Moses Lake weighs options for cats rules

MOSES LAKE - Moses Lake City Council examined potential cat regulations but chose to delay any action until sometime in the new year.

The issue was prompted by a citizen complaint brought forward last month by Councilman Bill Ecret, who cited letters from a man saying his property has been overrun by cats.

"They are everywhere except in their owner's homes, where they should be, and it is a problem," Moses Lake resident Ervin Welters wrote. "Our bird population is being destroyed; gardens and yards are being damaged."

Moses Lake currently has few regulations pertaining to cats, simply requiring the pets be vaccinated for rabies and a kennel license be obtained when harboring more than four cats at any one time.

Ecret suggested the city should consider enacting a free, yet mandatory, registration for cats, and asked City Manager Joe Gavinski to look into how other cities in Washington and around the country deal with the animals.

Many municipalities have cat licensing, Gavinski told council members last week, saying some require a one-time pet registration and others ask residents to renew annually.

Another common ordinance Gavinski found indicates it is illegal to allow an animal to roam another person's property without permission, with owners held responsible for any damage done by their pets.

"Of course, the problem is identifying the animal that did the damage and who the animal belongs to," he said.

Gavinski noted few if any Washington ordinances require altered cats to be confined or leashed, one possible solution posed by Welters.

Councilman Brent Reese and others brought up the challenge of enforcing any new regulation pertaining to cats, which are notoriously tough to track.

"I just don't know how you're going to be able to regulate something like this," he said. "I've had problems with cats, but when are you going to catch them doing what they're doing?"

"Enforcement is an issue," Gavinski agreed. "Even though it happens and it's not right, identifying and determining what cat (damaged property) and who owns it is kind of tough."

City Attorney Katherine Kenison said other cities have studied the effectiveness of cat regulations and found the best benefits come from a simple licensing requirement.

Such a requirement allows people to trap nuisance cats and turn them in to animal control, she explained. Animal control can then track down the owner and return the pet or dispose of unclaimed cats.

"It is one way, a back door way, of dealing with the cat population," she said; cautioning the regulation would likely result in additional labor costs to the city.

Councilman Richard Pierce was unsure a licensing requirement would work.

"I don't know what we do to people to get them to license their dog, much less their cat," he said. "I can't imagine cat owners being that anxious to license their cat."

Moses Lake Police Chief Dean Mitchell agreed enforcing current dog license requirements is a challenge, although whenever unlicensed animals are impounded and later released owners have ten days to get their pet registered or face fines.

"It's an issue," he said. "There's certainly far more dogs running around in the city that are unlicensed than are licensed."

Mayor Jon Lane ultimately suggested council revisit cat regulations in the coming months, possibly in conjunction with a proposed dog ordinance review.