Australia’s growing population of free-roaming pet cats is costing the economy billions, with owners who allow their cats to roam contributing to serious environmental and health consequences.
Diseases that cats contract while roaming can spread to humans, leading to illnesses such as acute sickness and birth defects, according to Jaana Dielenberg, manager of the Biodiversity Council. In New South Wales (NSW) alone, the medical expenses and other direct costs from diseases linked to cats have totaled $2 billion, she reported.
“How pet cats are managed is not just the business of cat owners,” Dielenberg testified during a parliamentary inquiry on Tuesday. “Every cat allowed to roam has an impact on everyone.”
NSW lawmakers are exploring solutions to the growing cat population, with a focus on educating pet owners. In NSW, there are an estimated 1.6 million pet cats, and the national population is believed to be around 4.9 million, according to the Invasive Species Council.
Beyond the health risks, free-roaming cats are also endangering Australia’s native wildlife. Dielenberg and other experts highlighted how cats have significantly reduced the variety of wildlife that Australians can see. Estimates show that cats kill between five and 35 animals per night, according to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.
“Most Australians have no idea about the damage cats are doing to native wildlife,” said John Kanowski, the group’s science officer.
To mitigate these issues, Dielenberg called for stricter management practices, including desexing pet cats at four months old and keeping them indoors. While public awareness and support for cat containment measures have grown over the last decade, she pointed out that there are still communities where these issues have not been fully addressed.
Both wildlife organizations are urging more government support to make cat containment more widespread across NSW, particularly by providing guidance for local councils. “It’s like any pest control program; you want to be effective so that you don’t just keep fighting the same issues over and over,” Dielenberg said.
The parliamentary inquiry has received over 1,000 submissions, many advocating for large-scale desexing initiatives and 24-hour curfews for cats. However, some animal welfare organizations, such as Four Paws, argue that the approach is too harsh, claiming that cats are unfairly blamed for the extinction of species and the impact on native animals.
“Flawed data is being used to scapegoat cats for issues they aren’t entirely responsible for,” Four Paws stated.
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