Meanwhile, the Kangaroo Island Cat Control Committee is ready to wage war on the possible introduction of a new breed of wild cat to Australia and the Mayor Jayne Bates has foreshadowed a complete ban on domestic cats.

Cheryl May, of Cygnet River, found three kittens on her doorstep last week. Another turned up at Stephanie Wilks’ place and another was spotted at the airport, probably all from the same litter.

Ms May said kittens had been dumped regularly at Cygnet River over the 24 years she had lived there.

“It’s not fair on us, who have to deal with the problem, or on the kittens who are quite defenceless,” Ms May said.

She said some residents trapped the cats and took them to the vet to be found homes or put down but many probably found their way into the feral population.

Kangaroo Island has some of the strictest laws in Australia on the keeping of cats, which must be microchipped and confined to their own yard.

The Kangaroo Island Council has mounted a campaign over the past three years to enforce the laws.

The fine for dumping cats or kittens is $80 for each animal. The council’s general inspectors will collect reported stray cats and take them to the vets. If not microchipped they will be considered feral and put down.

Meanhwile, a proposal to allow the importation of a new breed of cat has stirred the KICCC into action.

The Savannah cat is a cross between domestic cats and the African wild Serval cat.

KICCC spokeswoman Louisa Daveriadams said the cats could grow to 13kg, about double the size of a domestic cat and would wreak havoc on wildlife.

She said the KICCC was constantly frustrated by the inadequacy of local trapping programs and a lack of funding. American River resident and notorious cat catcher Barry Green is about to rack up his 1000th trapped cat. [See letter on Page 4]

A parliamentary inquiry into natural resource management on Kangaroo Island has said that trapping does not have long-term viability and commended the KI NRM Board on its trial of bait and toxin programs.

In giving evidence to the inquiry, Mayor Jayne Bates, also foreshadowed the elimination of domestic cats from the island.

“The next step for this community – and it is down the track – is that the cat you’ve got is the last cat you’ll ever have and that there is a ban on these domestic animals on the island. I think that is a way off but it is the way this community is heading,” she told the inquiry.