Lima's stray cat problem is called huge
Aug. 24—LIMA — Lima City Council heard concerns from citizens at their meeting on Monday night about stray cats in the city. Although the concerns came from a specific neighborhood, council recognized the problem has popped up throughout Lima.
Concerns were brought forward by Shannon Burklund and Cindy Tidd, two Lima residents who have had cats frequenting the streets near their homes.
With the amount of stray cats that have been roaming the city, other issues with roaches and fleas have followed, especially in the city's vacant lots and houses.
"I've talked to a lot of people and it's really bad across the whole city, of cats just taking over," Tidd said.
The city is currently in the early stages of establishing a program to deal with the issue on a larger scale, but spaying and neutering could help curb the issue sooner.
"We are currently having conversations with the Allen County Dog Warden to explore options about how we can implement a program," said Lima Chief of Staff Sharetta Smith. "The earliest that we'll see one will probably be us asking for appropriations for council for 2022."
Smith also said that the program would likely revolve around a "trap, neuter, release" strategy.The city is not looking into requiring any new cat ownership licensing as a part of the program.
Councilwoman Peggy Ehora believes part of the issue is that properly caring for the animals is too costly for some.
"It's a huge problem for the city and we need to find solutions that work," she said. "The average cost to spay or neuter your animal at a local veterinarian is 200 bucks, and people can't do it. They would like to, they just can't."
Some on the council were supportive of establishing a program to resolve the issue, while others, like Council President John Nixon, were more hesitant about how the city might go about solving the problem, saying that such an initiative would mostly impact pet owners that are already following the rules.
"I just need to be cautious that (a program) is truly going to work and not just punish those who are already being responsible for cats," Nixon said. "Because they're the ones following the rules, following the laws and being responsible, even without and ordinance, and I just don't want to be punitive to them and still not solve the problem."
Even without a definitive solution, city council recognized that the concerns brought to them are part of a growing issue in Lima that could worsen if a solution is not identified.
Reach Trevor Hubert at 567-242-0398
