Collingwood ‘cat killer’ on the prowl
Cats are running out of their nine lives in Golden Bay.
At least 12 cats have gone missing in the Collingwood area during the lockdown period, sparking fears a bird-loving ‘‘cat killer’’ might be on the loose.
A Collingwood woman, who did not want to be named, said seven pet cats had gone missing in the small Golden Bay settlement in just the last few weeks.
Some were her neighbours’ pets, who were ‘‘devastated’’ to have their only companions disappear without a trace. All the cats lived within two streets of each other.
At least another five pet cats have disappeared between Bainham and Puponga during the lockdown, with even more feared to have gone missing.
The woman said she believed someone was trapping and probably poisoning the cats.
‘‘There’s just too many gone missing in such a short time – it’s too unusual for it to be a coincidence,’’ she said.
Elderly resident Pat Ballard said she and her husband were ‘‘very sad’’ their pet cat had gone missing several weeks ago, and not returned.
‘‘We have had a number of cats along the way, but he was a special one to us. He was five or six years old, fit and agile.
She said she was concerned ‘‘someone might have done something’’ to their pet.
Another Collingwood resident, who did not want to be named, said many pet cats had mysteriously disappeared from the area before.
About three years ago, his three cats had disappeared in quick succession, along with many others in the area. That was the second instance of vanishing pet cats in Collingwood.
It came following a threat in the local newspaper from another resident about wandering cats killing wildlife in Collingwood.
He said other Collingwood residents had been known to trap cats on their properties.
Kim Powell, of Kaituna, Bridget Coakley, of Puponga, Brajan McAllen, of Rockville, and Sharon Austen, of Bainham, have also had five pet cats between them go missing in the past month.
Tracy Phillips, SPCA general manager inspectorate, said it was an offence to steal someone else’s property, and this included pets.
Trapping and killing someone’s owned companion animal was theft, dealt with by police.
According to the Animal Welfare Act, it was an offence to kill any animal in such a manner that the animal suffered unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress.
The offence carried a maximum of five years imprisonment, or a $100,000 fine.
Cats are known to cause a range of problems throughout the country, including hunting native bird and wildlife.
Some councils have introduced new animal bylaw provisions, but campaigners want more to be done nationally.
On the Golden Bay Community Noticeboard thread on Facebook about the missing pets, one commenter said: ‘‘I lost three birds to cats during the lockdown. People with cats, or dogs, need to take responsibility for their pets and keep them on their own properties.’’