The City of Jefferson  has added a new aspect to an ordinance by addressing feral cat colonies. 

Feral cats first became an issue in April of 2018 when the City temporarily stopped issuing live traps to remove animals from private properties, including feral cats. City Administrator Mike Palmer said in 2018 that the police department averaged shooting one feral cat per month, due to its demeanor and health. Fast forward to this past Tuesday’s City Council meeting, where the Council approved the third reading to amend the animal control and protection ordinance with feral cat colonies. 

Palmer tells Raccoon Valley Radio the amendment establishes what a feral cat colony is, as well as identifying those individuals who care and feed them as colony caregivers. He says there are responsibilities for the caregivers, such as reporting cat numbers, giving them medical attention if needed, and for the cat’s actions against someone else’s property.

“If you’re a caregiver of these feral cats and these cats are over on other people’s properties and destroying plants, and things, under the nuisance ordinance, you’ll be responsible for that.”

Another part of the ordinance is using the trap-neuter-return (TNR) program, which Palmer explains how that works for feral cats.

“Under TNR, if they’re spayed or neutered, they’ll have that done, and their ear will get notched, and they’re microchipped. Again, they are still going to be the responsibility of the colony person.”

Palmer adds, the ultimate goal is to reduce the number of feral cats in the City over time. The Council will review the data from the reports and assess if the TNR is effective or if they need to make changes. The ordinance amendment will take effect mid-August. Palmer says the City has since started issuing live traps to residents again. However, he notes the City will not remove the traps.