"The animals have no voice but ours..."

A Chance for Our Cats

April 4, 2008
Jennifer Vanderau
 

There have been some slight official rumblings of late that may bode well for our friend the feline.

Because of the recent raid on a cat sanctuary near Pittsburgh, where hundreds of cats were taken from unsanitary conditions and in varying levels of illness, folks are starting to wonder why we don’t have the same laws for our cats as we do for dogs.

While Pennsylvania has kennel regulations for dogs and vaccination rules for domestic animals, there are really no specific laws on the books for housing cats.

Animal welfare officials are saying it’s beyond time.

In the state of Pennsylvania, anyone who has more than 26 dogs in their house or business in one year’s time is required to have a kennel license, which opens the doors for inspections by officials throughout the year to make sure regulations are obeyed and laws followed.

On the other hand, there are no such laws in relation to housing cats, hence the sometimes overwhelming number of felines roaming the streets and communities of this state.

I was quite encouraged earlier this week when I read a statement from Governor Rendell’s office saying he would not be opposed to discussing the welfare of cats in the current animal protection debate going on in this state. To which I must once again give our governor kudos.

Rendell has worked to shine the spotlight on Pennsylvania’s sagging animal welfare legislation by creating a Dog Law Advisory Board to look into kennel regulations, issues with tethering dogs outside and general animal cruelty.

A statement from the governor’s office added that the governor is not only a dog lover but an animal lover, and would look at any legislation that would protect animals.

Hallelujah.

I’ll tell you, the cat population is unbelievable. Statistics I’ve found say that one unneutered male and one unspayed female can produce more than 13 million cats in 10 years time. That’s their offspring and their offspring’s offspring, etc. The numbers increase exponentially and can quickly become epidemic.

I would think that having at least some laws on the books specifically in regards to cats or a board to discuss the possibility would go a long way to helping make life a little easier for our felines.

I will say, though, it’ll be a tough road. It would mean someone would have to take responsibility for all the strays running around the neighborhoods. The questions then become who will do that and what will it include? Mandatory spay and neuter regulations? Licensing our cats? Not allowing them to roam free?

You can see how these could quickly become serious hot button issues. Not only could the end result be quite costly for folks, but I know many people who have outdoor felines who prance and play and race. What would any future changes mean for them?

I’m jumping the gun, really. Nothing has been started, no committees have been formed, no meetings have been set. But for the first time, I’ve noticed what almost feels like a change in the air. You know that smell just before a storm? Like that. People have started to say, “Wait a minute, what about our cats?”

If you read these columns, you know that I have seven cats of my own, all inside the house, who are free to rip around, dig into the garbage, knock over water bottles, tear up the furniture and generally be as idiotic as they want. They’re my babies and I love them and I only want what’s best for them.

I’m hoping, sometime in the future, with the scent of change in the air, we might be able to have something similar for cats all over the state of Pennsylvania.  

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