Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group | Environmental conservation organisation

Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group

Phone: +61 409 572 240

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25.01.2022 Why the Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group believe better cat control needed in the region? Albany and surrounds are in a biodiversity hotspot with many endangered species such as the Ring-tailed Possum, the Noisy Scrub-bird and the Dibbler, to name a few. Cats have been implicated in the disappearance of WA’s rarest bird, the Western Ground Parrot (Kyloring), from our region. The Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group (ASFCWG) https://www.facebook.com/notofe...Continue reading

25.01.2022 Look at how artistic this enclosure looks.

25.01.2022 Bit of a long read sorry but it is an Interesting article below from Torbay Catchment Group showing, people everywhere are realising the benefits of keeping cats contained, for the benefit of both the cat and wildlife. Keeping your cat safe and secure at home Domestic cats, are a favourite pet of many people. I love all animals, including cats, but I also know just how much damage a free ranging cat can do. It is estimated in Australia that there are 15 cats per 100 people a...nd data suggests domestic cats kill somewhere between 5 and 30 vertebrates per year. While this may not seem like much, when you add it up across all cats in an area, that is a significant impact. For example if Little Grove had a population of 3000 people that equates to 450 cats and between 2,250 and 13,500 animals killed per year by just those cats. It is understandable that there is an increasing push for greater cat control, so I decided to take a look at how to keep your kitty safe and happy at home, starting off with catios or cat runs. I was first introduced to these about 15 or so years ago when my sister and her husband installed one at their home in Perth. It was a small homemade run which made use of space under the eaves and allowed their cats to go out through a window into a small garden area to sunbathe. Sometime later they decided to expand the catio venture and make use of a narrow unused space between their house and the fence. This area doesn’t get much sun but provides a perfect hideout on hot Perth days and it makes use of one of those difficult areas you find in urban yards. I asked my sister how she felt about their cat run experience. ‘We wouldn’t have a cat without a cat run. Firstly we would feel completely responsible if our cat was killed or injured while out and about, and that would be awful, pretty traumatic. And then there are the birds and lizards which we love sharing our yard with. Best of all our cats love them, it’s their special area’ Today there are companies that make catios and there is lots of information and ideas for cat runs. While researching I noticed there are also non-cage containment systems. One system attaches to the top of your fence and simply makes it impossible for your cat to get a foot hold on top of your fence. With more places around Australia introducing cat containment legislation aimed at protecting our native fauna, it’s a great time to start investigating what options might work for your cat Image -Left: Homemade cat run making use of under eave space Right: Commercially built run, courtesy of Catio Spaces (www.CatioSpaces.com)

25.01.2022 What are your thoughts on the possible changes?

23.01.2022 Send this to someone whose cat roams.

22.01.2022 Want to keep your pet cat safe, keep them inside. With the added bonus of protecting wildlife and the warm and fuzzy feeling that comes with that. https://kb.rspca.org.au//Keeping-your-cat-safe-and-happy-a

20.01.2022 Win win situation. Protection for wildlife and cats as well. Best solution to keeping cats ever.

20.01.2022 I have recently discovered the group Tassiecat. it has some terrific ideas and solutions to keeping cats safe and happy indoors or in enclosures. Have a look at some of the online literature and videos. https://www.tassiecat.com/downloads

20.01.2022 Would love to do something like this in Albany

19.01.2022 The cat may have got this snake but the snake got its revenge.

19.01.2022 Little steps to improving cat control are a start. Well done City of Albany on starting the ball rolling.

17.01.2022 Many people let cats out at night and think, hey maybe the cats will catch the mice in the chook pen. But maybe they will also catch the Brush Tailed Phascogale. Lock up your cats people. The ASFCWG is proudly Supported by funding from the Western Australian Government's State Natural Resource Management Program, supported by Royalties for Regions.

17.01.2022 I believe this could really happen if aliens came to earth.

17.01.2022 I have been a little quiet on the social media lately. I have been getting some exciting work done, including an educational brochure called My Cat can’t Roam it’s Safe at Home on keeping both cats and wildlife safe by keeping cats enclosed in a house and catio. I will have a copy of this on our website by next week. we are just doing the final touches. In the meantime before I release this have a look at the website I found that advocates better safety and happiness for in...door cats. https://www.safecat.org.au/ I have also released a survey to better understand the thoughts and feeling from residents in Albany, Plantagenet, Denmark and Cranbrook on cats in general, in enclosures, roaming and feral and stray cat. We are just trying to understand what the public think on these matters so that we can work towards the best solutions. Please follow the link to fill in the survey. https://forms.gle/VvhaG9VEgPfLfjb9A A little sneak peek at the new pamphlet below.

