MAYVILLE — The issue of stray cats in the village continues to be a problem.
At a recent Mayville Village Council meeting, residents raised concerns about people feeding stray cats, including in the parking lot of Tops and M&T Bank.
Administrator Ben Webb described his experience shopping there at night.
“I felt a little nervous” he said. “I parked my truck by the ATM near M&T. I went out of Tops to get in my truck. As I was walking there these cats started coming out of nowhere, everywhere.
A local said that there are people who come to the village late at night and leave food all over the parking lot.
“The thing is, they drive in from out of town,” he said. “They don’t live in town. These people are not villagers who do this. I’ve talked to them over and over and they keep coming back.
The resident also said that the people who feed the cats not only leave food parcels but also cans, bags and papers in the parking lot.
Administrator Rick Syper said he had spoken with bank officials, but they did not believe it was a problem. “They don’t seem to want to team up to help this situation,” he said.
Another resident expressed her frustration that her neighbors are feeding stray cats and they are entering her garden and the smell is entering her house. “Not all of you know what it’s like to have your house smelling of kitty litter” she says.
Next month, the village council will hold a public hearing regarding stray cats. This legislation, however, is primarily intended to allow Little Angels, who have a contract with the village, to trap, neuter, treat and release cats. A woman from the organization said she had been threatened in the past with arrest if she trapped and/or released the cats.
Village attorney Joe Calimeri warned officials that while he sees no problem with the law, he is not sure it will make much difference in terms of reducing the number of stray cats in the village. or solving the problem of people feeding them in places like the Tops parking lot.
Webb said he still supports the legislation.
“If it’s not going to hurt us in any way, but it’s going to comfort her (the Little Angels rep) that she’s protected so she’s more excited about doing the job that she fact, it seems logical.” he said.
Mayor Ken Shearer said he saw no need for the proposed law and voted against calling a public hearing. The rest of the administrators voted in favour. The public hearing will be held at 6:50 p.m. on Tuesday, September 13 at the Carlson Community Center, 50 W. Lake Road, Mayville, in Lakeside Park.
Once the cats are fished/neutered, Little Angels cut off the ears of the animals before releasing them where they were captured. The resident who complained about people feeding stray cats said he noticed many of the cats had their ears cut off.