By BRIAN FERRYBOAT
A cat population concern boiled over at Youngsville Borough Council on Monday.
Residents George and Jennifer Mead said their next-door neighbor has actually been feeding cats outside. “Two cats turned into six cats,” Jennifer Mead said. “We have 21 cats living around our neighborhood.”
She said wild animals are happening due to the fact that their next-door neighbor is leaving food exterior.
Skunks are appearing and spraying, she said. Raccoons are checking out.
More welcome wild visitors – birds and bunnies – are no longer noticeable in the area.
“Our front yard… it is a giant litter box for these cats,” she said. “If the neighbor would quit feeding the cats, we would not have these issues.”
George Mead said they have actually asked the next-door neighbor to stop feeding the cats.
They asked council to think about passing a stray-cat regulation. “This ordinance needs passed and the neighbor needs to be responsible,” George Mead said.
Lynn Myers dealt with council next. “I am the neighbor that they are talking about,” Myers said.
She said she has 5 cats that do not go outdoors.
She confessed that she has actually been feeding cats that are not hers. “I will feed anybody else’s cat,” Myers said. “I’m not going to let them starve.”
“The reason there were four bowls out was because there were four cats,” she said. She said she likewise put out beds for the cats when the weather condition was cold.
“Any borough or community ordinance that sets up a do-not-feed ordinance, it will backfire on you,” Myers informed the council. “People are going to let their cats run. If you let your cat run, you must provide food and water for it.”
Council did not take official action on the concern, however did go over some alternatives.
“This could violate the nuisance ordinance,” Mayor Scott Nelson said.
Solicitor Tim Bevevino concurred. “Anything you as a body determine to be detrimental to the health, safety, and wellness, of borough residents… you already have a remedy to stop this,” he said.
Borough Manager Wendy Wilcox said the district regulations might be upgraded to deal with feeding animals.
