Domestic cats unsustainable

What cats are good for, says Margi Keys. Picture / Getty Images

Did you know that the domestic cat (Felis catus) is on the 100 worst globally invasive species list, along with blackberry, the myna, rat and stoat?

All cats belong to the family Felidae so they are also known as felids.

"Felis catus was domesticated in the eastern Mediterranean circa 3000 years ago. Considering the extent to which cats are valued as pets, it is not surprising that they have since been translocated by humans to almost all parts of the world … Cats threaten native birdlife and other fauna …" [http://www.iucngisd.org/gisd/100-worst.php]

The big trouble with cats is their predatory nature.

My personal trouble with cats is that they are unwelcome visitors. They defecate on what is left of my lawn and howl beneath my bedroom window at night. They will enter my house if I leave a door open.

Felids have a sense of entitlement that means they will roam far and wide if not contained.

So the news about Whanganui District's councillors looking like they will impose a three-cat limit on households meets with my whole-hearted approval. Thank you, councillor Helen Craig and deputy mayor Jenny Duncan, and the other councillors who voted for this limit.

Going one step further, could a bylaw requiring domestic cats to be contained also be imposed? Controlling the movement of cats would help to sustain wildlife such as birds and lizards. Reproduction would be limited because domestic cats would not come into contact with strays and feral felids.

During lockdown one neighbourhood cat made me smile. This well-fed cat comes onto my property most days, like many others who live in Springvale.

When I looked up from my laptop, I noticed the cat had a mouse in its mouth. Bravo, Felix, I said out loud.

The house mouse (Mus musculus) is on the same list as the cat.