IS IT TIME TO END CATS’ RIGHT TO TRESPASS?

We’re a nation of cat lovers, but the freedoms we allow our cats can cause trouble for others.

Under current New Zealand law, cats have the right to roam – effectively, to trespass. It is generally accepted that cats are allowed to wander on to other people’s property and that the owner is not responsible for any damage the cats might do.

Even if you advise your neighbours that their cat is not welcome on your property, or that you have a dog that may chase it, the expectation is that you are still liable for the welfare of their cat while it is on your property.

Then there’s the tricky issue of wandering cats who take to pooping in your vegetable garden patch.

Without a national cat management plan, stray and owned cats are able to wander about, being a nuisance and a public health menace.

Retiree Liz Patel is one of many New Zealanders being driven to distraction by the antisocial habits of neighbourhood cats, “roaming freely at night and fouling neighbourhood properties at will”.

“As I’m elderly and with health issues I don’t appreciate my spring onions and other plants being dug up or the cat poo and vomit bringing flies. I’ve tried all the usual deterrents,” says Patel.

Two of Patel’s neighbours have given up gardening and instead have covered the ground with landscaping stones. That’s an expensive option, says Patel, who is currently trying a system of netting and foil recycled from chip packets to create deterrents.

Despite all her efforts cats regularly poo in Patel’s garden – including on top of the protective netting.

Patel says she’s not about to start a war with her cat-owning neighbours. Nevertheless, the regular poo deposits in the garden are an ongoing source of aggravation – and stress – for her and her elderly husband.

Three years ago Patel attended the funeral of someone who had died of toxoplasmosis after extensive cancer treatment. “It’s something to be taken seriously. I really feel that any cat legislation should definitely include some rules for domestic cats in urban areas as well as those that have gone feral,” she says.

Patel lives at West Auckland’s Hobsonville Point. As a ‘master-planned community’, the densely-built suburb includes parks, reserves, bike paths, jogging trails and other environmentally-friendly features that help make it a great place to live.

There are rules for everything from tree pruning, fireworks, choices of landscaping materials and use of colours when house painting. Dogs must be on a leash at all times when outside, apart from one designated off-leash area.

A dim view is also taken of any dogs splashing in, or otherwise disturbing, Bomb Point’s ecologically significant intertidal shoreline. In past seasons residents have been reminded of the presence of the rare banded rail birds, or moho pererū, and chicks at the Point, and asked that they “be left in peace”.

Despite a high cat ownership in the suburb, there are no rules about cats.

Patel – and other residents Stuff spoke to – see bird-hunting cats around the neighbourhood and frequently observe cats prowling around the Bomb Point area. Emails to Auckland Council or a suggestion to the community board that they might encourage a nightly cat curfew has not led to a rule change.

One possible solution for wandering cats is the building of cat patios or ‘catios’.

It’s a tricky situation, says Jessi Morgan, chief executive at Predator Free New Zealand.

“Without clear rules and expectations of what responsible cat ownership entails, many people are in a difficult position and not able to do anything about cats roaming through their property. It should be the responsibility of the cat owner to stop their cats wandering across other people’s property, not the other way around but unfortunately this is not the case. No other pets are allowed free access to other people’s property.”

Predator Free would like to see a National Cat Act to help set clear expectations for responsible cat ownership (similar to dogs) as well as set policy around management of feral and stray cats.

“At the moment, these policies are in the hands of local council bylaws and there are a hodgepodge of approaches around the country,” says Morgan.

“We are eager to see the results of the forthcoming environment select committee report on the subject.”