Responsibilities of a cat owner

Your responsibilities

As a pet owner you have a legal responsibility to microchip your cat, provide adequate housing and ensure that your cat is not a nuisance to the community.

A person may keep two cats per household.

Approvals

Approval is required for the keeping of three cats over the age of 12 weeks on any premises.

Conditions apply, including desexing.

Microchipping your cat

All cats must be microchipped before:

• reaching 12 weeks of age
• being sold
• being given away.

Microchipping will make it easier for your cat to be reunited with you if it becomes lost.

If your cat ends up at the Council Pound and isn’t microchipped, Council has no way of letting you know it has been impounded.

Microchipping can only be done by an authorised microchip provider such as a vet.

Once microchipped, ensure your contact and address details are current with both Council and the company in which your microchip was provided.

Fines apply if your cat is not microchipped or if the details are not current.

Desexing your cat

Desexing your cat effectively prevents unwanted pregnancies.

Desexed cats are:

• better protected from certain diseases and illnesses
• less inclined to roam therefore less likely to be injured by a car
• less inclined to fight other cats
• less inclined to mark their territory.

You can desex your cat from the age of eight weeks when surgery is simple and recovery is rapid.

Home for your cat

Ensure you provide a clean, comfortable and safe environment including a good bed, a comfortable chair, box or basket.

You must contain your cat to your property at all times.