Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 14, 1994 TAG: 9402140030
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAN VERTEFEUILLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Roanoke County residents had better know, if a proposed cat ordinance is passed by the Board of Supervisors.
Tired of the complaints they've received about wayward felines in certain neighborhoods, supervisors are considering an ordinance that would limit the number of cats per household and require owners to license their cats as they do dogs.
"In the summertime, when there's no breeze, cat droppings . . . can foul an entire subdivision, or at least a cul-de-sac," said Supervisor Bob Johnson at last week's board meeting. He made it clear he wants to act fast to get an ordinance in place.
"Buying a license for a cat is not going to help the stink," said Ken Hogan, chief of animal control for the county. "We need to remedy cats at large."
The state doesn't allow localities to address the problem of cats roaming loose, but it does permit - since July - ordinances limiting the number of cats per household. The Board of Supervisors would like to hold the number to six, only two of which could be unneutered.
It would fall upon Hogan's staff to enforce the ordinance, and he says he needs at least two extra officers and vehicles to deal with cats and other animal issues.
Cat owners, cat haters and other residents will get a chance to have their say before an ordinance is passed. County Administrator Elmer Hodge said public comments would be heard at an upcoming board meeting before a vote is taken. But he said the ordinance is a high priority for supervisors and it should be in effect by April or May if passed.
"We're going to have a cat ordinance before the budget [process begins], and that's just the way it's going to be," Johnson said, rejecting a staff suggestion to hold off until budget time so the cost of additional officers can be figured in.
Hodge said the extra animal control officers and vehicles would be needed to meet the "tremendous demand" that would be generated at first by neighbors of annoying cats. He estimated that could cost $60,000 to $70,000. He said cat license fees, which the state caps at $10, will not cover the cost.
Vinton resident Dawn Hale, who has 53 cats, believes there should be no limit on pets as long as they're spayed or neutered and can be properly cared for. Vinton already has a cat ordinance that Town Manager Clay Goodman said has worked "fairly well." It limits residents to two cats, but Hale hasn't been bothered because the ordinance is enforced only if there are complaints.
Hale believes there should be mandatory spay and neuter laws and that, if the county plans to license pets, the state should allow it to charge higher rates for unneutered animals.
"Licensing does not prevent pregnancy," she said. "If you're going to license, make it $30 or $50 so it's . . . more to their benefit to spay."
Sarah Yeager, a member of the Roanoke Valley Animal Foundation who lives in Southwest Roanoke County and has three cats, said she would not oppose licensing, but also would like to see a mandatory neutering law to cut down on the pet population.
And animal rights supporters worry that owners who don't want to buy licenses will end up dumping their cats in surrounding counties or turning them loose on the street.
Johnson said the ordinance is a matter of equality between cats and dogs, which have to be licensed. He said he knew of no differences between the two species, other than that "one barks."
Residents bothered by free-roaming cats now must get a trap from the Animal Control Department and take the trapped animal to the shelter run by the Roanoke Valley Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Under the new ordinance, the officers would have the authority to catch nuisance cats themselves and take them to the shelter, which costs $6 a day per animal.
"When we get into the cat business," Hogan said, "we're going to blow the lid off them."
Al Alexander, executive director of the Roanoke Valley SPCA's shelter, said the SPCA supports cat licensing and ordinances to control cats, even though it could increase occupancy at the shelter.
"It would increase our population, but you've got to consider the animal welfare issue," Alexander said. "Is it better to have them running the streets, getting hit by cars, starving to death? . . . We try to make room for all animals in need."
And, with cats being tagged, "the animals have a much better chance of getting back home."
Hogan, the animal control chief, said, "I've supported it from the word go, if I have the people to enforce it."
Other county departments were less enthusiastic. Terry Harrington, whose Planning Department oversees dog regulations, bowed out of cat licensing in a memo to the board.
"Because we have the responsibility of regulating dogs, we are always the bad guys telling Mr. and Mrs. Smith that they can't keep their three French poodles," he wrote. "We do not have the staff or the desire to hassle citizens over their cats."
"I understand the need," Hodge said. "The difficulty I have is absorbing the workload with the staff I have."
Without a cat ordinance, however, residents "have no hope in the county," Johnson said.
by CNB