The Wellington City Council has decided that killing cats if they aren't micro-chipped is a step too far.
The Council is considering making it compulsory for cats to have a collar or be microchipped as part of proposed changes to animal bylaws.
An initial report it released suggested those that were not identifiable may be perceived as strays and killed, but that proposal was withdrawn today.
Councillor Iona Pannett said killing cats that could not be identified was too harsh.
"We are already moving a long way by making it mandatory to identify you cat, and I would be extremely worried if people heard that we were going to potentially trap and kill their domestic animal."
Ms Pannett said the public would be able to have their say on mandatory micro-chipping as part of public consultation in April.
