Domestic Animal Services has been forced to expand its cat holding facilities as the government extends the ban on roaming cats in certain suburbs.
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The Gungahlin town centre is poised to be declared a cat containment area, under an expansion of the scheme.
A large area near the Gungahlin Marketplace shopping centre will be made cat free, with cat containment zones also applied to the newly created suburbs of Macnamara and Strathnairn in west Belconnen.
The new cat containment areas will join 12 other Canberra suburbs, mostly in Weston Creek and Gungahlin, where owners must to keep their cats locked up.
The legislation comes into effect on August 15.
Owners whose cats wander the streets in cat containment suburbs face fines of up to $1500.
The containment space in the Gungahlin town centre will see roaming cats banned in the area bounded by Anthony Rolfe Avenue, Flemington Road and the Valley Avenue.
While residents are yet to move into Macnamara and Strathnairn, all of the suburbs will be made a cat containment area.
A Transport Canberra and City Services spokeswoman said the only land sold in the Gungahlin town centre east area was for to the commissioner for social housing, who was consulted on the cat containment decision.
"These three suburbs have been identified as areas for cat containment due to their close proximity to nature reserves including Woodstock, Crace and Mulangarri, reserves that have been established specifically to protect our native wildlife," the spokeswoman said.
The city services spokeswoman said 17 cats and seven kittens were brought in to the RSPCA after being found wandering in cat containment suburbs during the past financial year.
The directorate was boosting cat compliance by expanding the Domestic Animal Services shelter at Symonston to accommodate seized cats, the spokeswoman said.
RSPCA ACT animal welfare executive manager Jane Gregor welcomed the move from the government. She said the scheme would benefit both cats and native wildlife.
"I think it's a good idea, especially for areas like a town centre because it's a very dangerous area for cats to be roaming the streets," Ms Gregor said.
"It's also beneficial in the outer suburbs near all the environmental parks and reserves and we do need to protect native wildlife and cat containment helps in that."
With cat containment suburbs currently being confined to newer suburbs in Canberra, the RSPCA manager said the measure should also be expanded to existing suburbs.
"It's something that's been discussed, and I do agree that civic areas in town centres should be cat contained, because you have many areas adjacent to areas with native wildlife," she said.
Bonner resident Thomas Graham installs cat containment units across Canberra.
He said most of the units he installs aren't in cat containment suburbs, but other parts of Canberra where there are no laws against roaming cats.
"The majority of my business is in older suburbs, where people want to ensure their cats are safe," Mr Graham said.
"Some of the big drivers behind it are threatening neighbours, who threaten to harm the cats, and also cats threaten to get caught up in fights with other cats and that inevitably leads to higher vet bills."
The directorate spokeswoman said the government was looking at the feasibility of expanding cat containment to other areas of Canberra, with a cat management plan open for consultation later this year.
"We know that cat containment is a process that needs to be rolled out in consultation and collaboration with the community over time," she said.
Ms Gregor said owners must play their part in helping to protect the environment.
"Cat owners need to make sure that there is some sort of enrichment provided like scratching posts and to make sure they have stimulation and interaction," she said.
