Residents in part of Melbourne to face fines if their cats stray from home at any time

It will soon be illegal for residents in one Melbourne council to let their cats stray off their property at any time of day or night.

Knox City Council has introduced a 24-hour cat curfew, which comes into effect on October 1.

Residents who let felines stray will only receive warnings for the first six months.

After that, they will be whacked with a $91 fine for a first offence, and up to $545 or additional curfew breaches.

Ecologist at La Trobe University, Dr Jim Radford, welcomed the move.

“Feral cats and domestic cats are a massive problem for our wildlife,” he said.

“I think that’s a really progressive move and I congratulate them.”

While several other councils have night curfews for cats, Dr Radford says he’s not aware of any others that have a 24-hour curfew.

Press PLAY below to hear Dr Radford explain why keeping cats inside is important