Whether it is the 12 awol cows in East Sooke or the black cat hit on Church Road, the letter writers did what they could to intervene. The issue is more than the taking of initiative to deal with the animals at risk. All 13 municipalities from Sooke to North Saanich are contracted with CRD Animal Control to deal with “any animal unlawfully running at large” Section 24b of bylaw as it relates to Sooke. In other words cats must be on the property of their owners.
As a society we seem to have been conditioned to deal with the problems of house cats coming and going at will. Some of the problems created by people letting their pets/cats go around the neighborhood are: feces in other people’s gardens and yards posing health risks to children and pregnant women; an average kill of 100 birds a year each, early morning cat fights triggering early wake ups and dogs barking in response.
On a personal level this has resulted in me being unable to use one-quarter of my backyard as the smell does not go away and having to garbage outdoor pillows which were not cleanable.
While the choice to get a cat sometimes relates to deterring mice, all the more reason to keep the cat at home. The good news is that there is invisible fencing for cats now. I hope our CRD will get busy educating before fines and impounding occurs but its time for cat owners to be responsible and stop being oblivious to the damage their cats do.
If you love your cat why would you not want to double its lifetime and keep it safe and be a good neighbour.
Carmen Neumann
Sooke