Cat concern: City Council is right to take up issue, but cause remains

The root cause of the cat overpopulation in Wayne County is ... humans.

Irresponsible pet owners and those who simply have no heart are what create the feral cat colonies that roam around the city.

Goldsboro City Council is right to take up the question.

What is really unclear, however, is what the true solution is to the problem.

Local volunteers do the best they can with the wild groups of felines who inhabit the city, but their resources are limited.

A new plan by several volunteer groups to trap and to sterilize the cats to prevent more kittens and to keep colonies under control is worth considering.

But there is another possibility to weigh as well.

Anyone who dumps an animal -- any animal -- and who is caught, should pay a fine. And it should be a hefty one.

If a penalty were attached to dumping an animal -- an enforceable one -- and if the community ratted out the perpetrators, perhaps there could be more humane ways of keeping the cats at bay -- and maybe even save a dog or two at the same time.

Animals are not disposable possessions like furniture. They are not something you can simply leave behind. And there are some people who do not seem to understand that.

Perhaps it is time to put a little more effort into getting their attention.

Published in Editorials on April 15, 2013 11:06 AM