(A) Feral cat care giver requirements.
(1) The purpose of this section is to provide humane care and oversight while significantly decreasing the feral cat population within the jurisdictional boundaries of the city. Equally, the intent is to also maintain the health, safety and welfare of the citizens and domesticated animals and pets.
(2) A FERAL CAT shall be defined as a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild, or the descendants of such an animal. It is distinguished from a stray cat, which is a pet cat that has been lost or abandoned, while feral cats have never been socialized. The offspring of a stray cat can be considered feral if born in the wild.
(3) Pursuant to the stated purpose of reducing the number of feral cats in the city, it shall therefore be unlawful for any person to intentionally provide food, water or other forms of sustenance or care to a feral cat or feral cat colony unless the person registers as a feral cat care giver with the local SPCA shelter.
(4) A FERAL CAT CARE GIVER is defined as any individual registered to feed/water feral cats and/or feral cat colonies in existence within the jurisdictional limits of the city, after having completed proper registration as defined by the following administrative and operational requirements.
(a) Feral cat care givers shall annually register with the local SPCA shelter, along with their colonies. The local SPCA shelter shall use the “PetPoint” record keeping system and provide an up-to-date list of all registered feral cat care givers to the city’s Police Department. At any time, the Police Department shall have access to the local SPCA shelter fecal cat records upon request.
(b) Written permission authorizing registered feral cat care givers to go onto a specified property so as to feed/water cats must be obtained from the respective property owner(s); said documentation must be maintained by the local SPCA shelter with copy to the city’s Police Department Administration Division. When acting in a care giver capacity, care givers shall maintain and carry an identification card, as issued by the SPCA, which will serve as proof of their registered feral cat care giver status.
(c) No location established to feed/water a feral cat or feral cat colony shall be located within 100 feet of any residentially-zoned district.
(d) A standard trap-neuter-release (TNR) form shall be provided by local SPCA shelter to all feral cat care givers so as to register the cats and shall be filed at the shelter. The form shall identify all cats by colony being maintained by the care givers. The SPCA’s TNR program, including trapping, cage monitoring and cleanup and removal of cat food, shall be overseen and maintained by officials at the local shelter; and shall be the governing tool for administering oversight of feral cat colonies in the city.
(e) Care givers agree to assume responsibility and make arrangements for the feeding of their colony throughout the year, including weekends and holidays.
(f) Care givers agree that to avoid nocturnal animals such as raccoons and opossums, feeding of feral cat colonies shall be restricted to daylight hours and all food must be removed by 6:00 p.m. (EST). Food can only be placed at a single feeding station, located in an area not easily accessible or visible to the public. Food shall be limited to dry kibbles and must be in plastic containers; no food will be scattered on the pavement in public places.
(g) Adoptable cats/kittens shall not be returned to the colony. Cats/kittens with health issues, such as signs and symptoms of rabies and/or feline panleukopenia (feline distemper) shall not be returned to any colony and will be disposed of in accordance with SPCA policy.
(h) Photographs of all cats/kittens shall be taken. The information shall be input into the existing SPCA records keeping system thereby assigning each cat a location, care giver and ID number. All necessary documentation shall be kept in one central place, by the local SPCA shelter and shall be accessible by the city’s Police Department.
(i) Registered feral cat care givers agree to assume full responsibility for the medical care of all of the feral cats they oversee and will maintain proof of sterilization, vaccination for rabies and distemper and medical records, as overseen by the SPCA. Feral cats returned to the colony shall be vaccinated, sterilized (i.e., spayed or neutered) and ear-tipped.
(5) Except for food-placed by a registered feral cat care giver, it shall be unlawful for anyone to place, distribute or allow the placement, or food, minerals, carrion, trash or similar substances to feed or attract cats. It shall also be unlawful for anyone, once notified by the city, to continue to place, distribute or allow the placement of any food, mineral, carrion, trash or similar substances for any purpose if the placement of these materials results in the presence of any cats, feral or domesticated. After notification, such person shall be in violation of the law if the placing, distribution or presence of such food, minerals, carrion, trash or similar substances continues and there is evidence of his or her wrongdoing.
(6) The city reserves the right to seek removal or destruction of a feral cat colony or a feral cat if the colony or cat creates a circumstance, in the opinion of the Chief of Police or his or her designee, which poses or creates a threat to the health, safety or welfare of the residents of the city or other domesticated animals within the city. Courtesy notification will be sent to the local SPCA shelter 24 hours prior to executing this provision of this section.
(7) Feeding and watering of feral cats is prohibited on any property owned, operated or leased by the city.
(B) Annual report documenting number of feral cats/feral cat colonies. In order to accurately determine the number of feral cats and feral cat colonies within the city, the SPCA shall provide, in writing, an annual report which details the numbers of feral cats checked at the shelter; how many cats have been trapped/neutered/released; and how many unadoptable and sick cats have been euthanized by the shelter. The annual report for the preceding year shall be provided to the Police Department by no later than January 30 of any calendar year.
(C) Enforcement. The provisions of this section shall be enforced by the Animal Control Officer and deputy Animal Control Officers, and may be enforced by law enforcement officers of the Police Department.
(D) Tampering and altering of feral cat traps prohibited. It shall be unlawful for any person other than law enforcement officers of the city’s Police Department or the County Sheriff’s office or persons authorized by either law enforcement organization to tamper, alter, move, transfer, destroy and/or otherwise interfere with the intended use of traps utilized in the capture of feral cats within the jurisdictional boundaries of the city.
(Ord. 2015-08-06, passed 8-24-2015) Penalty, see § 90.99