Large group protests White Oak’s feral cat ordinance

By JEFF STITT

jstitt@yourmvi.com

A large group of animal lovers attended White Oak’s council meeting Monday to complain about a feral cat ordinance passed just before Christmas.

Many of the people who attended or spoke weren’t from the borough, but help to operate area animal rescues, cat colonies and feline Trap, Neuter, Release programs. 

The group alleges language in the ordinance is broad when it comes to defining a nuisance cat and feeding of feral/stray cats.

That, the animal lovers say, leaves those trying to responsibly care for feral and stray cats with little room to defend themselves or the cats they care for when a neighbor makes a complaint about cats or feeding being a nuisance. 

The group argued that having broad definitions about feeding cats and what is considered a nuisance allows neighbors to easily complain, whether or not they have proof or not about the cat, which then in turn makes it hard to operate a cat colony or TNR program.

The ordinance’s definition of nuisance states that “an animal shall be considered a nuisance if it habitually trespasses upon or damages other private or public property or annoys or harms lawful users or occupants thereof.”

It goes on to state that it is unlawful for a person to knowingly keep or harbor any cat that is viscous, habitually cries or howls or roams unwelcome onto someone else’s property or scratches, digs or defecates on public or private property not belonging to the cat’s owner/caretaker.

The ordinance also states that it is considered a nuisance for “any person to knowingly own, keep, care for, shelter, control or maintain any cat in such a manner so as to disturb or duly annoy any reasonable person of normal sensitivity through the cat’s noise, smell, mischief or other harmful propensities.”

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