
Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group (ASFCWG)
Mission Statement
“A collaboration of organisations and individuals focusing on the conservation of native wildlife through a coordinated approach to undertaking best-practice feral cat control, addressing the stray cat population issues and promoting responsible pet ownership.”
Endorsed by the ASFCWG Feb 2020

Upcoming ASFCWG happenings
Click the QR code below to participate
Upcoming ASFCWG happenings
Click the QR code below to participate

The Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group works alongside many organisations in the Albany and surrounding regions, we offer support and get supported in return which makes it the best outcome for the protection native animals preservation, especially the Critically endangered such as the Western Ground Parrot- Kyloring.
When this project came about designed by some great minds, including teachers, Birdlife WA and The friends of the Western Ground Parrot volunteers, we were Absolutely delighted to be part of this competition bringing attention to the Kyloring.
See below about this competition and the winning story tellers.
Announcement
The Friends of the Western Ground Parrot wanted to raise the profile of our state’s rarest bird known as Kyloring to the local Noongar people. With less than 150 of the parrots surviving today, it is only a heartbeat away from extinction.
Few people have ever seen critically endangered bird, and most people have never even heard about this beautiful parrot. We wanted more people to get to know this very rare and endangered bird so the Saving Kyloring stories project was created https://sites.google.com/view/saving-kyloring-stories/home
The competition sponsors are Friends of the Western Ground Parrot, BirdLife WA, The Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group, the Oyster Harbour Catchment Group and Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots.
The entries received were of a very high standard and our judging panel that was outsourced was very impressed by each and every story.
Thank you to all our entrants, we hope that you will spread the plight of the Kyloring.
Please follow the link’s below to read these winners remarkable stories.
Link to Lucy Phillips’ story: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y3P76LsJ75EVI4Au2HbGuVIE8uQcmSiY/view?usp=sharing
Link to Hazel Bee’s story:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1onlx5PX0pTNAopxE32k8z_5W8Ngmo5wK/view?usp=sharing
Other events
What have we been up to?
Happy healthy cats at home.
On June the 17th The Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group (ASFCWG) held a workshop to encourage responsible cat ownership, Learn about how to keep cats happy indoors and protect wildlife. All 45 that attended had a blast and learnt so much about cat behavours and improving their lifestyle and we were given some great ideas on how to make outdoor Catios(Cat enclosures) We believe all cats need to be contained in Australia, and in doing this we need to keep them happy and this can sometimes take a bit of work. In order to make them happier it pays to have an expert help. Hopefully, many more cats are now happier and safer at home, and as an added bonus the wildlife will thank us for it.
On June the 17th The Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group (ASFCWG) held a workshop to encourage responsible cat ownership, Learn about how to keep cats happy indoors and protect wildlife. All 45 that attended had a blast and learnt so much about cat behavours and improving their lifestyle and we were given some great ideas on how to make outdoor Catios(Cat enclosures) We believe all cats need to be contained in Australia, and in doing this we need to keep them happy and this can sometimes take a bit of work. In order to make them happier it pays to have an expert help. Hopefully, many more cats are now happier and safer at home, and as an added bonus the wildlife will thank us for it.

Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group
Since our Grant started in March this year, we have been very busy trying to get as much squeezed in as possible.
We rely on our Mission statement “To facilitate the collaboration of organisations and individuals focusing on the conservation of native wildlife through a coordinated approach to undertaking best-practice feral cat control, addressing the stray cat population issues and promoting responsible pet ownership.” to keep us on track.
WAFCWG symposium 2023
What is currently being done, what is upcoming, and what has been learned?
This event was well worth attending ad I gained knowledge and contacts to move forward with cat control and containment.
Feral Cats-
Much is being done in the feral cat region and tools are improving. More is being added to the toolbox for overall control of cats, One new device that is available is a Felixer, https://pestsmart.org.au/toolkit-resource/felixer-feral-cat-grooming-traps-under-development/
This is a highly intelligent machine, that squirts 1080 poison onto a cat or fox, it is very specific to the target animal and the animals groom this off, ingesting the poison and dying. Baits have become more target specific and are more readily ingested by cats, targeted trapping and shooting procedures are improving and more people are aware of the damage feral cats are having on our country.
Research is being undertaken on viruses, one that would render the offspring as sterile, and genetic technology, that would also make the offspring sterile- unfortunately, both models are quite a while off before live testing can be done as understandably they need to be trialled for safely and tested thoroughly before anything more could be implemented.
Feral-proof enclosures seem to still be extremely important for those “bite-sized” cat treats that feral cats seem to favour such as the bilby, Gilberts Potoroo, and the spinifex hopping mouse to name a few to protect them while we deal with the cats and foxes outside the fence. It is a short-term solution but a much needed one.
I have learned much more about roaming cats and control and will share more in the coming days. Tomorrow I will share what’s happening with stray cats.
Pet cats –
The cat containment laws are still not implemented in WA, and this is making it very difficult for local Governments to implement containment laws, however many jurisdictions are taking a stand and adding management tools that restrict a cat from entering Reserves, and National parks to name a few. We commend these regions for taking a stand and we have hopes that more local government will take these leaders of better at control on board. the Cat act 2011 is due for an update in 2024 and we hope that the last two states WA and NSW will take saving our wildlife more seriously and implement cat containment at this time. The push is getting stronger and feels that with a loud enough voice the government will have to respond.
Pet cats kill up to 50 more native species per square km than feral cats as they are congregated in smaller areas and hunt to play not for food, cats live 4 longer if kept contained. If allowed to roam cats are exposed to diseases such as toxoplasmosis, worms’ cats scratch fever feline enteritis, feline ds cats flu and more. Many of these can be fatal and some can be transmitted to humans and livestock. Toxoplasmosis for example can cause abortion in livestock and humans. keeping them enclosed will prevent this and stop the dangers that are in the outside world such as cars, other cats, dogs, foxes and many other dangers.
Stray cats
This category is still a very difficult group to control with today’s laws and definitions, strays are still in that very hard-to-deal-with basket unfortunately and until we adopt new policies that allow stray cats to be dealt with in towns and cities the problem will still be around. Currently our definitions say,
A feral cat is not owned or socialised and none of their needs are satisfied by humans.
Stray cats are not owned but may be semi-socialised. Some of their needs may be satisfied by hmans indirectly, and in some circumstances deliberately.
Domestic cats are fully socialised, owned and registered with a local authority and identified according to the Cat Act. Their needs are satisfied by humans.
Which expands to basically say that cats in and around towns, farms and tips are classed as strays.
We need clearer definitions to define owned and unowned cats to allow for control of cats in and around tips. farms and other places where stray cats congregate.
In the mean time we can help by trapping and taking stray cats to rangers, pounds, vet clinics, rescu organisations and under no circumstances should we feed these animals, this encourages breeding as the body is healthy. the cats will hunt if they are fed or not. the best thing is to gain trust with feed for a short period of time than trap.
We need to start reporting any sightings of strays, feral and roaming cats to the local rengers and stray and ferals to pests https://www.feralscan.org.au/
2022
So, what HAVE we been up to ?
Pop-up displays at
The Albany Show
Green fair on the square
Endangered species workshop
TAFE facilities
16 legs spider display in Porongurup
Stem primary school event
Display’s (smaller)
Manypeaks store
Feral shoot
Cats on Candid Camera
Hay silage and pasture field day
Meetings
Vet Clinics
Events and workshops
Presentation at “Cats on Candid Camera” by Gilberts Potoroo Action Group
Presentation at our sponsors OHCG AGM
Implemented Southern Albany Corporation Indigenous Rangers 1080 training
Stem Event 164 students, 7 schools
Attended Stem event UWA - 20 upper school students
2 x TAFE presentations for two CALM classes 26 students
Home school group presentation, 16 students
Hosted an Endangered species event in Manypeaks 40 attendeesOther
ASFCWG Meeting x 3 plus numerous other groups meeting attended
Social media training
Research
Education- attended various courses and training
Feral cat drawing competition with the DBCA cadets’ program
Partnering with Friends of the Western Ground Parrot on a Story competition for students https://western-ground-parrot.org.au/
Attended and supported numerous events over the year
Facilitated to rehome and or sterilize of cats from several groups of struggling cat owners.
Sourced and in-use educational materials for responsible cat management from Animal Management in Rural and Remote Indigenous Communities www.amrric.org/resources/
At these events, we had opportunities to interact with adults and kids on responsible cat ownership and the protection of our precious wildlife. I was pleased to hear that many are doing the right thing for both cats and wildlife and keeping cats enclosed.
Our partnerships are getting stronger and we are discovering so much brilliant work being implemented and exciting things to come. We encourage people to visit the new WA Feral Cat Working Group’s web page https://wafcwg.org.au/

“Giving Our Threatened Species A Chance” Workshop
Giving Our Threatened Species A Chance
On September the 18th at the Manypeaks Hall we had such a fantastic event attended by over 40 people. Thank you for all the support and interest.
Attendees were treated great speakers from
o Department of Biodiversity and Conservations and Attractions,
o Birdlife WA
o Friends of the Western Ground Parrot
o Gilberts Potoroo Action Group
o South Coast Natural Resource Management
o Albany and Surrounds Feral Cat Working Group
o Indigenous history of the area.
The event was focused on the endangered fauna species of the Waychinicup National Park, Two peoples bay, and Manypeaks with a particular focus on the Critically endangered Gilbert Potoroo ‘Ngilgyte’, Western Ground Parrot ‘Kyloring’, and the Western ringtail possum ‘Ngwayir’, plus other endangered as vulnerable species such as the Australian Bittern ‘Boordenitj’ (Bunyip bird), Quokka ‘Nyungar” and the Noisy Scrub Bird ‘Tjimiluk’.
We discussed how to reduce the impact of introduced animals and of course paid special attention to feral and roaming cats, which can devastate populations of these animals especially if we don’t keep up work being implemented. We still have a way to go in gaining the upper hand, but every bit is making a difference.
We hope that everyone that came out of this special event enjoyed themselves and came out with a head full of knowledge and ideas to help the native critters.
What else has been happing?
We have been active in the community with 6 presentations and interactive sessions with school students, school ranger groups, and TAFE conservation students.
One of the highlights was running a session with ex-schoolteacher Chas Rhind with 160 students from 7 schools that the Albany TAFE hosted where we played a game with students, in smaller groups on the impact that roaming cats have on our wildlife. It was pleasing to hear some students have their fluffy family members safely contained in a cat enclosure. Safe cats’ safe wildlife and a win-win situation for all.
We’ve had the ASFCWG display up at numerous locations including the Manypeaks store where part of our current grant is located, been active in the promotion of responsible cat ownership with letters of recommendation to Shires and assisting with excess cat complaints, attended many events, courses, and meetings to promote responsible cat ownership and chatted with veterinary clinics.
Our partnership with stakeholders is getting stronger and we are discovering so much brilliant work being implemented and exciting things to come. We encourage people to visit the new WA Feral Cat Working Group’s web page https://wafcwg.org.au/ , which has great information and an library of resources.
For more information, or to receive updates email jenni.loveland@ohcg.org.au or follow our blog https://www.ohcg.org.au/albany-and-surrounds-cat-blog.html
We are supported by funding from the Western Australian Government's State Natural Resource Management Program, supported by Royalties for Regions and the Oyster Harbour Catchment Group.

