Demi, a tabby in a tunnel, awaits a new home. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
A new bylaw in the Far North makes it mandatory for cats over the age of four months to be microchipped and desexed or "chipped and snipped".
It is a big change for the district, which has not previously tried to restrict cats despite the almost year-round kitten season resulting from its mild climate.
In fact, the Far North has had no bylaw governing domestic animals at all - with the exception of dogs, which have their own rules - since 2019, when an administrative error allowed the previous bylaw to lapse.
Just a handful of local authorities have so far made chipping and snipping compulsory, including the neighbouring Whangārei District Council.
Only registered breeders are exempt from the desexing rule.
Councillors expected controversy but the change has been largely welcomed by animal welfare advocates and conservation groups.
Sam Stewart, founder of Kawakawa-based Coast to Coast Cat Rescue, said her group had been campaigning for a desexing rule for the past three years. She was "super, super stoked" with the new bylaw.
"It's going to give us that extra tool to encourage people to do the right thing. We can now say to them, 'Hey, you know what? This is the bylaw. Let us help you get your cats legal.'"
Coast to Coast Cat Rescue founder Sam Stewart with a couple of her feline charges. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Stewart said the charity took 823 cats into its care in 2021, its first year. Since then the group had put a massive effort into desexing, education and rehoming, and unfortunately, also had to euthanise many feral and semi-feral cats.
Last year the number of cats rescued by the group dropped to 502.
"We're trying to not leave any cats or kittens out there. If we haven't got room, we'll work with other rescue groups or the SPCA. It's important not to leave them out there, because the cycle just goes on and on and on. Stray cats breed like crazy."
Stewart said the life of a stray was not a good one.
"They're struggling for food. They're sick, they get cat flu, eye ulcers. Eyeballs can literally explode, which, as you can imagine, is pretty horrendous.
"Last year was a really bad season for eyes. We had about 10 kittens come in with massive ulcerated eyeballs. Some of these we operated on to remove the eyes, but unfortunately a few had to be euthanised."
Apart from the animals' suffering, there was also the threat to wildlife such as native birds and lizards, and the public nuisance caused by stray cats.
"They'll go into houses and steal cat food. There's spraying, urinating, pooing in sandboxes, pooing in people's gardens, it all becomes a little bit overwhelming for everybody."
The new bylaw did not set a limit on the number of cats per household, as some other councils had done.
However, Stewart said she knew many people who owned five cats or even more, but they were not a problem because their pets were desexed and well looked-after.
Cat hoarding was a separate, complex issue, which often required a multi-agency approach by the council, public health and mental health.
Salem gets some exercise on the cat wheel. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Cat dumping fears
Many of the submitters who opposed the new bylaw feared the cost of microchipping and desexing could lead to an increase in cat dumping, worsening the district's stray cat problem.
The council's planning and policy group manager, Roger Ackers, said that had been considered when the new rules were drafted.
"Unfortunately, there is already a major problem across the country of unwanted cats and kittens being dumped. This is a direct consequence of cats not being de-sexed," he said.
"In adopting the Keeping of Animals Bylaw, the council considered the outcomes of not desexing and microchipping cats, and these were deemed to be more significant than the possible unintended consequence of cats and kittens being dumped because of the bylaw."
Ackers said the council would work with the SPCA and other groups to educate the public in an effort to reduce pet dumping.
Salem chills out in Coast to Coast Cat Rescue’s cat cabin near Kawakawa. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Stewart said cost should not be a barrier because the Far North has one of the highest rates of free de-sexing in the country. That included a free programme run by Coast to Coast Cat Rescue and the SPCA, from Kaitāia to Whangārei.
Stewart said anyone struggling to pay for desexing should contact their local animal rescue group or SPCA.
"We've desexed over 1500 cats and kittens in the community, which has prevented close to 5000 kittens being born."
Most people were open to being helped, she said.
"Cats can get out of hand really, really quickly. You can go from having two one year to 15 the next. But we find most people are really open to being helped. They just need the resources, transport, financial, whatever, to do the right thing."
Paihia-based conservation group Bay Bush Action also made a submission in favour of the bylaw. Trustee Brad Windust said the new rules would make a massive difference.
"We're absolutely over the moon about this bylaw, it's just going to be a game-changer for our wildlife, and not only our wildlife, but the welfare of these cats. It'll take time for people to adjust to it, but it's just a great step in the right direction."
Windust believed the biggest problem was "backyard breeders" who allowed their cats to have litter after litter.
When the kittens were no longer wanted, or the owners had to move to a rental where pets were not allowed, they would be left to fend for themselves and would have no option but to move into the bush.
Windust had hoped the bylaw would go further by banning two extra-large breeds - Maine coons and Bengal cats - which were large enough to kill even adult kiwi.
Bengal cats, already prohibited in Southland, were a cross between a domestic cat and a wild Asian leopard cat that easily reverted to life in the wild.
"But we're still grateful," Windust said. "It's small steps. Making all cats be neutered is the big winner for us."
Muma keeps a wary eye on visitors to the cat cabin. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
The Keeping of Animals Bylaw 2025 also sets rules around the keeping of pigs, poultry, bees, chickens, horses, goats, sheep, alpacas and llamas in areas zoned residential, rural living, commercial, and industrial.
It also requires horse riders to clean up any manure deposited in public places, but only if it is safe to do so.
Dogs have their own rules, set by the council's Dog Management Bylaw 2018 as well as Parliament's Dog Control Act 1996.
Microchipping a cat, and registering it on the national data base so it can be traced if lost, costs around $70.
Vets in the Far North typically charge around $120 for desexing a male cat and $250 for a female.
As well as the free desexing programmes offered by organisations such as Coast to Coast Cat Rescue and the SPCA, the Humane Society will cover half the cost of the operation (apply online at humanesociety.org.nz).
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