The Cat Management Task Force would like their dinner now...

They were disappointed they weren't invited for submissions to the Tasmanian Cat Management Plan proposed to 'improve the management of feral and domestic cats in Tasmania', but when not even considered for the Tasmanian Cat Management Reference Group, well this caused a major upset.  Whilst the feral cat problem is exactly that, the proposal to restrict domestic cats to owners properties is like saying your goldfish is only allowed to swim on the left side of the tank.  And as cat owners know, no two cats are alike. Some, like Maxwell failed in his early attempts at the outdoors and was bullied by birds which has left him with permanent anxiety issues.  Minnie on the other hand likes her food served early and often, and no longer has the physical attributes to chase endangered wildlife or pull any rare parrot out of a tree.  Happy (read spoilt) cats have little reason to stray.  Minnie being our outside cat, knows her place outside is to kill the odd mouse (the less mobile ones anyway) and sleep in the workshop.  She doesn't stray beyond her fence border as next door's dog would just eat her.  And probably eat us as well if we ventured in uninvited.  Max, being restricted to the indoors knows only a privileged world of regular meals, Laura Ashley blankets and ten minutes of play time at 8 o'clock each night. I'm not sure why that time, he just likes routine.  The only time Minnie crossed the threshold was when the bathroom was being renovated and we arrived home to be greeted by Bennie and Minnie each sitting on lounge chairs. So it is difficult to make rules for cats but confinement to properties could mean big costs for cat owners which seems a bit rough.  'Just keep feeding them, and the good stuff, and heaps of it' was the response from our own Cat Management Taskforce.