Cowra Council will call upon the RSPCA to help them enforce a number of conditions to improve the welfare of the animals living at Camp Kitty.
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A report from an animal behaviour specialist recommends number of cats on the property be reduced to no more than 30, modifying existing buildings and separating the cats into social groups of between four and six cats.
The next step is to work with the Conimbla Road property owner Richard McCudden to remove more than 150 felines from the premises.
Cowra councillors called for a written response from the RSPCA to a report presented to them earlier this month.
"I think its important the RSPCA and its support be formalised," said Cr Ian Brown.
Others agreed, saying seeking a written response makes it incumbent on the RSPCA to say whether they fully support or not - especially considering the RSPCA has inspected the property.
Cr Peter Wright even sought to put a time frame on the response; however Mayor Bill West believed the term 'matter of urgency' sufficient.
Dr Kersti Seksel from Sydney Animal Behaviour Services attended Mr McCudden's property earlier this year and wrote the report, which has been forwarded to the RSPCA and the Minister for Primary Industries.
She said the animals' failure to exhibit "normal and preferential behaviours" is a clear indicator of mental or psychological distress.
"Free living domestic cats will ordinarily form into social groups of between 3 and 20 cats. Where a group of 20 or so cats have come together they are invariably related or familiar with one another in some way. Unrelated and unfamiliar cats will form much smaller social groups," the report said.
"Observation of the cats showed that the majority of cats at the property, particularly those in the large enclosure, were not exhibiting normal or preferred behaviours. This is consistent with cats that are in dysfunctional social groups and unable to adapt to the environment they find themselves in."
Dr Seksel said groups of cats housed together require a certain amount of vertical space as well as hiding places.
She found the amount of space was inadequate for the number of felines on the property.
Clustered feeding, watering and toileting resources added another level of strain for the animals.
"The maximum number of cats to be kept at this property should not exceed 30 unless there has been completion of a building program to provide for additional suitable facilities to accommodate the additional cats and there is a commitment to providing sufficient carers for the additional cats at a rate of one full-time equivalent per 30 cats per day," she said.
Her report highlighted issues of animal hoarding, also known as "pathological altrusim".
"The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC) was founded in 1997 by a group of individuals concerned about human and animal welfare and is based at the Cummings School of Veterinary medicine at Tufts University in Massachusetts USA," she wrote.
"In 2006 they published a community intervention manual which defined animal hoarding as" having more than the typical number of companion animals; failing to provide appropriate standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter, and veterinary care, often resulting in animal illness and death from starvation, spread of infectious disease and untreated injury or medical condition; denial of the inability to provide appropriate care and the effect of that failure on the animals, the household and human occupants of the dwelling, and; persistence, despite this failure, in accumulating and controlling animals.
"Although hoarding may start out as a seemingly benevolent mission to save animals, eventually the needs of the animals become lost to the person's needs for control. The resulting compulsive care giving is pursued to fulfil unmet human needs, while the real needs of the animals are ignored or disregarded. Sometimes hoarders act as individuals, and other times they masquerade as animal rescue activities."
Council has also advised their solicitors to begin preparing for the case to be brought to court should Mr McCudden not comply with the orders under the Local Government Act.