Calgary, Canada will limit each household to 6 cats starting January 2022

Calgary in Canada have taken the plunge and decided to limit the number of cats that a person or persons can own and care for in their home to a maximum of six, starting January 2022. It will be a bylaw and dogs will be similarly limited. People are also limited to 6 dogs each at an off-leash park. The new bylaw gives the authorities the right to deem an animal vicious or a nuisance. I suspect that this applies to dogs running around at large frightening and perhaps attacking people.

Calgary, Canada. They are limiting homes to 6 cats from Jan 2022. Pic: Image by David Mark from Pixabay.

It is an interesting development and one that I favour quite definitely. I wrote an article recently: Law should require a license to keep more than 6 cats in a home.

I don't think the average cat owner can care properly for more than five or six cats. By "properly" I mean providing a very good environment in which they can express their natural desires and be content. A lot of so-called behavioural problems arise out of multi-cat households because cats are not naturally predisposed to living in close proximity with each other.

Australia probably leads the way in restricting the total number of cats a person or persons can own. In September 2019 it was reported that an Australian town, Mount Barker, limited each household to 2 cats. These relatively tough rules are the product of a feral cat problem in Australia. The authorities see a problem with stray and feral cats which probably has driven them to these rather harsh rules.

Mount Barker is 20 miles from Adelaide. The town's mayor, Ann Ferguson claimed that she was a cat lover and no ill feeling is intended by the strict rules. Australians hope to cull 2 million feral cats by 2020. They do this in a very cruel and indefensible way, sadly. There should be better ways.

There will be many more local laws in developed countries limiting the number of cats in homes. It is a new trend. It is time to do something tangible to improve cat welfare and reduce the number of abandoned cats. There is also the problem of feral cats and their creation. This causes endless arguments between residents. Note: some people can cope with a large number of cats but they are the exception.