17.01.2022 I understand that snakes are not everyone's cup of tea but they are EXTREMELY important to the ecosystem. Keep your cats inside please.

15.01.2022 If you have a few extra dollars, consider donating to Australia's rarest mammal.

15.01.2022 Australia is in the midst of a wildlife extinction crisis, which we won’t avert unless we get better at managing cats. Saving Australian wildlife from this inv...asive introduced predator was the motivation behind a 5 year research program named as a finalist for a Eureka Prize - Australia’s most prestigious national science awards. This research was undertaken by the Threatened Species Recovery Hub of the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program in partnership with many collaborating organisations across the country.

15.01.2022 This looks like a very interesting event to attend, and being on line you can attend from your warm couch in front of the fire. Registrations are necessary. Click the link to register. Certainly something worth while attending. I am hoping to be there.

14.01.2022 To have your say: Read the Threatened Species Discussion Paper Answer questions or upload written feedback via our survey. Submit your feedback by 5pm ADST Friday 20 November 2020. Feedback may be submitted by:... Online survey: https://haveyoursay.awe.gov.au/1new-threatened-species-stra Email: [email protected] Post: Office of the Threatened Species Commissioner GPO Box 787 Canberra, ACT, 2601 Australia For more information, please contact [email protected] See more

13.01.2022 Annnnddddd, they are at it again. Just tragic.

13.01.2022 It won't keep the critters that venture into your yard safe but it will keep your cat safely at home.

12.01.2022 Grant application update The Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group has spent the last few months planning and writing a large grant application to State Natural Resource Management. We were supported by many of our members and for this we are incredibly grateful. ... This purpose of the grant is to collaborate with local environmental groups to move forward in 2021-2023 to; Educate residents on cat matters and be active within the community in creating educational resources, Encourage stronger cat containment and management laws, especially the control of stray cats within Shire jurisdictions, Improve our online information portal, linking to the WA Feral Cat Working group's dedicated website for feral cats, Workshops will be held to: a) Up-skill on best practice control and emerging technology to ensure correct methodology is used, b) Educate and encourage residents on best cat containment and benefits for cats and wildlife, c) Implement more 1080 accreditation courses conducted by Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, and d) Introduce students and the younger generation to best practice cat containment and benefits to environment. If successful we also plan to; Reduce feral cats by implementing control case studies of feral cat populations in specific areas- (Engaging the services of a contractor.) Though the focus will be on feral cats, foxes and rabbits will also be addressed. Investigate other cat concerns such as costing and availability of sterilisation services, barn cats and what we could do to address this issue. The long-term outcome will be a better-informed community working towards achieving sustainable conservation and biodiversity values. Our Mission Statement A collaboration of organisations and individuals focusing on the conservation of native wildlife through a coordinated approach to undertaking best-practice feral cat control, addressing the stray cat population issues and promoting responsible pet ownership. The grant applications tried to include as many requests from involved groups as was possible.

11.01.2022 Check out Kiwirrkurra Remote Community School, putting feral cat gut analysis on the curriculum. This month, children in one of Australia’s most remote communit...ies joined rangers and scientists to undertake stomach analysis of 12 feral cats caught on the Indigenous Protected Area. The 12 cats had eaten 8 goannas (3 species), 25 skinks (5 species), 1 legless lizard, and 2 spinifex hopping mice. A total of 36 native animals! Indigenous rangers on Kiwirrkurra IPA have been looking after country by undertaking right-way mosaic burning and culling invasive species through use of traditional hunting skills. These efforts are protecting the native animals that call Kiwirrkurra home including threatened species like the Ninu (Bilby) and Tjalapa (Great Desert Skink). https://www.facebook.com/kiwirrkurra/posts/2688181714786996 : Tjamu Tjamu Aboriginal Corporation - Kiwirrkurra Students from Kiwirrkurra Remote Community School helping Rangers analyse the stomach contents of 12 feral cats Bottom right - John West with a feral cat on Kiwirrkurra IPA

