Through site assessments, our Animal Liasion Officers can determine whether cats are stray or not. The Council only deals with stray cats and must be sure that they're not owned before any intervention occurs.
Read on to learn more about the different categories of cats in Pōneke.
Groups of cats
There're three recognised groupings of cats in Wellington City:
- Domestic cats – A common domestic cat (including a kitten unless otherwise stated) that lives with humans as a companion and is dependent on humans for its welfare.
- Stray cats – A companion cat which is lost or abandoned, or born stray, and which is living as an individual or in a group (colony). Stray cats have many of their needs indirectly supplied by humans and live around centres of human habitation. Stray cats will breed with the unneutered companion and stray cat population.
- Feral cats – A cat which is not a stray cat, and which has none of its needs provided by humans. Feral cats generally do not live around centres of human habitation. Feral cat population size fluctuates largely independently of humans, is self-sustaining and is not dependant on input from the companion cat population.
Most unowned cats presented to veterinary clinics will be ‘stray cats’ by definition, and as such, may potentially be owned or semi-owned, regardless of whether they're socialised or not.
Removing stray cats
The Council carries out the trapping of stray cats, working alongside local rescues and the SPCA. The cats are trapped using live traps, which do not harm them.
Removing stray cat colonies from Wellington helps to:
- reduce nuisance behaviour,
- reduce the risk of disease transmission,
- and reduce the negative impacts of cats on biodiversity.
Most sites where trapping occurs will need the help of the person who resides at the property. If traps are set on the property, they will need to be closely monitored. They also require prompt communication with the Council when a cat has been trapped.
When cats are trapped, they're scanned for a microchip and assessed for a minimum of 7 days before being rehomed or euthanised. The assessment of the cat is done by experienced professionals and is based on many factors including behaviour and welfare.
Cats and kittens that are rehomed by the Council's supporting partners are always desexed, microchipped and administered their first vaccination.
We do not offer the service of trapping, neutering and then returning the cat(s) back to the environment. Our approach is instead a holistic one which involves bylaws around mandatory desexing/microchipping and community education.
Reporting stray cats
If you have a stray cat problem, call 04 499 4444 and make a complaint.
We'll then perform an assessment to determine if the cat(s) are indeed classified as stray. If the cat(s) is confirmed stray, then we'll plan and carry out the work.
We do not deal with nuisance complaints surrounding owned cats.
Contact us
For general enquiries, email: cat.management@wcc.govt.nz