A grumpy neighbor’s letter complaining about cats roaming and defecating on their property has won the support of locals.
The note was shared on the Facebook community page of Moreton Bay, north of Brisbane, earlier this week after a resident received it in their letterbox.
‘Dear neighbour. If you have a cat that likes to roam, please keep it indoors,” the note read.
‘We recently had two cats on our property (1 black, 1 grey), and they poop where our children play.
‘Today there was poop on our stairs. If this continues, we will get a trap from the municipality and take the cat(s) to the shelter. Thank you.’
A local Moreton Bay Regional Council law requires that all pets, including cats, must be kept on their own premises and not allowed to wander or escape.
Free cat traps are available for residents who are bothered by wandering or nuisance cats on private property.
A grumpy neighbor’s letter complaining about cats wandering and pooping on their property has won the support of locals
Many Aussies supported their neighbors’ request, saying cat owners should follow council rules.
“The letter is respectful, and the cat owner should be too,” one person said.
A second added: ‘I think this letter is polite and non-offensive and if I were them I would be more than frustrated having to clean up after someone else’s pet.
‘Imagine if someone came to take a shit in your garden every day?’
Another stated: ‘Sh*t is sh*t – animal or not, and it’s disgusting. I have a cat; she is an indoor cat. I’d hate for someone else to have to clean up after her!’
A third said: ‘Legally they must be kept on the owner’s premises or they could be captured and taken to the pound.
‘This person didn’t have to write a letter. They could have just gotten traps from the council.”
A fourth said: ‘All cat owners should keep their cats indoors or in their own garden.
‘I’m tired of cats walking around in our garden. It’s the ruling anyway, but it’s not followed by most cat owners.
‘Dogs must be in their own garden and on a leash, so why can’t cat owners follow the council’s ruling?’
Nationally, three million mammals, two million reptiles and one million marsupials die every day from attacks by feral and domestic cats
Another local resident agreed, saying: ‘If cats continue to come onto your property and are seen as this person says, then they are doing the right thing: first let people in the area know their cats are outside and if they catch one, then you’ll know where to find them! Kudos to the writer of the letter.
‘Cats (and I cannot stress this enough) are an invasive species. Keeping your cats indoors is best for their safety and the safety of all our native mammals, reptiles and birds.
‘What people don’t realize is that cats have very potent gram-negative bacteria in their saliva, so even the native animals that manage to escape will die from the resulting infections if they are so much as scratched by the cat.
‘As someone with experience in a wildlife department, any reptile/bird/native mammal that comes in for a cat attack is immediately treated with antibiotics, and this treatment should usually last about a month.’
Research from 2019 shows that each feral cat kills more than 740 local wildlife every year.
The research, published in the book Cats in Australia: Companion and Killer, found that a domesticated cat kills around 75 animals every year.
Nationally, three million mammals, two million reptiles and a million marsupials die every day from attacks by feral and domestic cats.
Kristina Vesk, CEO of Cat Protection, said owners have a responsibility to protect local wildlife by keeping their cats indoors.
‘It’s not difficult to keep a cat indoors. When they are in foster care, they spend all their time indoors. The key to having a happy and healthy indoor cat is that they get plenty of enrichment.’
The cat expert encouraged owners to install indoor climbing areas and flower boxes to keep their cats happy.
‘Cats can’t take all the blame (for declining wildlife), but owners can do their bit to protect the environment – it’s based on being a good neighbour,’ she said.