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Feral cat (Felis catus)

Found across almost all of Australia, feral cats kill millions of native mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs every day and have driven many small mammal extinctions.

Key facts

Type: Pest animal, mammal.

Native to: Domesticated from the African wildcat; arrived with European settlement.

Established in: QLD, NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS, SA, WA, NT.

Identification

  • Usually larger and more muscular than house cats, with a broad head.
  • Coats are commonly tabby, ginger, black or grey.
  • Mainly nocturnal and secretive; signs include tracks without claw marks, scats and kill remains.

Where it lives

Every habitat type, from deserts to rainforest and islands, including mine sites, camps and rubbish tips.

Why it matters

  • Predation on small native animals, including threatened species.
  • Spread of toxoplasmosis and sarcocystis to livestock and wildlife.

How it spreads

  • Dumped and stray domestic cats join feral populations.
  • Food waste at camps and work sites supports higher numbers.

Control methods

  • Cage trapping and padded leg-hold trapping by trained operators.
  • Ground shooting by licensed and competent shooters.
  • Baiting with registered feral cat baits where approved.
  • Exclusion fencing for high-value conservation areas.

Site hygiene and welfare

  • Secure food waste and rubbish at camps and work sites.
  • Do not feed stray cats on site.
  • Use methods set out in the national model codes of practice and standard operating procedures for the species.
  • Coordinate control with neighbours and the local government biosecurity plan, as isolated effort is quickly undone by reinvasion.

Classification by state

  • Australia (national): Key threatening process. Listed under the EPBC Act, with a national threat abatement plan for predation by feral cats.
  • Queensland: Restricted matter, categories 3, 4, 6. Do not give it away, sell or release it into the environment; do not move it; do not feed it. Everyone must also take all reasonable and practical steps to minimise its risks (the general biosecurity obligation).
  • New South Wales: General biosecurity duty. Not prohibited matter in NSW. The general biosecurity duty applies: anyone dealing with it must prevent, eliminate or minimise the risk it poses.
  • Victoria: Established pest animal (Crown land only). Landowners must take all reasonable steps to prevent its spread and, as far as possible, eradicate it on their land. This applies to feral cats on Crown land only.
  • South Australia: Declared animal. Declared animals have legal restrictions, which can cover keeping, moving, selling and releasing them, and landowners may be required to control them.
  • Western Australia: Declared pest (no control category). Declared pest in WA without a control category, so there is no state-wide control requirement, but movement and keeping rules can still apply.
  • Tasmania: Not a declared pest. Not a declared pest or prohibited matter in Tasmania. Importing animals is still controlled by Biosecurity Tasmania.
  • Northern Territory: Not a declared pest. Not on an NT declared or prohibited list. Check with the NT Government before keeping, moving or releasing it.
  • Australian Capital Territory: Not declared. Not declared under the Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT). A general biosecurity duty still applies.

Legal obligations

Every state and territory places a duty on landholders and people working on land to prevent the spread of invasive species, such as the general biosecurity obligation in Queensland and the general biosecurity duty in New South Wales. Declarations and control requirements differ between states and local government areas, so check the current official list before work starts.

  • Queensland: Biosecurity Act 2014 (Qld), administered by Biosecurity Queensland (13 25 23)
  • New South Wales: Biosecurity Act 2015 (NSW), administered by NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Australian Capital Territory: Biosecurity Act 2023 (ACT), administered by ACT Biosecurity
  • Victoria: Catchment and Land Protection Act 1994 (Vic), administered by Agriculture Victoria
  • Tasmania: Biosecurity Act 2019 (Tas), administered by Biosecurity Tasmania
  • South Australia: Landscape South Australia Act 2019 (SA), administered by the regional landscape board
  • Western Australia: Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Act 2007 (WA), administered by the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
  • Northern Territory: Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976 (NT), administered by NT Department of Lands, Planning and Environment

Sources