TRUMBULL COUNTY Council seeks to control cats

Stray feral cats can damage property.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A councilman thinks the city is going to the cats.
"I've been getting calls about individuals who have been harboring large amounts of cats," said Councilman Alford L. Novak, D-2nd.
One resident of his ward has 20 to 30 cats living in her garage, but she's left town, and the animals are getting onto neighbors' property, destroying flower beds, ruining outdoor furniture and traipsing on vehicles.
Last year, council passed an ordinance regulating dogs and how they're kept that included a section prohibiting cats from running at large. But that's hard to enforce when the cats are strays.
Even if the city's animal control officer is called and collects the animals, there's nowhere to take them for disposal, Novak said. Many of the feral cats roaming the streets carry disease like feline AIDS and leukemia.
Disposal
Novak said he wants to work out a plan for euthanization and disposal of cats, and he thinks it's something that could be handled by the county's dog warden, pointing to dog license fees paid by city residents.
Robert Campana, chief dog warden at the Trumbull County Dog Kennel, said that facility is equipped for dog euthanization when an animal is sick or can't be adopted, but there's nothing for cats.
"Only thing we tell them is to take them to a veterinarian," Campana said.
Some communities, like Girard, contract through their health departments with the Animal Welfare League of Trumbull County for euthanization of feral cats.
"There's nowhere else to go," Novak said. "The city doesn't have the facilities. The private places can't handle it or don't welcome the burden."
denise_dick@vindy.com