Cats are highly valued pets in Australian households - nearly 30 per cent own one.  Highly adaptable and flexible, cats fit into domestic life and routines easily and comfortably.  They are however, predators by nature and will go looking for mates, defend territory and hunt wildlife, particularly during the dusk to dawn period.  A  Frankston City resolution requires all cat owners to secure their cat indoors between dusk and dawn. 

The dangers of allowing your cat to roam at night 
The hours between dusk and dawn are when your cat is most likely to:

• Attack wildlife such as birds and damage the environment.
• Get hit by passing traffic. 
• Be injured, or injure another cat in a fight. 
• Transmit diseases such as feline AIDS as a result of fighting, and 
• Spray, howl and annoy neighbours, especially during mating season.  

Confine your cat 
You can protect your cat, preserve the environment and minimise disruption to the community by ensuring that your cat is confined indoors between dusk and dawn. 

Contrary to some opinions, cats do not have to roam.  Providing their basic needs are met, cats live approximately three times longer when secured to their own property.

You can download a free copy of a Do-it-yourself  booklet  Cat Enclosures and Cat Proof Fencing    (Acrobat PDF file)   to help cat owners with:

• Cat proof fencing (modifying existing fencing to make it cat proof, giving your cat access to parts of or your entire back yard
• A cat enclosure attached to another structure (house or shed)
• Free standing cat enclosure

Getting your cat accustomed to staying in 
If your cat normally has been allowed to wander the streets at night, the following steps will help ease it into a new routine: 

• Skip you cat's morning feed and call it in at the end of the day to be fed.
• Confine your cat by locking it in your home, in a cattery, shed or other enclosed, dry and well aired space, such as the laundry, with a bed, water and kitty litter tray.
• Responsible cat ownership means providing a stimulating environment for your cat.  This could include providing a scratching pole, toys, or an enclosed run (known as a 'modular run') via a window which allows your cat safe access to the garden and re-entry to the house/shed. 

Your cat may indicate it wants to go out again for the evening as it has done previously. In a few nights it will adjust to its new routine of coming in for the nightly meal, and will happily settle in for the evening. 

Your cat, your responsibility
If your cat wanders from your property and disrupts neighbours by spraying, howling, fighting or causing other disturbance, your neighbour can complain to Council and request that you ensure your cat is confined to your property. If you do not take reasonable action as per the Council's direction, you are liable to be fined and your cat can be impounded. If you cat will not stay on your property, you may need to confine it to an outdoor cattery or modular enclosure, or keep it indoors. 

Advice and further information 
For further information on how to care responsibly for your cat, you can contact Frankston City Council's Local Laws Unit on 1300 322 322.
A complete listing of relevant pet organisations with their contact details can be viewed at   www.pets.info.vic.gov.au. 

Adobe Acrobat is used to view Portable Document Files (PDF). Click on the the "Get Adobe Reader" image to get the latest version from the Adobe site. The Adobe site will open in a new window.