Keeping Cats Safe at Home (KCSAH): Lessons Learned from a Human Behavior Change Campaign to Reduce the Impacts of Free-Roaming Domestic Cats

Domestic cats are valued companions for many people, but when free-roaming, they can pose risks to biodiversity, communities, and their own welfare. Increasing cat contain-ment has become a priority in Australia, yet shifting owner practices requires overcoming behavioral and structural barriers. The Keeping Cats Safe at Home (KCSAH) project was a four-year, AUD $2.5 million initiative delivered by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals New South Wales (RSPCA NSW) from 2021 to 2024, trialing human behavior change strategies to reduce the impacts of roaming cats in 11 NSW local gov-ernment areas. Grounded in social science research, the project combined social market-ing campaigns, educational resources, school programs, and community events with subsidized desexing. The project achieved substantial reach, engaging more than 3.5 mil-lion people via social media, 42,000 through blogs, 87,000 via the website, and 36,000 through community events. Over 2,700 cats were desexed and 1,700 microchipped. Eco-logical monitoring showed reductions in free-roaming cat densities in three council areas, with many also recording declines in nuisance complaints and impoundments. Caregiv-ers exposed to campaign messaging reported greater capability, opportunity, and motiva-tion to contain cats; however, methodological constraints limited the ability to assess ac-tual behavior change. KCSAH demonstrates the opportunities and challenges of large-scale cat management, highlighting the importance of tailored interventions, veteri-nary desexing capacity, and nationally consistent monitoring frameworks.