Maybe cats need to be licensed to

It may not be the cat’s meow for cats, but something has to be done.

I don’t know what it is like in your area of town, but at present there are at least a half dozen wild cats roaming my neighbourhood.

Now before all you cat lovers get your claws out to fight back, listen for a minute.

I love animals and was raised with many cats in our home. I have nothing against those that are well cared for. You know the ones that have all their shots and are spayed or neutered... keeping them in at night is good too.

But in the last few weeks I have been woken up by the howling and screeching of cats fighting. Upon looking out the window at some ungodly hour I have counted as many as six cats duking it out or working on making their numbers grow.

They are cats not owned by my neighbours and look awfully mangy.

I am sure that every once in a while there is a well cared for cat in the mix, but mostly the night shift are strays.

In Winnipeg cat owners have had to tie their animal up, just like dogs, to reduce the problems with strays; which incidentally don’t just wake people up at night, they can spread parasites and diseases to both healthy cats and people alike.

If the town licensed cats then the strays could be weeded out. Now I am not suggesting tying them up here, but a license system similar to dogs i.e. a tag for a fee, would be helpful.

No one wants to lose their pet for any reason. I am afraid that as the wild population increases there is going to be increased risk to the tame ones.

Something needs to be done.

–Until then,

Ken