Dogs Are Jealous
City of Addison rules against leash law for cats
Hey, cats. You won't need leashes in Addison for now. But if you're still sowing your wild oats, the party is winding down.
In its May meeting, Addison City Council decided against a cat leash law but vowed to begin a more proactive Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. The city had been considering a leash law after some citizens complained that the feral cat population was getting out of hand.
Cats tend to be itinerant creatures, and the idea of a cat on a leash might seem silly. But many cities in Texas, such as Dallas, Arlington and Carrollton, do include cats in their leash laws, usually with terminology such as, "All cats and dogs must be restrained by a leash, chain or in a fenced area."
The idea of a cat on a leash might seem silly. But many cities in Texas, such as Dallas, Arlington and Carrollton, do include cats in their leash laws.
In Addison, the issue was first raised at the city council's January meeting; Addison resident Beverly Arnold called cats a "menace."
"I've seen more cats since I moved here," she said. "Some [of the cats] are feral; some are pets. Dogs are not nearly the menace that cats are. Dogs don't climb fences. They don't come into your house. We have absolutely nothing that says that cats can't roam anywhere."
At the May meeting, Addison city employee Mark Gooch told the city council that Addison's animal control department advised against adopting a leash law.
"We looked at cat leash laws and what's been done in this area and around the nation," Gooch said. "We do not feel like we need to add a leash law including cats.
"We also looked at the Trap-Neuter-Return program. There is an emerging trend in a lot of cities and universities adopting this methodology to control their feral cat population. There's a lot of scientific evidence, the majority of it supporting it as effective and humane treatment."
The council ended with an agreement to examine TNR as a way to control the feral cat population, including finding ways to help some of the nonprofit organizations such as SAFER, Dallas Cat Ladies and Feral Friends.
"The resolution they brought forward wasn't for approval, but we will bring the topic back in the future," says Addison spokeswoman Carrie Rice.