08.01.2022 A poem by one of the ASFCWG members. I Am Cat I am cat safe at home... Instinctively born to roam. I am cat armed with tooth and claw Wild or tame in numbers too big to ignore. Pygmy possum or juicy mice To me they taste equally nice. My owners talk about species rare A matter about I do not care. Seen through window glass are birds I would like to catch I know how agile I am so to me they would be no match. Where I live is warm and dry I often dream of escape and often try. Taken to the vets and put to sleep soon after going through the door I don’t understand why I don’t have the urge any more. I train my human friends with meowing pleads Guaranteeing a long comfortable life as they meet my needs. Graham Lawrence

08.01.2022 A stark and sad reminder about the importance of responsible pet ownership and the impact cats have on our native wildlife. This footage was sent to us by Luke... from Queensland and shows the toll of a roaming domestic cat on a native snake. The following day, the snake was located deceased and the cat was recorded roaming in the subsequent nights. Sadly, the event captured here is not an anomaly according to leading scientists, each day more than 3.1 million mammals, 1 million birds and 1.7 million reptiles like this snake are killed by cats across Australia. Pet cats alone are estimated to kill 83 million native reptiles each year. Conservation is everyone’s business and you can do your part by being a responsible cat owner and practicing cat containment 24/7. Responsible cat ownership also means safer cats by keeping our cats happy and safe indoors. For tips and tricks on how to best look after your cat indoors, visit the Safe Cat, Safe Wildlife website: http://www.safecat.org.au/ Thank you to Luke for sending us this footage.

06.01.2022 May be an option instead of people having cats for rodent control? Being trialled now by a member of Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group.

06.01.2022 With everything in the forefront regarding cat confinement and many shires becoming stricter with cat confinement laws, I thought that some of you may be interested in some terrific ways that the RSPCA has come up with to keep your indoor cat happy and healthy. obviously this will have the excellent added benefit of saving our amazing wildlife that we have in our region. See the link below to get those ideas forming. https://kb.rspca.org.au//Keeping-your-cat-safe-and-happy-a

05.01.2022 Such exciting news and really encouraging for all of us working in cat control in any capacity, including promotion of responsible cat ownership. Please also watch the landline clip attached to the story.

04.01.2022 It's terribly disappointing to put out fauna cameras only to discover that a feral cat is killing the wildlife on your property. Feral cats are one of the main ...drivers of mammal extinction in Australia and are also a major threat to many birds, lizards and frogs. As you can see this cat has killed a small native mammal, possibly Rattus fuscipes or Antechius sp on a Land for Wildlife property that borders Kondalilla National Park. For this reason, please keep your cats enclosed all all times (in many local government areas it is a legal requirement for owners) and encourage friends, family and neighbours to do the same. #feralcats #responsiblepetownership #landforwildlife See more

04.01.2022 So good to hear more is being done towards feral cat control

03.01.2022 National Feral Cat Management Survey Researchers from RMIT University are looking for volunteers to participate in a survey that asks questions about feral ...cat management in Australia. The information collected will help to generate a better understanding of feral cat management across the nation, including how to make improvements. The online survey should take around 5 to 10 minutes to complete and will consist primarily of short, multiple-choice questions about feral cats and efforts taken to manage them. Participation is voluntary and, if you choose to participate, you will remain completely anonymous. Individual survey http://bit.ly/Cats2020ind Organisation survey http://bit.ly/Cats2020org : Hugh McGregor

01.01.2022 See full story in comments. Our project officer and Anne Bondin from Birdlife Australia got together a great article about the importance of keeping your cats safe inside or in catios. TOP 10 REASONS TO HAVE A CATIO 1. PROTECT YOUR CAT 2. REDUCE VET BILLS 3. PROTECT BIRDS AND WILDLIFE... 4. HELP REDUCE THE FREE ROAMING CAT POPULATION 5. PROVIDE A HEALTHY OUTDOOR LIFESTYLE 6. REDUCE INDOOR MULTI-CAT ISSUES 7. ENJOY FELINE AND HUMAN INTERACTION 8. HELP REDUCE INDOOR ODOURS 9. GOOD NEIGHBOR RELATIONS 10. PEACE OF MIND https://catioworld.com/diy-catio/ Supported by funding from the Western Australian Government's State Natural Resource Management Program, supported by Royalties for Regions. See more

01.01.2022 Please look up both State and local laws if you have pets. And please keep your cats inside and safe from the elements. Keeps wildlife safe too.