A North Carolina city is cracking down on free-roaming cats, warning pet owners to keep their cats leashed outside, or face fines.
Cary, North Carolina — a city of 176,000 people located on the outskirts of Raleigh — has had an ordinance on the books for more than half a century that requires all domestic pets, including cats, to be leashed at all times outside of their owner’s property.
Similar rules exist in other Wake County cities and towns across the state.
But Cary’s leash law caused an uproar on social media earlier this week after the city’s Animal Services reminded residents on its Facebook page that “cats must be leashed when not on their owner’s property.”
The local agency listed several risks of allowing cats to go feral, including the fact that the popular pet kills a large number of birds each year, is the number one predator of small mammals and can transmit disease to wildlife and humans.
Pet owners in Cary, North Carolina, are required to keep their cats on a leash if the animal is off their property. Yuliya – stock.adobe.com
“The safest thing to do for an outdoor cat is to teach it to be a house cat,” says Animal Services. “Indoor cats generally live longer, will not be hit by cars or at risk of injury from other animals.”
Tens of thousands of homes in Cary have at least one cat. Each year, Animal Services receives about 1,000 calls about feral or feral cats or kittens, supervisor Chuck Haggist told the News & Observer.
“For cats, they don’t have to be attached to your property but when they step onto the neighbor’s property down the street, that’s where the issue comes in,” Haggist said.
Cary has had a chain ordinance for more than 50 years. carync.gov
Owners caught violating leash regulations can be fined between $20 and $250, depending on the number of offenses.
On the fifth offense, a cat caught walking off-leash can be confiscated and taken to a shelter, where it must be reclaimed by its owner for a fee.
Haggist said that while his agency is not actively looking for stray cats, it urges pet owners to understand the dangers to the cats themselves and those around them.
“Coyotes kill cats; there are hawks, owls,” Haggist said. “The lifespan of an outdoor cat is about half that of an indoor cat.”
Cary Animal Services reminded residents Monday to keep their cats indoors or on a leash outside because of the pain. Cary Animal Services/Facebook
Despite their relatively small size, cats are highly skilled predators that hunt birds, lizards and other small creatures.
The American Bird Conservancy previously said that cats kill an estimated 2.4 billion birds in the US alone each year.
Cat owners have the option of building outdoor enclosures, called “catios”, to keep their curious kitties confined to their property while enjoying nature, or installing invisible fences like those used for dogs.
Cary, North Carolina, is a city of 176,000 people located on the outskirts of Raleigh. David – stock.adobe.com
Not everyone in Cary, however, is on board with the feline crackdown.
In 2019, a resident — who noted that she doesn’t own a cat — started an online petition, asking the Cary City Council to repeal the leash ordinance because it’s “against the nature of cats to be tethered.”
A Change.org petition has been signed by 267 like-minded cat lovers.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
