A GROWING colony of feral cats have posed a significant risk to local wildlife in Jimboomba.
VetLove Jimboomba veterinarian Yuki Mak said an increasing number of gliders, birds and lizards have been sent to the clinic suffering cat bit wounds.
"They often don't survive...fractured wings are better than puncture wounds from cats," Dr Mak said.
In previous years, VetLove has incurred costs of up to $20,000 per year treating injured wildlife.
The clinic has documented the removal of 13 feral cats from Jimboomba cats over the past three months.
Feral cats are also causing grief to local retailers.
Jimboomba Junction Shopping Centre facilities manager Sarah Martin said a solution was needed to stop the feral cat population from growing.
"It has been an ongoing issue, we have had to do repair work because of damage caused by cats in certain tenancies," she said.
"It is good that Logan City Council have come on board with a mitigation plan to solve the issue.
"We need to stress that people are not to feed the cats."
Feral cats are frequently sighted nears bins and fast food areas between KFC at Cerina Court and Subway at the Jimboomba Shopping Centre.
Dr Mak said it was important for people to report feral cat sightings to Logan City Council and refrain from feeding them.
"People are feeding them so they are breeding and when that happens the problem does not get resolved," she said.
"A lot of people are doing private traps. If we don't remove the feral cats and control the population we will keep seeing more.
"Some of those cats will produce up to 10 kittens each and if 50 per cent of them are females we could end up with thousands of them."
A Logan City Council spokesperson said it was vital for all pet owners to keep their cats desexed and contained.
"Stray or unwanted cats are different from feral cats but can still cause environmental harm," the spokesperson said.
"Council has a trapping program for feral cats and wild dogs. Residents concerned about feral cats can also loan a trap from council."
The council announced a review into pet ownership laws and completed a community consultation period earlier this year.
Community opinion on issues including how many cats and dogs a resident can keep, control of cats in public places, dog lead lengths and enclosure requirements were sought.
The review will inform likely changes to specific sections of cat and dog keeping laws.
Residents can contact Logan City Council on 3412 3412.
