Every year, dozens of kittens are dumped on Motupōhue. This cruel and unnecessary act causes immense suffering. The vast majority of the kittens will starve to death. But a tiny majority will become feral, perfecting their hunting skills to kill native birds.
We have a stubborn population of feral cats on Motupōhue. They’re smart, trap-shy and deadly to all native birds.
A feral cat is different to a domestic cat – they are vicious wild animals. A feral cat cannot be domesticated. We trap feral cats but do not place cat traps within 150m of residential areas.
- Domestic cats also prey on native birds but to a much smaller extent. You can help minimise the domestic cat problem by:
- Keeping your cat well fed – a well-fed cat is much less inclined to hunt
- Making sure that your cat wears a collar with a bell – this makes a cat way more visible to its prey. (We know that some cats will refuse to wear a collar… it’s always best to start young with collar wearing!)
- Making sure that your cat is microchipped – if your cat ends up in a live-catch cage, it can be quickly returned to you.
- De-sexing your cat – we don’t need any more kittens to add to the problem
- Keeping your cat indoors at night – most hunting is done at night
- Consider making your next cat an indoor cat – indoor cats are just as happy and much safer than outdoor cats.
- Please support initiatives to require the licensing of pet cats
We love our pet cats – they’re part of our homes. But please be aware of the tremendous damage that cats do on Motupōhue.