Whanganui cat population continues to swell despite new council regulations

Veterinarian Dr Nicola King questions the effectiveness of the council's new regulations in reducing the cat population. Photo / NZME

Whanganui's cat rescue numbers continue to grow, despite new regulations to curb the population.

On July 1, 2021, the Whanganui District Council implemented new rules for cat owners as an amendment to its Keeping of Animals, Poultry and Bees Bylaw.

Those regulations were that people living in towns and cities were allowed to own a maximum of three cats per household, and those cats must be microchipped and, unless they were owned for breeding purposes, desexed by 4 months old.

It was hoped the new rules would go some way to reducing the number of unwanted stray cats in Whanganui.

However, SPCA Manawatū/Whanganui area manager Danny Auger said the number of cats and kittens brought into SPCA's Whanganui branch had increased since last year.

SPCA Whanganui has taken in more than 600 cats since July 2021 when the new regulations were implemented, whereas in the same period the previous year (July 2020 to March 2021) they took in 580.

Whanganui District Council's compliance team leader Andre Claassen said the council was better able to respond effectively to cat problems if there was a complaint about an individual's home.

Claassen said while the council was not actively policing the regulations, they would be brought up in the conversation with the owner if a cat-related complaint was made to animal control.

Dr Nicola King, of First Vets Whanganui, said she believed most cat owners were unaware of the new regulations.

"If you went and asked people on the street if they knew it existed, most people wouldn't have a clue," King said.

King had not seen an increase in the number of cats brought in for desexing or microchipping, and questioned how effective the council's enforcement of the regulations had been.

"Who's governing the bylaw? Who goes around policing how many cats are in a household? Who polices if they're microchipped or desexed?"

The bylaw states the council has the power to impound any cat found in breach of the regulation, as well as strays found wandering, but King said enforcing the regulations would be especially difficult with cats, as some roamed far from their homes.

Claassen said the council may provide traps when appropriate but no cats had been impounded by Whanganui animal control. Instead, the council worked closely with the SPCA and other adoption groups to provide options like rehoming.

King and Claassen recommended the SPCA's Snip 'n' Chip programme, with King saying it had been the most effective step in controlling the cat population.

Snip 'n' Chip is a region-by-region campaign where the SPCA partners with local veterinary services to provide a limited number of vouchers that allow cat owners to get their pets desexed and microchipped for $10. Snip 'n' Chip is not available year-round, with the programme moving to another part of the country once vouchers in one region have run out.

King said the main barrier for most cat owners getting their pet desexed and chipped was the cost and she urged prospective owners to consider whether they could truly afford to raise and support them, and to think of any pet as a luxury item.

Auger said the SPCA would ramp up its Snip 'n' Chips and it would be available in the Whanganui region sometime this year. Claassen said there were no plans for the council to implement a similar programme in the future.