The cat curfew rules for the City of Yarra.

Yes. Yarra has a night-time cat curfew, so your cat must be kept on your property between 7pm and 7am every day. It started on 1 January 2024, mainly to protect native wildlife and to keep cats safe from cars and fights at night. The council also recommends keeping your cat contained during the day, and a fully enclosed cat run is an easy way to meet the curfew without shutting your cat indoors.

Yes. Under Victorian law every cat over three months old must be registered with the council, and Yarra is no exception. Registration renews each year and is due by 10 April. Your cat also needs to be microchipped before you can register it.

Yes to both. A microchip is required before you can register your cat. Desexing has been mandatory for cats in Yarra since 2010, and the council will not register or renew a cat that isn't desexed unless you are a registered breeder or your vet advises against it. Desexed cats also pay a lower registration fee.

You can keep up to two cats at a house without a permit, or one cat in a flat or unit. If you want more than that, you'll need an excess animal permit from the council. It's worth checking the current details with Yarra before you take on another cat.

You don't need an animal permit just to build a cat run. What can come into play is a building permit, and that depends on the size, height and where the structure sits on your block. As a rough guide in Victoria, small freestanding structures under about 10 square metres and no more than 3 metres high often don't need a building permit, but it's best to check with the council for your situation.

There can be. Once a structure gets larger or taller, or sits close to a boundary, building rules about height and setback start to apply. In Victoria a structure within a metre of the boundary usually has a lower height limit. We build to sit within the common exemptions where we can, and for anything larger it's worth a quick call to the council to confirm what applies to your property.

If your cat is out on someone else's property, or roaming between 7pm and 7am, the council can issue an infringement notice. A cat found without current council registration can also be picked up. Keeping your cat contained, registered and wearing its details is the simplest way to avoid any trouble.

Often yes, though it depends on your setup. Yarra is a mix of apartments, terraces and older houses, so the right enclosure might be a freestanding run in a courtyard, a window or balcony box, or a screened section of a yard. If you rent, you'll need your landlord's okay first, and for an apartment or unit it's worth checking any owners corporation rules. We can design something that suits the space and can be taken with you if you move on.

A fully enclosed catio keeps your cat safely on your property, which is exactly what containment rules ask for, while still giving them fresh air and the sounds and smells of outside. We build a range of escape-proof enclosures, from a discreet patio catio to a side run or netting over the whole backyard, so there's an option to suit your home. Build a quote to get started.

Yes, we build custom catios right across greater Melbourne, including the City of Yarra. If you're not sure you're in range, get in touch and we'll let you know.

Always confirm the current rules with the council directly via the City of Yarra website (opens in a new tab). The guide above is research we've collated to help you get started, not legal advice, see the note at the foot of this page.