Is it overkill to arrest a man for feeding feral cats?
You’ve got to admire Paul Rodriguez’s dedication.
He remains committed to feeding feral cats in Gilbert, despite being arrested and potentially facing fines or jail time for doing so. Rodriguez told ABC 15 he gets property owners’ permission to do so, though police dispute that he does. They arrested him on the fifth encounter in one month, according to the news station.
That might seem like overkill. Jail time for feeding cats?
It may be, though I doubt it will come to that. I also recognize that removing food doesn’t necessarily convince feral cats to leave.
But feeding does tend to keep cats in a more confined area. And if you happen to live near one of these feeding stations, there are consequences that those who feed the cats and leave rarely experience.
The people who owned our house before us used to feed feral cats. They apparently were big believers in trap, neuter and return, which studies suggest is the best way to control feral cat populations.
I don’t doubt that it is. But it doesn’t end the colony’s impact on neighbors.
We didn’t know it when we bought the house, but soon after we moved in, neighbors told us about the dozens of cats the original owners took with them when they left.
A few people were still feeding the remnant cats in the common area behind our house. We politely asked them to move the bowls, hoping that would make the cats less inclined to hang out in our yard.
But it was too late. The colony considered our house “home.” For nearly a decade, there were scraggly animals pooping in our yard and fighting late at night outside our bedroom window. We couldn’t get rid of them, though we installed alarms to at least keep them off our porch.
The original feral cats have disappeared. But there are still a few neighborhood pets wearing collars who think our yard is their playhouse. We regularly find bird kills, poop and – last week – a big pile of cat puke that I nearly stepped in while taking food out to the grill.
I own a cat. I love him. He’s my responsibility. But I also live in close proximity to others, which is why I keep him inside. I don’t want to thrust that responsibility on anyone else.
I wish more folks were willing to do the same.