As of 1  January 2024, all domestic cats need to be kept at home at all times unless they are leaving the property in which case they must be under effective control.

The By-Law generally limits the number of cats owned to two per property, however permission for additional cats may be obtained by contacting Council.

It also contains controls to prevent cats being a nuisance in the district.

By-Law 6: Cats (PDF)

The By-Law is designed to control and manage cats in the Council area. It aims to promote responsible cat ownership, improving safety for domestic cats and local wildlife, and reducing neighbourhood issues associated with cats roaming on neighbours’ properties.

Council will work with all members of the Community to support them to comply with By-Law requirements.

Staff will work with the owners and neighbours to resolve issues. Where no attempt is made to change cat behaviour and repeat occurrences are identified, Council may make formal orders or issue fines.

When reporting nuisance cats, it is important that Council are provided with as much information as possible to identify where the cat is coming from, as well as a description or photo of the cat to enable identification.

Cat owners may be fined $312.50 for any breach of the Council By-Law, including when their cat is found off their property.

Following receipt of feedback from the Dog & Cat Management Board, Animal Welfare League and RSPCA in regard to its draft Cats By-Law (refer Council Agenda 3 May 2022), Council undertook consultation with its Community on the By-Law from 27 May to midnight 1 July 2022.

Consultation was promoted to the community in a number of ways and community members were invited to share feedback on the Draft Cats By-Law via email or letter. Council also conducted a randomised and statistically validated telephone survey seeking feedback.

At its meeting on 16 August 2022 following significant consideration, discussion and Community consultation, Council resolved to make and gazette the Cats By-Law. The By-Law was gazetted on 25 August 2022. The by-law was then reviewed by the State Government's Legislative Review Committee.

Full details and outcomes of the consultation can be found at https://connect2.campbelltown.sa.gov.au/cats-by-law

We encourage residents to subscribe to the Campbelltown Catch Up (e-newsletter) and register on Connect 2 Campbelltown (our Community consultation platform) to ensure they do not miss an opportunity to have their say on future consultations.

All cats residing in the Campbelltown City Council area must be registered once they reach three months of age. It is the responsibility of the owner to ensure that their cat(s) are registered each year.

Cat registration will be free until at least 1 July 2024. Whether or not Council chooses to introduce a fee in the future, it is expected that it would be significantly lower than dog registration. Any income collected through potential cat registrations will need to be spent on Cat Management. Any fee that Council introduces will not be in addition to State based DACO fees as the State Government do not set a fee for cat registration.

Cat registrations are due every year between 1 July and 31 August. Registrations are due within this time regardless of when you initially registered your pet.

You will receive your registration renewal in July each year via email, post or SMS. The contact you receive depends on your preferred contact method you noted in your initial registration with Dogs and Cats Online (DACO).

Before you start your registration, make sure you have your cat's desexing certificate and microchip details on hand as substantial registration rebates apply for cats that are microchipped and desexed.

Register Your Cat

The Cats By-Law requires that your cat(s) wear identification by way of a collar. The collar should include the owner’s name and either address or phone number.

The requirement of a collar is to make it easier for your cat to be identified and returned to home quickly if it is found outside your property and wandering at large.

All cats in South Australia are required to be microchipped and have their microchip details recorded in Dogs and Cats Online (DACO), South Australia’s database for dogs, cats and breeders. If your cat regularly loses its collar, the added protection of a microchip is highly important for your cat’s safety and wellbeing so that it can be easily returned home quickly.

Under State Legislation, all cats born after 1 July 2018 must be desexed by six months of age (exemptions apply for registered breeders), all cats must be microchipped by twelve weeks of age, and all cats must be registered on Dogs and Cats Online (DACO), South Australia’s database for dogs, cats and breeders. This is an existing requirement of the Dog and Cat Management Act 1995, not a requirement of the Cats By-Law.

The By-Law generally limits the number of cats owned to two per property, however permission for additional cats may be obtained by contacting Council.

Under State Legislation, all cats born after 1 July 2018 must be desexed by six months of age (exemptions apply for registered breeders), all cats must be microchipped by twelve weeks of age, and all cats must be registered on Dogs and Cats Online (DACO), South Australia’s database for dogs, cats and breeders.

The By-Law generally limits the number of cats owned to two per property, however permission for additional cats may be obtained by contacting Council.

