By Nigel Maxwell

Stray cats causing issues in Nipawin

Nov 9, 2017 | 8:00 AM

After concerns raised regarding the number of stray cats trapped in town, Nipawin’s operations committee has been assigned the task of reviewing its cat bylaw.

Town administrator Barry Elliot said there have been some concerns raised regarding the increasing number of cats caught and brought to the kennel.

“It was just a request made that we revisit the bylaw to see if we can tighten that up a little bit,” he said.

To get a better sense of the problem, northeastNOW reached out to one vet who took in 16 stray cats last month and in one case they dealt with a wild colony of 11. Their records show a constant monthly intake of strays although some months are worse than others.

Elliot said bylaw change options may include fines or boarding fees.  

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“The intent here is that the tax payer is not paying for those services but rather the offending parties do,” he said.

The town of Nipawin does have a euthanization policy but Elliot said this is treated as a last resort, adding the town goes to extreme lengths to relocate the animals.

The town administration is looking to other communties for input, including Carrot River which recently updated its own cat bylaw.

A spokesperson for the Northeast SPCA told northeastNOW the issues around stray cats are also being felt in Melfort and Humboldt, and veterinarians are taking the brunt of the costs.

nigel.maxwell@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell