Whose cat is that?

How do you tell the difference between a feral cat and someone’s beloved pet?

This is an important question for the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group who are installing more live-capture cage traps to remove possums near residential areas. The cages are baited with fruit and aniseed flavoured dough. Although these don’t seem like a moggie’s preferred meal, the odd curious cat does wander into one of the cages.

Cage traps have a treadle that will be triggered when something steps onto it, causing the door to close.

It’s important that no harm comes to people’s pets and livestock during possum eradication operations. However, it’s actually forbidden by Otago Regional Council to release a feral cat on the Otago Peninsula. If a cat gets caught in one of the possum cages, we have to be sure of its status. Is it a feral cat, a stray cat, or a pet cat?

Microchipping is a great way for cat owners to help us keep their pets safe. If a cat is found in a cage trap, we always scan for a microchip and release it immediately if one is found. The challenge is that not every pet cat has a chip.

That’s why the Otago Peninsula Biodiversity Group is asking people on the Otago Peninsula to add their moggie to its Cat Map.

This online form lets staff know about your cat and its identifying features. You can also upload a photo and let us know whether it is fixed, or has a microchip. This information is only used when we need to identify a cat that has found its way into a cage. Staff can easily search for cats that match the description and be confident the cat is a pet.

Having a microchip is a wonderful tool, but the Cat Map will provide an extra safety net to make sure we’re locating a cat owner as soon as possible.

Live on the Otago Peninsula? Register your cat on the Cat Map!