Now here’s an issue that is sure to raise the fur of thousands of St. Albertans: the city’s animal control bylaw is up for review. And that means the issue of cat licensing will be back on the front burner.
The city is asking residents to voice their opinions about the animal control bylaw by filling out a survey. The step is being taken after a number of complaints from residents about cats as well as some issues with enforcement challenges.
There are a number of issues in the survey – including the possibility of backyard chickens – so it should attract lots of responses.
There will be comments about dogs off leashes in some parks, dogs pooping in front yards, and the question of whether residents should be subjected to cockadoodle-doing in the mornings.
But if history is any indication, it’s the cat licensing that will dominate discussion and the survey is sure to draw heavy response from both cat haters and cat owners.
Cat owners are a curious breed. They love their pets but they let them roam free, to kill birds, to fight with each other and to invade neighbours’ yards where they urinate and defecate in gardens and children’s sandboxes.
Many of those neighbours, even those who grew up with pets, have learned to loathe cats – and to a lesser degree dogs – and their owners who seem to have collectively conspired to make life less pleasant by virtue of their presence.
It’s not all cat owners, of course. Probably most are considerate enough of their neighbours to keep their cats indoors or on a leash – and what is wrong with putting the cat on a leash when it’s outdoors, just as the dog is when it’s out of the owner’s yard?
Now we would never castigate all pet owners for the transgressions of a few, but the number of the few seems to have grown, especially when it comes to cats and poop.
Cats that defecate in neighbours’ yards seem to know they aggravate the neighbour and enjoy it so much they follow the family if they move around the corner.
Of course, we don’t license cats and any time the discussion comes up, cat owners howl about cats needing to roam free. Well if they need to roam free, why claim any ownership of them?
No matter how much cayenne pepper or other ‘guaranteed’ repellents, no matter how often one chases the felonious felines away with shouts or bursts from the Super Soaker, they always return. Some residents have resorted to renting traps, but with no licensing bylaw, what would you do with the cat after catching it?
The Gazette has printed more than its share of letters about dog and cat poop … it ranks right up there with fire pits and taxes as one of the most popular subjects for letters to the editor. But most dog owners now have learned to carry their little grocery bags around, diligent in their doody duties.
But cat owners continue to allow their pets to run free, to do their thing in other people’s yards. So those owners shouldn’t be surprised when others complain about their cats, and they shouldn’t complain themselves if the city finally gets up enough courage to bring in cat licensing.
