According to an article in the Freeman, the supporters of a proposed cat control law expect the proposal to get support from the Common Council when it meets next month.
Alderman Bob Senor and Alderwoman Jen Fuentes are strong supporters of the proposed law, which would require cat owners to spay or neuter their cats and tag them with identification.
If there are complaints of a cat problem in a particular neighborhood (such as Senor's complaints of the cats in his neighborhood downtown), the city will trap cats and have them spayed or neutered, charging the cost to the owners.
Those in opposition to the law claim that it would put too much of a burden on cat owners, and many think that there are much more pressing issues in the city of Kingston.
I, personally, am all for a law that requires cat owners to spay or neuter their pets (the same goes for dog owners), and I think that identification should be required the same way that it is currently for dogs. I'm fine with the idea, but the purpose behind the proposal seems misguided to me. Passing this law will not change the issue of stray cats and the feral cat colonies downtown. Who is going to pay for people to catch stray cats? What will happen if the owners don't pay the bill to have their cat spayed or neutered? What about the feral cats who don't HAVE owners, to begin with?
I completely agree with those who say that there are much bigger issues that should be dealt with. We've got shootings, assaults, drug and gang activity, hit and runs, robberies...cats are the least of our worries. What do you think?
12 comments:
Well exactly--what about the stray cats? This law could produce more of them!
But besides this...I like the headline in the Freeman today, but I think someone should perform a CAT Scan on those who write and edit stories over there because they have at the very least WATER ON THE BRAIN.
cats... really.. cats....
You've got 10 year old kids walking in the middle of the road taunting cars passing by and cursing the drivers out when they are asked to get out of the middle of the road, 10 year old kids stealing bikes and exchan...ging parts with other stolen bikes right in the front yard of their parents house, 10 year old kids using the word N!@#$^ to reply to family members, like what happened at the neighborhood cares party. This city has huge problems from roads in poor shape, to drug dealers offering passer bys anything they need, child molesters, that as part of their release are to have no contact what so ever with anyone under the age of 18 living a few blocks from 2 schools in uptown. And in his own ward there are more calls about domestic violence then any other part of the city, car break ins, Hasbrouck Park partying, property crime, missing persons ect. And to add to that, I will not bring my kids down the the park at Kingston point because every single time I go down there to let them run around, there are always people doing drugs in the picnic table area of the Kingston Point Park, and you are worried about cats pissing in your flower boxes.
I find it funny that Alderman Senor has time to bring this to the table, but REFUSES to call me back about the Kingston Neighborhood Watch. In fact it's not funny, it's sad. I have called this man many times over the last 6 months and he hasn't returned my phone calls once.
This is the reason neighborhood watches in the past have come and gone. I hear it all the time.. "we support your efforts and what your doing..." But when it comes down to it, it's all load of crap. Bob even said to me directly at the saftey summit. It's crap. If you want to support the watch, find ways to help keep the watch going. You can pull freaking money out of the blue for a stupid $8,000 glorified bench downtown but an orginization like mine, that is stepping in where you have failed too is ment to fend for itself for funds.
What do you think??
Mike D'Arcy
Kingston Neighborhood Watch
http://www.kingston-ny-neighborhood-watch.com/
I personally think that our local governments are not acknowledging that this is a time of economic strain and hardship for its over-burdened tax-payers. i think that the government should stay out of this kind of micro-management. freakin cats!? we cannot afford to shoulder even more small costs of suddenly licensing cats, getting them fixed, etc; it will eventually cut-down on the amount of cats people are willing to take care of. won't drastically affect the population cuz all the right people will get their cats registered, and all the wrong people won;t, so it's not like anything significant will change by this other than struggling tax-payers have one more pain-in-the-ass thing to shell out for.
they need to focus on making kingston a place that i am not afraid of walking through after dark.
I agree with you Mike, there are more important issues in his ward. I can not believe that this was on the top of his "Most Important things to do for my Ward" list!
I hope the voters are paying attend.
That he has not returned your calls is just plain rude!
I agree totally with spay & neuter and making all cats be indoor. IF there is a problem (like downtown, someone said) the cats will be live trapped. If they are not claimed in the required number of days, the same thing will happen to them that happens to Kingston's stray dogs--they will be put down. It will save a lot of songbirds and baby rabbits and help stop the sread of Feline Leukemia. feline AIDS, animal herpes, and last but not least, rabies.
mike---love your post !!! local politics is nothing more than a reflection in the big pool of government !! Take your eye off the big picture and maybe no will notice what is really going on. I think it is time to not only get rid of some of these legislators but to also re-evaluate how many this county really needs. Cats--- yep what a priority for a broke over-extended county!!!!!!!!!!!!
bleeding heart halfwits who really would like us to commit collective suicide (them first) for all the crimes committed by the human species are projecting onto a helpful companion animal with several millenia of being a useful member of man's household. In addition to songbirds, cats also predate vermin like deer mice which carry deer ticks which carry lime disease. Wanna stay inside, granny ? Be a role model and do it yourself. We'll let you know when we follow your example.
Granny
I think you need to check your facts. The number of dogs and cats in NYS that tested positive for rabies is a very insignificant number. I do believe that all cats and dogs should be spayed or neutered but this isn't going to work well. There is a population of stray/feral cats and who will pay for their surgeries? I do agree with everyone that there are much bigger issues to worry about. Jobs might be a good place to start.
what is there objective? I have the constitutional right to keep my cat "unspayed/neutered, in case they don't know it.
they have a problem with feral cats, not domestic cats. when they catch and spay someones cat they will get sued...plain and simple
Your constitutional rights end when your "property" decides to enter another persons property and destroy it. The city already has a program for feral cats that traps and neuters. This law addresses those people who refuse to take responsibility for their pets. It's not that complicated and it is far from the most important issue the CC is dealing with, but it does get the wackos riled up so the media is having some fun with it.
my constitutional right follows me were ever I go...even on YOUR property!I welcome you to try and take those rights away
If constitutional right involves a good ass kicking then your right. Because if you come onto my property thats exactly what you are entilted to.
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