Holding up a picture of his dog, which he said died after being attacked by a neighbour’s cat, Greg Cox implored Innisfil council last week to pass a feline control bylaw.

Cox’s pet beagle was scratched near the eyes, which created a severe infection.

“His head swole up so bad, he looked like a St. Bernard,” Cox said following the meeting. “It cost me $300 in vet bills, but we couldn’t keep it under control and I had to have him put down.”

While Cox believes a domestic cat allowed to run free attacked his dog, he said his Cookstown neighbourhood his overrun with feral cats.

“There’s one street were several houses are for sale,” he said. “It smells really bad in that area and it’s because of these cats marking their territory with their scent.”

Cox said it’s time Innisfil placed controls on cats with a bylaw.

“Every major population has one including Richmond Hill,
Vaughan, and Barrie,” Cox said. “Why is Innisfil the exception?”

However, several municipalities with a rural urban mix, such as Bradford West Gwillimbury and Whitchurch-Stouffville do not have feline control bylaws.

Cox wrote a letter to council last June asking for controls, but a staff report didn’t come back until last week. Staff recommended council not pass a cat control bylaw “at this time”.

“Staff are generally of the opinion that while isolated cases may occur, the Town has not received a significant amount of cat related complaints,” bylaw supervisor Gerald Spencer said in a report.

But Cox said the town’s “anecdotal” evidence doesn’t prove there isn’t a problem because the animal control officer does not record cat complaints.

Since the town does not pick up stray cats, the job is left up to residents, Cox said.

“Some of these cats are dangerous,” he said. “Do I have to go put on armour to grab a cat?”

Cox told council a Cookstown firefighter was badly clawed about two years ago when he attempted to get a stray out of a tree. The firefighter become ill with infection and was off the job for a while, Cox said.

“The poor guy was walking around town with an I.V. bag,” Cox said.
Cox said Innisfil needs a bylaw “so everyone knows the rules and you don’t pit neighbour against neighbour”.

While council did not move to put a cat bylaw in place, it asked staff for a complete report on the “feasibility” of licensing and controlling cats in much the same way as dogs.

“I believe it’s not a matter of if we are going to do this, it’s a matter of when we are going to do it,” Counc. Lynn Dollin said. “I don’t believe we have a handle on how big of an issue it is.”

Dollin predicted the issue will pit residents against one another, similar to last year’s controversial debate over regulating where school buses and trailers could park. That issue ended without any dramatic changes to current rules.

While he understands it’s a difficult issue, council was elected to “show leadership”, Cox said.
Dollin also wondered how a cat bylaw could be implemented in a town with both rural and urban areas.

“Perhaps we need one rule for rural areas and one for urban,” Dollin said. “I think we need to do a survey to see if Innisfil is ready for this yet.”

A typical cat bylaw includes the following:

• cats older than six months are licensed and registered;
• limitations on the number of cats per home;
• requirements to have cats spayed and neutered;
• proof of rabies vaccinations;
• owners must not allow cats to run free or trespass and must leash the cat while outdoors;
• licence fees and fees to remove impounded cats.