A new era in animal control

Cat owners in Willow Springs will soon be required to register their pets. City Administrator Beverly Hicks spoke to Howell County News about free-roaming felines, which she described as a long-standing and multifaceted problem in the town. 

The first layer to a solution, Hicks said, is distinguishing between feral populations and pet cats running at large. 

Willow Springs has an ordinance regarding the management of cats running at large, but Hicks says it has largely gone unenforced. In the first place, the animal control position has seen considerable turnover with at least four individuals in the position in the last three years. Second, the ordinance circumvents the city's lack of facilities to house cats by dictating that felines should be surrendered to an appropriate shelter "if available."

Hicks says there is no such suitable shelter available. If animal control begins impounding cats running at large, the animals will eventually be euthanized if they are not adopted. There is no place to take them.

City Hall receives complaints about cats "all the time," Hicks said in an Oct. 14 interview. Mostly, the complaints are about health hazards or property destruction.

"People want to live in peace, and it's my job to preserve that peace," Hicks said. "There is no good solution. People see the problem, but what is the solution?"

Commenting on the newly formed group, Willow Springs Friends of Ferals, which seeks to trap, neuter, and release feral cats, Hicks said, "I am thankful that somebody has acknowledged the issue."

She went on to say the group has not appeared before the Board of Aldermen or met with her in person. They did reach out to City Hall for resources.

Both Hicks and the group spoke to this reporter about education about responsible pet care practices as a key piece of the solution, but Hicks does differ from the Friends of Ferals on one point: the city strongly discourages the practice of feeding stray cats. 

Hicks is optimistic about what she called "a new era in code and nuisance enforcement." She hopes the not-yet-implemented registration program will work well for both pet owners and their neighbors.