GETTING our new signs was a highlight for us.
![]() School presentation On Wednesday the 17th of August we presented at South Regional TAFE Albany for a program of STEM events to celebrate National Science Week that was part of National Science Week. Students took part in a range of science-based activities as part of a South Regional TAFE Albany event titled “Combining Western and Indigenous Science to Help us Undertake Responsible Caring of the Land”. We spoke to the kids about the importance of protecting both the native wildlife and the health of our cats by keeping them contained. Sylvia Leighton from South Regional TAFE Albany Campus brought together students from Woodbury Boston Primary School, Golden Hill Steiner School, Denmark Primary School, Wellstead Primary School, South Stirling Primary School and Mt Manypeaks Primary School. We enjoyed this event and were so proud to be a part of it. Thanks to all who took part, attended or presented, including all the Conservation students and volunteers. The 8 other presentations were spoken about happily as they entered our room. Great day had by all. See the story in the Albany advertiser. https://www.albanyadvertiser.com.au/news/albany-advertiser/rural-primary-school-students-celebrate-national-science-week-at-south-regional-tafe-albany-c-7910932?fbclid=IwAR3desisuQzGU2vPYyay3r5zPwQA1YM8MkBTCTWhvpPhh6fg7-UzofQ-b3E |

Our project is off and running with a display presented at the famous “sixteen legs” exhibit which had over 150 attendees over the month. This is just the start of infiltrating the information into the community. Our plans are to really hit this hard coming into the new term with events, school visits visiting and chatting with the locals of Manypeaks, Waychinicup, and Two peoples bay to chat about how we can help with any cat issues they might be having, offer solutions to keeping your cat happy at home and listening to the thoughts and suggestions they may have.
Our first presentation was implemented at Albany Tafe to a small but very attentive group. The Conservation and Land Management class had been doing some camera trapping over the last 5 weeks at Lake Seppings and it was, unfortunately, no surprise to see numerous cats on the footage. Of course, we all know that many a cat is allowed out to wander both day and nighttime but what I found a little sad was that the invasive species, rats, foxes, and cats pretty much outweighed the native species seen.
While many people are trying to do the right thing by keeping their cats enclosed, we still have a way to go.
Cats are such an important part of Australian households and can be very effective at reducing anxiety, depression, and loneliness. I know I like nothing more than having my cat snuggled up safely on my bed when I am feeling under the weather. Protecting them from harm by keeping them indoors not only helps wildlife but is so much better for your cat’s health.
Did you know that indoor cats can live up to four times longer than outdoor cats?
By keeping your cat safe at home, you will:
• Decrease risks of cats getting hurt or dying in accidents
• Prevent them from harming or killing other animals
• Give them a better chance to enjoy a longer, healthier life.
How do we keep our cats happy at home?
We meet all their needs, here are a few hints.
Offer a variety of foods in different ways such as hidden treats and treat balls (cat-friendly vegetation is encouraged).
Cats have different water bowl preferences, have a few options available (cats especially like running water).
Cats do not always like to share or interact; a hidey-hole will act as their safe place to keep them calm and happy. While a lookout spot is good for those cats who prefer to be able to stare down on life's happenings. It’s good to have a mixture of both.
A common misconception is cats only need one litter box, cats prefer a clean area away from feeding and sleeping areas. The general rule is one tray per cat, plus one extra.
As you will have probably noticed, cats love to stretch and scratch their claws everywhere. Best to have various scratching options available. It may save your furniture.
If you would like more information on happy indoor cats have a look at this handy booklet https://safeandhappycats.com.au/ or see https://www.ohcg.org.au/albany-and-surrounds-feral-cat-working-group.html for more hints.
Watch this space for our first event on Threatened species and the threats that cats pose to them” which will hopefully be brought to you in August /September. Email jenni.loveland@ohcg.org.au if you would like to go on the upcoming event list.