There seems to be a misconception out there that Gareth Morgan hates cats. But the fact of the matter is he's a ‘born again' native bird lover.

He's always owned cats and likes to keep his indoors now that he knows what opportunistic natural hunters they are.

"Imagine a New Zealand teeming with native wildlife, penguins on the beach, kiwis roaming about in your garden. Imagine hearing birdsong in our cities." This was the vision articulated by environmentalist and cat lover Gareth Morgan. How do you bring that vision alive?

Clearly, someone piping up about the need for managing the number of feral cats (Felis catus) in our native forest is going to be generally ignored by many of us who have more self-consuming priorities taking our attention.

But, point the finger at one of our much-loved 1.4 million cats and there's an instant furore.

Is anyone barely listening when Department of Conservation staff say: 'The Department of Conservation (DOC) recommends keeping your cat indoors at night (including dawn and dusk). This is when the hunting and prowling instinct of a cat is strongest and when birds are sitting on their nests.”

The general reaction to that is 'my cat wouldn't do that”. Or we yawn.

But take someone out to see a nesting kakapo, set up a night camera, and show them how night after night, visiting cats are prowling the burrow waiting for the baby kakapo to pop out into the world and you turn that person into an ardent supporter of native New Zealand birdlife. This ‘born again' starts a campaign to eradicate pet cats in New Zealand in order to help save the birds. Immediate awareness and vexed ruffling of feathers amongst cat lovers.

Moturiki (Leisure Island) which is directly opposite Gareth's Mount Maunganui home, was the potential site of a colony of diving petrels of which 100 per cent of the prospecting birds were eliminated by one domestic cat. It went across to the island night after night leaving a trail of dead birds who had been trying to establish a colony there.

The Government has formally endorsed a bold vision for a Predator Free New Zealand by 2050. They are investing $28m over four years into projects that will remove rats, stoats and possums from around a million hectares of land.

The plan is to triple their spending by working in partnership with communities, councils, the private sector and philanthropists.

How do we manage our loved cat? How do we minimise its impact on the environment?

Gareth recommends getting a bell for your cat, get it neutered, keep it inside and don't replace it when it dies.