Learn about how local laws can affect your cat

Local councils set their own laws about pets. This means depending on where you live, you may need to comply with a local law to keep your cat contained on your property.

Many local laws will require your cat to stay on your property at all times.

Keeping your cat on your property means they can still go outside, but they must be contained to your backyard, courtyard or balcony. They cannot be on the front nature strip for instance, as this would still be classified as ‘roaming’ and your cat could still be impounded. Some councils may also have a cat curfew, where your cat may need to be kept on your property during certain times, usually from dusk to dawn or a mandatory 24/7 containment rule they can enforce.

Find out which council area you live in: https://www.vic.gov.au/know-your-council

You can then check your council’s website to see if they have any cat containment rules in place. Some councils also have mandatory desexing rules. It is important to know if these apply to you.