Unlike dogs, cats are not legislated for.  They are allowed to roam, they are allowed out at night and they don’t have to be registered or microchipped.

To deter cats coming on to your property:

• ensure there are no food scraps laying around
• ensure they cannot access rubbish bags
• place nails in the top of your fence every two metres so the head of the nail is 50mm above the fence top.
• Tie string or wire to the head of the nail
• try sprinkling moth balls around your boundary

If you have a complaint about the health and welfare of a cat please contact the SPCA.  Council has no authority to deal with sick or ill treated animals.

There are three categories of cats.

1. Feral cats – these cats are wild and have never been domesticated.  It is highly unlikely they will be found within city boundaries.  Feral cats are managed by Environment Bay of Plenty, not Tauranga City Council.
    
2. Domestic cats - these are owned cats which may roam onto your property . They are being fed and generally looked after. You may remove them from your property as long as you are not cruel or do not ill treat the animal. 
    
   Council has no authority to deal with domestic cats.
    
3. Stray cats – these are semi-domesticated cats that have no owners. It is hard to distinguish between these cats and domestic cats. They often rely on people in the vicinity for food and shelter.
    
   If the stray cats have formed a colony and are not being fed or sheltered by anybody Council may be able to assist by trapping the cats. 
    
   You will be asked to provide a description of each cat that forms the colony.  If Council assess that it is not a true colony or if there is significant risk of capturing domestic cats, Council may decide not to trap the cats.
    
   Any cat that is trapped that is found to be wearing a collar or have a microchip will be released.