Bass Coast Shire Council residents will have to keep their cats on their properties at all times when an expanded cat containment policy comes into effect next year.
Conservationists working in the area have welcomed the move, as they struggle to protect the little penguin and the endangered eastern barred bandicoot.
Bass Coast Shire Council CEO Ali Wastie said cats were responsible for hunting and killing thousands of native animals in the area each year.
If your cat is caught off your property, owners will face a fine under the new domestic animal management plan.
Ms Wastie said that the community had been given plenty of time to prepare for the changes ahead.
She said it's important to do education.
It's important to bring the community along, so it's not a surprise. When it comes in people have had enough time to make sure they have got their yard secure for their cats. The council pound dealt with 155 stray cats in 2020 21.
The Phillip Island Nature Park, one of Victoria's biggest natural tourism attractions, welcomed the move.
The move would help protect vulnerable native species, said Jessica McKelson, conservation manager at the nature park.
She said domestic cats contribute to stray and feral cat populations.
We catch 40 to 70 cats a year when we're doing cat trapping on crown land.
We're trying to protect our key areas where our penguins and our shearwaters and other key coastal birds live.