Our initiative is aimed at raising awareness of the detrimental effects that domestic cats have on urban wildlife. On top of that, we want to provide cat owners with the tools to help reduce their cats impact. Outreach is our main focus – the more people we reach, the bigger difference we can make.

It is estimated that cats can kill around 200 wild animals each year. Cats with bells on their collars only kill half as many, and even better – cats kept indoors kill 0. For each cat wearing a bell or kept indoors, we have the potential to save up to 200 animals per cat per year, or 3600 over their lifetime – that’s huge!

Biodiversity describes all the different forms of life in a place such as plants, animals and even fungi. It is all connected, which means that if some species deplete, others may suffer and unwanted species can move in. Protecting our native species ensures that a balance is maintained – we don’t lose our iconic animals, and we don’t become over run with pests.

Many people assume cats only kill unwanted pest animals like rats but unfortunately that is not the case. Pet cats kill 66.9m native mammals, 79.7m native birds and 82.9m native reptiles every year. This includes mammals such as possums and feathertail gliders, birds like rosellas and fairy wrens, and reptiles such as blue-tongue lizards and skinks. Many of the species preyed upon such as fairy terns and lyre birds, are already threatened with extinction.

We are in the process of collaborating with local organisations to ensure our message is spread loud and clear. If you have any suggestions or would like to work with us, please get in touch – we would love to hear from you.

That’s great news! You can help to spread our message by submitting or uploading a picture and tagging us. Ensure all of your friends’ cats also wear bells and you could also consider keeping your cat indoors – it is safer for them, and reduces wildlife kills even more.

We understand cats can be stubborn. If your cat won’t keep their bell on, then you could consider keeping them indoors, especially at night. There are also a variety of other collar deterrents you could try, such as bright frilly collars – these are especially good at alerting birds and mammals of your cats’ presence.