Council Stray Cat Policy

Under the Companion Animals Act 1998, cats are known to have no boundaries and free to roam. It is because of this freedom that Parramatta City Council is unable to pick up ‘stray’ cats as often times it is very difficult to determine a stray from a domesticated pet.

If you feel you have a problem with stray cats in your area there are a number of things you can do:

1. Don’t feed the cats unless you are planning on adopting them. By adoption we recommend you microchip and register the cat, provide a collar with name tags and preferably desex your new found friend.
2. Minimise places where cats can breed and where a mother can have her kittens. Areas such as under the house should be kept closed off to unwanted visitors.
3. If you find a litter of kittens, try and determine if any of your neighbours have a cat who’s expecting! If not, take the kittens to a nearby vet or call The Cat Protection Society of NSW for possible re-homing.
4. Hire and set a trap to humanely catch the stray cats. There are various commercial institutions that hire out such traps. Be sure you haven’t caught someone’s domesticated cat. Remember cats have no boundaries and may get caught in your trap. Even a domesticated cat may seem somewhat ‘feral’ when under the pressure of a cage. If you catch what you believe to be a stray/feral cat then you must take it and surrender it to Blacktown City Council Animal Holding Facility for evaluation.

Parramatta City Council strongly recommend that for all cat owners, the best and safest thing you can do for your cat is to keep him/her in at night after it’s evening meal. That way, you’ll never have to worry about what he/she gets up to or if they are coming home at all!