CEDARVILLE — People in Cedarville are making their voices heard ahead of a meeting to address the village’s feral cat problem.
Village Mayor John Cody Jr. previously told News Center 7 he did not become aware of the village’s cat problem until recently when he received “hard numbers” from 2022.
The data showed that last year there were roughly 1,000 feral cats in the area.
“It’s a sanitary problem because of property damage, disease, a lot of defecation,” he previously told News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis. “They cause a lot of problems in this community.”
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The village proposed three ordinances earlier in the year to control the stray and feral, “community”, cat population. The ordinances seek to build around a program called trap, neuter, return (release) or TNR.
Additionally, one of the ordinances would no longer allow the feeding, watering or harboring” of animals.
But some residents are skeptical about if these ordinances will really solve the problem, and some argue the ordinances “create cruel and unusual consequences”, so they showed up to make their concerns heard.
“We are here tonight to get clarification on the current ordinance as it relates to feeding community cats. We want to make sure that the residents are protected and not criminalized for caring for community cats,” Jenna Mullins, a Cedarville resident, said.
Cody said the ordinances have been tabled indefinitely, meaning they cannot come back in their current form.
A townhall has been planned for June but an official date will be announced later this month, Cody said.
We will continue to follow this developing story and update as new information becomes available.