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Angels for Animals seeks Columbiana cat rules to control ferals

COLUMBIANA — A portion of the city has been overrun by cats, and the problem is so out of hand that a non-profit organization has requested council create a law to regulate cats.

Diane Less of Angels for Animals said a law is needed to keep feral cats from continuing to procreate and wreak havoc on homes and properties.

The Canfield organization had to euthanize nine of 11 cats that were recently taken from a home on South Middle Street, she told council this week.

The problem was so bad that the city had the home at 14 S. Middle St. condemned and it was torn down recently.

The home was attracting scores of cats, due to the homeowner feeding the strays, and at one point there were more than 30 cats there at one time.

The homeowner was continuing to feed the strays even after moving out, Less said.

Cats are still coming around to the property even after the home is no longer there, she added.

“Thus far we have removed 35 felines from that property,” she said.

Of those, 25 cats were spayed and neutered by Angels for Animals and then taken by animal advocate Jason Cooke to his farm outside the county as part of his trap and release program.

Of the 11 cats still at the property recently, only two were strong enough or sociable enough to save, Less said.

“Some of these cats had damaged eyes. They were in very poor condition. It’s really ridiculous. It’s a really big waste of money and time,” she said.

She said is costs the organization $15 per cat for euthanization. The organization encourages people to spay and neuter cats to keep them from adding to an already exploding cat population.

“People always ask me if we are a no kill shelter. We are a no birth shelter,” she said.

She hopes that if the city draws up a law it will lessen the problem of stray cats and encouraged the city to take the organization’s donation cans and place them in local businesses to raise funds for the spay and neuter program.

The organization currently charges $45 for spay and neutering of three cats.

She suggested the city consider a law that would require cats to be vaccinated and spayed or neutered, and they must wear a tag bearing their owners’ name. The cats would also need to be microchipped.

She noted that Minerva has a cat law now, and it also requires that cats cannot venture off their owners’ properties.

“If they go off the property you are responsible for that,” she said.

She went on to say that in all of the cat laws she has seen implemented, the person feeding a cat is considered that cat’s owner.

“We have licensing for dogs. We have nothing for cats, except common sense. As you know, that creates a problem,” she said.

She added the organization has four attorneys on its board and would be willing to help the city draft an ordinance.

“We want to make this a better community and we want to help these animals,” she said.

kwhite@mojonews.com

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