RSPCA South Australia offers three main ways to keep your cat at home:

• The easiest and cheapest way is to keep them indoors at all times. You may look to install cat-proof fly screens so that your pet can benefit from outdoor sights, smells and sounds without escaping. The RSPCA notes, however, that this will work best with a new kitten, as the sudden confinement of an older cat used to roaming may cause stress.
• A second option, and one that eases your cat into confinement, is to keep your cat indoors, but with access to an outdoor enclosure or run, giving them the choice of where they want to spend their time. You can create an escape-proof enclosure on an existing balcony or veranda.
• The final option is to fit your property with escape-proof fencing, so that you cat can roam your property without being able to flee. The RSPCA recommends a fence at least two metres high, with rolling cylinders and smooth metal or plastic sheeting on top that make it impossible for cats to get a good grip for climbing. Alterations to fencing must be done in consultation with neighbours in accordance with the Fences Act 1975.

The Dog and Cat Management Board’s 'Good Cats Play at Home' resource provides some good tips for keeping cats happy and at home.

There are benefits to both your cat and your community when cats are confined to their properties.

South Australia cat expert, Jacky Barrett (RSPCA 2018), explains the benefits of keeping your cat indoors preventing them from getting into fights with other cats and the risk of infectious diseases, and being safe from poisons or traps.

The wider community also benefits from cat confinement because cats are no longer able to defecate and urinate in other people's yards, and they are less likely to upset the local native wildlife.

RSPCA (2018) South Australia cat expert, Jacky Barrett, says that keeping cats entertained and enriched inside is easier than you might think. Toys, scratching posts, climbing spaces, cardboard boxes and playing games with your pet are all ways to keep them entertained. Games and exercise can be kept as short as five minutes, making it easy to fit into your day.

For a list of enrichment activities that you can explore for your cat, visit RSPCA or the Australian Pet Welfare Foundation.

It's important to be aware of potential hazards inside your home. When introducing your cat to your house, you should make sure that rodent poisons and insecticides, medications, toxic foods like chocolate, onion and garlic, and common plants like lilies are not within reach.

Some great resources and information are available to help you cat-proof your property and keep your cat safe and happy at home:

• Dog and Cat Management Board: Keeping Cats at Home
• Dog and Cat Management Board: Good Cats Play at Home (PDF)
• RSPCA: Keeping Your Cat Safe and Happy at Home
• RSPCA: Cat Confinement Tips

Council acknowledges that the requirement to keep a cat within the property boundary will have a financial impact on some of our community.

Council is trialing a small grants scheme to assist those on low incomes (pensioners, disability pensioners and the unemployed) to cat-proof their homes and yards.

Grants will be capped at $300.  Applicants must have a cat or cats registered on Dogs and Cats Online (DACO) to be eligible.

Applications should include:

• Evidence of income eligibility (Pension Card or similar)
• Details of cat(s) registered on DACO
• Details of proposed enclosure and costing

Applications should be titled 'Cat Enclosure Grant Application' and sent to mail@campbelltown.sa.gov.au.

If your cat is microchipped and registered, this will ensure it is easier to reunite you with your cat if it escapes your property. Council staff can scan for microchips and with up-to-date information, your cat will be home with you as soon as possible.

We will also work with you to identify ways to prevent future escapes, as if your cat is roaming on a regular basis, you may be fined for failing to comply with the Cats By-Law.

If cats are coming onto your property, we recommend:

1. Talk to your neighbour face-to-face to try and fix the problem.
2. If you don’t know who the cat belongs to, kindly encourage the cat off your property by:
   • Squirting the cat with a hose. This won’t harm the cat and you’ll get the best results when you squirt to the side just above their belly (flank) and not the face.
   • Making loud noises to startle the cat.
   • Keeping the most visited areas consistently wet to deter the cat from digging, defecating, urinating or sunning there.
   • Placing citrus peel, sprigs of rue (this is a herb), naphthalene flakes, or sprinkle pepper on the problem area until the habit is broken. You can also use cat repellent sprays and gels available from plant nurseries or vets (this will only work if the cat does not like the smell of the product).
   • Placing cacti or other prickly plants around the areas where the cat visits.
   • Using electronic deterrents that emit a high-pitched sound. These may also deter other wildlife from entering your yard, like birds.
3. Where issues persist, contact Council to report nuisance cats. Please provide as much information as possible to identify where the cat is coming from, including a description or photo of the cat to enable identification.

Both feral and domestic cats prey on birds, reptiles, amphibians and small mammals and the impact of cats and feral foxes has led to the extinction of almost 30 native mammals from mainland South Australia, and continues to threaten more.

Council staff and volunteers will be more easily able to identify and remove feral cats by having domestic cats confined, which will further reduce the impact of cats on wildlife and the community.