem lies. This lack of control has led to an ongoing “cat crisis” in the UK which has lasted for decades involving thousands of lost, abandoned and unwanted cats. Charities spend huge amounts each year trying to repatriate them and combat indiscriminate breeding and feckless ownership.

The lack of any status gives cats the unique status of the “right to roam“. They do not have to be securely confined and can roam without any fear of legal repercussions for their actions as they cannot trespass. The drawback of this is that many people view cats as pests and in some cases they will take the law into their own hands and commit retaliatory acts of cruelty on them or even shoot, poison or otherwise kill them.

Complaints to local authorities of cats using their gardens as a toilet, digging up flower beds or causing distress by catching birds are usually ignored by local authorities as they have no powers to intervene or take action unless the problem is extreme. Some have gone as far as suggesting local authorities should act under the Human Rights Act, 1998 to solve problems of nuisance cats as under Article 8 a person has the right to enjoy their property and home without interference, but this also ensures a cat owner’s right to enjoy their property i.e. their cat. A cat owner has a duty of care to take reasonable steps to stop their cat from causing damage or nuisance and in extreme cases an owner is issued a anti-social behaviour order (ASBO).

Cats, cat haters, cat nuisance,
Neighbours often do not like cats invading their gardens.

There are similar problems the world over particularly in the USA, Australia and New Zealand, but in some parts of Australia they have taken action and passed a “Cat Act”  some of which is draconian but we could learn from it.

We could take a lead from Australia.

The State Government of Western Australia introduced a Cat Act November 2013 for the control and management of cats and to promote and encourage responsible cat ownership. It was designed to cut the number of unwanted cats being bred, allow stray or lost cats found in a public place or on private property to be seized and help reunite lost cats with owners.

Cats must be already neutered and microchipped when registered before 6 months of age with the local authority. Vets must inform the micro-chipping company when they neuter a cat and give the owner a certificate. If you wish to sell or transfer ownership of a cat an owner is legally liable for updating the microchip details and can be fined for not doing so.

There is similar regulation in the State of Victoria but not as strict. It also requires legal micro-chipping at the earlier age of 3 months and the wearing of a registration tag provided by the local authority. If  the cat wanders off your property it can be seized as there is no “right to roam” and a fine must be paid when claimed. Local authorities within Victoria have the power to stipulate cats being confined during certain hours, prohibit ownership in certain areas, restrict the number per household and require neutering.

I am not suggesting for one minute to take away their “freedom to roam”, but an all-encompassing law to help solve cat ownership and welfare issues would benefit the health and welfare of UK cats in the long run.

The right to roam, cats cannot trespass
The reasons we are so intolerant towards cats.