Wandering cats can cause problems by spraying, digging in gardens, threatening wildlife and getting into fights with other cats.
Your cats should be confined to your property at all times.
Keeping cats off your property
There are a number of ways that you can deter cats from coming onto your property. This includes:
- using citrus, vinegar, lavender or eucalyptus-based deterrents or commercially available cat repellents
- planting lavender or rue or other plants that cats do not like
- leaving citrus peel in your garden beds
- using ultrasonic devices or motion-activated sprinklers
- making sure your property is free of pet food or water bowls, and any bird feeders are well off the ground
- tidying any clutter from your property and making sure access to garages, sheds or under the house areas are blocked
- making sure chicken coops and small animal enclosures are secured
- covering sandpits when not in use.
Trespassing cats
If your neighbour’s cat is trespassing on your property, start by letting your neighbour know what the issue is. They may not realise the cat is leaving their property. If you don’t feel comfortable talking to them, you can leave them a note instead.
If you don’t know the cat on your property, ask your neighbours if they know it, or watch to see where it goes once it leaves your property to see if it lives nearby.
If you can’t find the cat’s owner, or you think it is a stray, catch the cat and bring it to the Wyndham City Pound. We will try to identify the cat through its microchip and reunite it with its owner.
In some instances, you may be able to catch the cat in a suitable box or carrier. However, if the cat is aggressive or shy, you may need to trap it.
Borrow a cat trap
We have a limited number of cat traps available to borrow for Wyndham residents only. You may need to wait for a trap to become available.
Cat traps are free to borrow for one week. You will be charged a $30 late fee for each week the trap is late.
To borrow a trap, call us on 1300 023 411 and leave your details. We will get back to you once a trap is available.
Traps are not available for businesses. If your business is experiencing issues with trespassing cats, you will need to contact a pest control company.
Bring a cat to the pound
If you catch a cat in a humane cat trap, you must make an appointment to bring it to the Pound as soon as possible. The Pound will only accept cats from 8-11am.
For the safety of the cat, you should only catch a cat when you will be able to bring the cat to the Pound the next day. You shouldn’t catch a cat:
- on Friday or Saturday nights or before a public holiday when the Pound will be closed the next day
- when you won’t be available to drop the cat at the Pound the next day.
Call 1300 023 411 to make an appointment with the Pound. You can also call us to discuss your options if you are unable to bring a cat to the pound, or if there are several cats causing an issue.