Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The Sweet Home City Council and Budget Committee will consider whether to spend $5,000 to help Linn County sterilize cats and start reducing the population of feral cats.
The council’s administration and finance committee discussed the program on March 27 following a presentation earlier in the month by county Commissioner Cliff Wooten, who outlined a $25,000 grant program that the county has established to sterilize cats.
The committee includes councilors Eric Markell and Jim Bean and Mayor Craig Fentiman. They agreed to present a recommendation to the city Budget Committee and City Council to contribute $5,000 toward cat sterilization.
In their recommendation, the city would contribute $2,500 to Linn County’s program, which provides grants to organizations that pledge to capture and have sterilized at least 25 cats per month.
The remaining $2,500 would be used locally to establish a reduced-rate cat sterilization program.
Most of the committee’s discussion centered on Bean’s proposal to license cats in Sweet Home.
“The people that own these animals should contribute,” Bean said.
If the city starts talking about licensing, people will start wanting enforcement, Fentiman said. They’ll want the city to start dealing with cats that invade flower beds and trespass on neighbors’ properties.
“By licensing that cat, it’s not going to stop that cat from coming into my yard,” Fentiman said.
“The enforcement on that will be worse than enforcement on dogs,” City Manager Craig Martin said, adding that people will begin demanding: “I want you to come get the kitty out of my yard.”
An enforcement official responding to such a call will most likely be told by the owner to “take the kitty” or “it’s not my kitty,” Fentiman predicted.
Some cat owners have animals that have not been spayed or neutered, Bean said.
“You’ve got to do something that will encourage them to contribute,” he said. “These people with these animals should also share in the cost.”
A licensing process could force them to spay and neuter their cats, Bean said.
Referring to state law, which designates cats as “free spirits,” Bean said. “The cats always get a free pass,” and, he added, he is tired of it.
In the meantime, Bean said, he would support the $5,000 contribution toward solving the problem, and the committee offered a unanimous recommendation to the council.
City staff will incorporate the $5,000 into the budget process, which starts this month. It will require the approval and recommendation of the Budget Committee. The complete budget will appear before the City Council later for final approval.