A letter from a grumpy neighbor complaining about cats roaming and defecating on his property has won support from locals.
The note was shared on the Moreton Bay community Facebook page, north of Brisbane, earlier this week after a resident received it in their letterbox.
‘Dear neighbor. “If you have a cat that likes to roam, keep it inside,” the note said.
‘There have been two cats on our property recently (1 black, 1 grey) and they have been defecating where our children play.
‘There was poop on our stairs today. If this continues, the city council will set a trap for us and we will take the cats to the pound. Thank you.’
A local Moreton Bay Regional Council law requires all domestic animals, including cats, to be kept on their own property and prevented from wandering or escaping.
Cat traps are available at no cost to residents who have problems with stray or nuisance cats on private property.
A letter from a grumpy neighbor complaining about cats roaming and defecating in the support of his property has won support from locals.
Many Australians supported their neighbors’ request and said cat owners should follow the council’s rules.
“The letter is respectful and the cat’s owner should be too,” one said.
A second added: “I think this letter is polite and not offensive, and if I were them I would be beyond frustrated at having to clean up after someone else’s pet.”
‘Imagine if someone came and shit in your garden every day.’
Another declared: ‘Shit is shit, animal or not, and it’s disgusting.’ I have a cat; She is an indoor cat. ‘She would horrify me if someone else had to clean up after her!’
A third said: “Legally, they must remain on the owner’s property, or they may be caught and taken to the pound.”
‘This person didn’t need to write a letter. They could have just gotten traps from the council.
A fourth declared: “All cat owners should keep their cats indoors or in their own garden.”
‘I’m tired of having cats wandering around our garden. Anyway, it’s the norm, but most cat owners don’t follow it.
“Dogs must be kept in their own garden and on a lead, so why can’t cat owners follow the council’s decision?”
Another local agreed, saying: ‘If cats keep coming onto their property and are seen like this person says, then they are doing the right thing by first letting people in the area know their cats are outside and if they catch any, then you will know where to find them! Congratulations to the author of the letter.’
Nationally, three million mammals, two million reptiles and one million marsupials die every day from attacks by feral and domestic cats.
‘Cats (and I can’t emphasize this enough) are an invasive species. Keeping your cats indoors is best for their safety and the safety of all our native mammals, reptiles and birds.
“What people don’t know is that cats have very potent gram-negative bacteria in their saliva, so even native animals that manage to escape will die from the resulting infections if the cat scratches them.
“As someone who has experience in a wildlife room, any native reptile/bird/mammal that suffers a cat attack is immediately treated with antibiotics, and this treatment should generally last for about a month.”
Research published in 2019 found that each feral cat kills more than 740 local wild creatures each year.
The research, published in the book Cats in Australia: Companion and Killer, found that one domesticated cat would kill around 75 animals a year.
Nationally, three million mammals, two million reptiles and one million marsupials die every day from attacks by feral and domestic cats.
Cat Protection chief executive Kristina Vesk said owners had a responsibility to protect local wildlife by keeping their cats indoors.
‘It is not difficult to have a cat inside the house. When they are in foster care, they spend all their time indoors; “The key to having a happy, healthy indoor cat is to provide them with plenty of enrichment.”
The feline expert encouraged owners to install indoor climbing spaces and window boxes to keep their cats content.
“Cats can’t take all the blame (for the decline in wildlife), but what owners can do is play their part in protecting the environment by being a good neighbor,” he said.