DUNMORE, Pa. — Here a cat, there a cat. In many neighborhoods in Dunmore, it's not hard to notice the number of stray and feral cats.
"I'm not familiar with other places, but around here, yeah, there's a lot of them," said Brian Laytos.
Last week, Dunmore Borough Council passed an ordinance prohibiting people from feeding feral or stray cats or face a fine. Borough council members tell Newswatch 16 this is the beginning of a new program that is meant to encourage people to trap, neuter, and release cats (TNR) to prevent an increase in the cat population. The borough is in the early stages of working with local rescues to identify where these cat colonies are.
We spoke with some people who are happy the borough is taking steps to fix the cat problem.
"It's a good thing because I like pets, don't get me wrong, but I feel bad for the stray pets around that aren't being taken care of," said Rose Baas.
While people may have good intentions to feed these cats, the borough says it creates a nuisance problem for other residents, attracting more cats.
"Our neighborhood is pretty good about that. So, I'm very blessed with that," Baas said.
"I know a lot of people, my buddy, he feeds them outside his house, and he lives in North Scranton. And God bless him. He takes care of them. Sometimes they get hurt, and he even takes them to the vet," said Laytos.
The ordinance is to encourage residents who feed cats to take part in a TNR program. Then, they can continue to care for those cats, feeding them and giving them shelter and medical attention as needed.
Brian Laytos says there is a bright side to having cats around.
"It keeps the mice away from the house, you know what I mean? The rodents? Yeah, I don't like them, see, and getting birds and stuff," Laytos said.
St. Cats and Dogs of Nay Aug is one of the organizations in our area that helps by hosting TNR programs through the Eastern Pennsylvania Animal Alliance (EPAA). You must make an appointment to have a cat spayed or neutered by going online and registering through the EPAA.
You can read the ordinance in its entirety here.