To help protect the welfare of cats and wildlife in Manningham, Council will consider introducing a pilot 24-hour cat confinement order at its meeting on Tuesday 12 December 2023.

If endorsed by Council, from 1 April 2024 cats in Manningham must be confined within the boundary of their owners’ property 24 hours a day.

The proposed implementation will be phased over two years, including an amnesty period between April and December 2024 and an evaluation period in December 2025.

If the pilot is endorsed, we will be focused on community awareness and education on the benefits of cat confinement prior to and during the amnesty period. Manningham’s Domestic Animal Management Plan contains a number of endorsed initiatives to promote responsible pet ownership, one of which is the pilot a 24-hour cat confinement order.

This plan was informed by extensive community consultation and adopted by Council in May 2022. The purpose of the cat confinement order is to:

• Protect the welfare of cats from other animals and cat cruelty caused by human behaviour

• Reduce the risk of cats getting lost or being exposed to extreme weather

• Reduce the risk of cats sustaining traumatic injuries from vehicles

• Protect the health of cats from the transmission of disease from other cats including feline immunodeficiency virus (such as feline AIDS)

• Reduce the risk associated with the transmission of disease from cats and people

• Protect wildlife from the predatory behaviour of cats

Community members can attend the December Council Meeting in person or watch online here.