I made a trap ........ Use a tin of tuna as bait ...... I have caught dozens of cats around my house , then I take the trap up to the local RSPCA. They remove it , scan for a microchip and contact the owners and fine them ......$120 I think it is , when they pick them up. I have caught the same one several times - that's how stupid the owners are. The ones not microchipped don't return ..... Again , stupid owners.
Last thing I'd want is cat crap and p*** all through my car and it's too much bother to personally drive it 30mins to the nearest RSPCA depot IMO only to give the owner if they can find them a slap on the wrist and token fine and then give the cat back to them.
I bought a trap (they are pretty cheap to buy, and it's a better proposition than hiring one), and in 2 days I caught 2 cats, the one from nextdoor which was taken away by the council ranger, found to be unregistered, unchipped, and no collar, and unfortunately they saw the ranger take puss away and it was back a few hours later, and the dad a lot poorer after having received fines for the no registration, no chip and no collar, who promptly came over an banged on my front door and was extremely abusive and made threats. This didn't change their behaviour as next day the cat was back roaming free 24/7 but and I've been unable to catch it again.
Hardly spoken to the man or his daughter (the cat's "owner") or his son, since that. I don't want or need to associate with them. These same people think my green strip and roadside parking in front of house is their private parking area - have even had the hide to tell me to move my car when I parked it at the curbside in front of my own home because "I had parked it so there no room for another car either end of my car" , abused me over that too and especially when I asked them to take their work truck off my green strip so it could be mowed ...... and when I reported their illegal dumping of house junk on my greenstrip and their illegal parking on my greenstrip. .... but this is another story for another day.
Only took 2 years for the cat to go away, daughter turned 18 and immediately dropped out of year 11 and left home to shack up with her boyfriend, took puss with her, hopefully it will never be back. Good ridence to it (and her).
Very next night I caught another cat, and this one was stealthfully disappeared. I no longer bother with the council ranger, I don't want the cats coming back.
Woudn't believe that someone actually came into my yard overnight one night and stole my cat trap from under my house (where it was set up and baited).
So now looking to put some plants that are repellent or even better toxic to cats into my garden as I've seen a few new cats hanging about in my yard and have found more dead birds and lizards and even a dead possum in my yard.
I think the fine should be more like $1200 per offense and it should be an offence to let the cats roam free at any time of the day or night , if people insist on having cats they must be compelled to have them sterilised at 6 weeks old, and never be allowed to go outside except into a cat excape proof enclosure, if puss wants to poo, it does it in the litter in a corner somewhere in the house..