Thursday was International Cat Day, a great time to celebrate feline companions, but in Greenwich the Board of Selectmen had their first discussion about a possible ordinance to tackle the challenge of feral cats in town.
First Selectman Fred Camillo said Greenwich lacked an ordinance and he had reached out to the state director for HSUS, Annie Hornish.
“We know we have the ability to do something like this,” he said. “Being an animal lover I care first about the animals that may be in a bad situation. And also the neighbors have brought up concerns.”
Cats for adoption at Greenwich Animal Control. File photo
Town Attorney Barbara Schellenberg said the law department had researched the town’s nuisance ordinance for relevance to the situation, but determined it did not apply.
Instead, she said the town could pursue a new ordinance.
“Nuisance in the ordinance is defined very specifically and wouldn’t deal with a situation like this. However, there is a statute Section 22-339d that allows a municipality to adopt an ordinance requiring registration within one year of the adoption of the ordinance of keepers of feral cats in residential or commercial areas,” Shellenberg said.
[The law allows towns to adopt two separate ordinances regarding cats. The first is specific to feral cats and it allows towns to require keepers of feral cats to register with the town. A town may fine violators up to $100. A town may also adopt an ordinance instructing cat owners to prohibit cats from doing damage or creating an offensive condition and allowing animal control officers to impound these cats. Violators of this ordinance are guilty of an infraction (CGS § 22-339d).]
She asked if that was something the town would like to pursue.
Camillo said it was always important to have ordinances on the books.
“I agree, see if there is a blueprint somewhere else so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” he said. “We can circle back at the next meeting and see if we can come up with something for discussion and hopefully get something over to the RTM.”
The state feral cat law allows towns to adopt an ordinance requiring those who keep feral cats in residential or commercial areas to register with the town’s animal control officer.
Recently an ongoing issue with feral cats in Old Greenwich came to light.
“We want to nip this in the bud in a humane way,” Democratic Selectperson Janet Stone McGuigan said. “I’m glad we’d be looking at the Humane Society for any type of guidance.”
Resident Pam Petito from Shore Road in Old Greenwich related her experience firsthand.
“We want a humane solution, but also a fair solution for the residents,” she said. “We’ve enjoyed living in our home in Old Greenwich for 30 years, but that changed four years ago when a neighbor on Shore Rd brought home a litter of kittens. Without the benefit of spaying or neutering, their numbers have grown tremendously.”
She said male cats spray their patio furniture and mark the perimeter of her home, including her front door.
“You can imagine coming home and finding cat urine on your front door threshold, and it’s happened many times,” she said. “They’ve used our raised organic vegetable garden as their litter box, so I can no longer use that for my vegetables. They leave feces all over our lawn and patio. If not covered, they will bed down on our outdoor cushions, covered with ticks and fleas. I’ve had to replace numerous furniture covers because they reek of cat spray. At times the smell of cat urine and feces is so unbearable that we have to cover our nose in order to walk to our cars.”
“Every day we attempt to shoo cats off our property, but they continue to return. The cats are territorial, so the more cats there are, the more widespread the problem becomes,” Petito continued. “This is not going to just go away. This year I know of three females that had kittens. This morning I saw four of them in our back yard playing. There are currently also six adults that frequent our property. That’s 10 cats in our yard alone.”
Ms Petito said many of the cats that were sick or injured had been removed by Greenwich Animal Control.
“Unfortunately, the trap-neuter-release (“TNR”) will not rid us of these problems,” she said. “These feral cats really must be completely removed from the area. This is not only a town nuisance but a public health issue.”
Ms Petito said her family had lost the peaceful enjoyment of their home and surrounding property.
The topic will return to the Selectmen agenda in September, by which time the law department will have been able to study similar ordinances in other towns.