As Ruapehu cats don’t stay in bed all day they are now required to be de-sexed, microchipped, and on the New Zealand Companion Animal Register following Council's recent bylaw review.
RUAPEHU residents are backing council measures intended to reduce stray and feral cats across the district – even at a cost. All Ruapehu cats older than six months will now need to be desexed, microchipped and on the New Zealand Companion Animal Register, following the Ruapehu District Council’s recent bylaw review. “People told us they wanted to see regulation to help with stray and feral cats, local cat rescue services being overwhelmed, the dumping of unwanted cats/kittens and to help reduce impacts on our wildlife,” executive manager regulatory and customer services Warrick Zander said. “The implementation of desexing, microchipping and registration brings Ruapehu inline with many other districts and is considered part of being a responsible pet owner,” he said. During the bylaw consultation, the proposed cat regulation changes received a lot of feedback with double the number of submitters in favour of tighter controls than against. Female cats can start having kittens from the age of five months and have up to four litters of six kittens every year resulting in a lot of unwanted kittens and wider problems, Warrick said. In addition to reducing feral cats preying on wildlife, desexing meant a cat was less likely to roam and have an accident, and was less likely to fight with other cats which often lead to injury, infection and vet bills. “Microchipping and registering your cat meant it could easily be identified and returned to its owner if lost, disorientated or during a civil defence emergency,” he said. The council was not about to begin seizing cats or start fining people who did not immediately comply with the new regulations, he said. “Our focus is very much on educating people and highlighting the many benefits of desexing, microchipping and registration of cats,” Warrick said. “If we find out you have a cat that isn’t compliant, we’ll remind you of the requirements as well as provide some guidance on how to achieve this. “People with old cats or medical conditions can also get an exemption certificate through their vet.” While the cost of all this might be a barrier for some people, local vets had vouchers to help low-income households or owners can take their cats to the SPCA annual ‘Snip and Chip’ event to be de-sexed and microchipped at a significantly discounted rate, he said.
