09/08/2026
A Conversation About The Cats🐈🐈⬛
We are seeing a lot of social media conversations about the new proposed cat ordinances. Many of these posts seem to be filled with misinformation. We would like to dispel some of these, while also answering some of the questions/concerns. The additions to the cat ordinances have involved lots of research and experience into these issues.
📌The Main Issues:
The over population of cats in many areas in the City. The basis of this problem is people feeding stray cats. Most people who feed these cats are doing it because they care about animals. We understand that. But good intentions don’t always mean that the outcome is good for the community, the cats, or their environment.
Many say that they will “starve if I don’t feed them” or “I’m saving them”. When cats are fed regularly outdoors without a comprehensive plan for population control, the food can attract additional cats and wildlife. Unsterilized cats reproduce quickly, and before long a few cats can turn into a much larger issue.
Feeding of stray cats also can lead to other nuisance behaviors such as spraying, increased fighting, feces/urine around homes and public areas, and increased diseases/parasites.
🤔Other Concerns:
You are still allowed to feed YOUR outside cats. The city would be requiring that those animals be spayed or neutered. The city would also require them to be vaccinated for rabies and that you attach identification to them to designate it is an owned cat. That way, we can return the animal to the owner if it is picked up.
Feeding of YOUR outside cats cannot last longer than 1 hour and all food must be removed and none left for prolonged periods of time. This is so that stray and wild animals are not being fed.
🐱Trap-Neuter-Return:
With these proposed new ordinances, the city also recognizes that TNR (Trap- Neuter- Return) will be widely used inside the city. We have used this strategy already in a few places inside the city over the last few years with good success. As a general policy, the City WILL NOT be trapping and removing any cats within the city. We did this for many years, and for those stray cats, it was a one way street to euthanasia, and did not help the problem. TNR is the only scientifically proven method to actually reduce the stray/feral cat population over time. The cats are trapped, spayed or neutered at our local vets, vaccinated, ear-tipped, and returned to the area they were trapped. These cats will now live out their lives, free from the normal cat fighting and breeding cycles that come with unsterilized cats. Over time, with fewer and fewer litters of kittens being born the overall population will decrease. Also, all cats caught are being evaluated by a licensed veterinarian for overall health. There are times when sick/injured animals are caught. Any euthanization that happens is solely based on the doctor’s recommendations, for the best interest of the animal. In the event that a discarded house cat is caught or young kittens, and they can be safely housed at the shelter, we will make all attempts to keep them and find good homes for them. If for some reason this does not work, i.e. cat does not use litter box, cat cannot get used to being contained, etc. these animals will be released back where they were trapped. No one hates euthanizing animals more than us. Shelter staff strive daily to save and find homes for animals. For close to 10 years, your city shelter has euthanized LESS than 10 percent of animals that come through our doors. Currently, we only euthanize severely sick/injured animals, aggressive animals that cannot be adopted out, and those court ordered by a judge. Any information or statements to the contrary are flat out false. TNR is only as good as we make it. We have received some calls about getting one or two outside cats fixed with TNR. This program is not designed for the one or two cats that someone is feeding. This is for the 15-20 cats that are being fed. If you have a couple cats that you're feeding, it is your responsibility as their caretaker to get them fixed before it becomes a much larger issue. TNR will be looking for those large populations of cats that people are feeding. As those large populations are taken care of then we can move to smaller amounts in the future. Resources for this are not unlimited and will have to be targeted to do the most good. We have worked with both our local veterinarian’s offices with TNR in the past and look forward to continuing in the future. We all still need to exercise some personal responsibility in our actions by being part of the solution and getting YOUR cats spayed or neutered.
🔑Education is Key:
We spend a lot of our time educating pet owners. This will not change. The ACO spends a lot more time talking and educating pet owners than he does writing citations. The problem in the past has been very few ways to hold people accountable for their actions. These ordinance changes allow for some enforcement action when someone does not want to abide or change their actions. This is never the first option, but rather another tool that can be used to correct irresponsible behavior. We look forward to working with the citizens as we try to make a difference in these animals' lives and our community.
🧐What Happens Next:
Currently, if and when the ordinance changes are enacted, TNR money has been asked for in next year's budget. If approved, it will begin in January 2027. Of course, weather permitting, we hope to be trapping by March-April. That of course doesn't mean the flood gates open. We still have to work with the vet offices on surgery appointment dates and other logistical concerns. In the past, we would have a standing appointment for 4-5 cats every Wednesday or Thursday which gave time for cats to be trapped and held for the appointment. After recovering from surgery, the cats would be returned and released. If you or someone you know is feeding cats, let us know. We will go visit them and see if we can work together. This is not a time to issue citations, it's a time to educate and work on controlling this problem.
If you have any questions you can contact the following:
☎️Animal Control: 417-448-2710 (non-emergency line)
☎️Animal Shelter : 417-448-5109 ext. 2
