SHAMOKIN DAM, Pa. -- Many people who live in Shamokin Dam say it is a peaceful part of Snyder County, and they'd like to keep it that way. In fact, last month borough council passed the "Quality of Life Ordinance."
The ordinance includes things such as keeping your property maintained and clearing snow and ice in a timely manner. But something in the ordinance that caught people's attention is the section about animals. The section of the ordinance states that people are not allowed to leave food outside for animals, including feral cats.
"They're just all over. They tear up your garbage. They run in front of you all the time," Jewel Austinson said.
According to officials in Shamokin Dam, the borough has had problems with feral cats in recent years. Jewel Austinson agrees.
"If people want to have cats, they should keep them in the house," Austinson said.
For more than three years, people have been humanely trapping, neutering, and releasing feral cats in Shamokin Dam. But they tell Newswatch 16 they have to feed them in order to do this.
"You stop feeding cats and let them starve and they're going to be all over the town, going into garbage, killing songbirds, killing wildlife," Robin Montgomery said.
Robin Montgomery volunteers for PA Pets. The program teaches people how to humanely trap feral cats. Then PA Pets neuters the cats and releases them. The borough pays for cats brought in by residents.
"You get them to stop breeding and they stay self-contained and they do not let other cats into the colony," Montgomery said.
Over the past few years, Shamokin Dam has covered the cost of neutering about 100 feral cats, but borough officials say they continue to be a problem.