The Sicilianos worry what this measure would mean for stray cats, but also pets that might go lost without a collar. The ordinance states that feeding animals constitutes ownership, which means that cats would need to stay on the homeowner's property. "My entire front garden was covered in cat feces, I was unable to weed without coming into contact with cat feces, my front yard smelled of cat feces and cat urine," Rosement resident Laura Martin said at the meeting.Ĭommittee members explain that, in general, animals at large can pose health risks.īut doctors attending the meeting said cats, specifically, can be exposed to animals, like bats and raccoons, as they roam outside at night that could increase their risk of rabies. It's a measure supported whole-heartedly by the Sicilianos' neighbor at the township's Public Health Subcommittee meeting. What this family believes is the most humane way to control their community's cat population might soon be illegal with an amended ordinance on the table for Radnor Township banning free-roaming cats. "We care for them, watch out for them, we monitor them so we know that they're healthy, and they're well cared for cats," Joe said. The Sicilianos provide food and shelter as the cats come and go. They all had been trapped from the wild, neutered, vaccinated, and released back into the neighborhood.
Joe and Kathy Siciliano of Rosemont care for a colony of five feral cats. The township Board of Health says this measure protects the health and safety of both humans and animals, but critics worry it's a cruel and ineffective way to control the feral cat population.
The idea is to amend the language of an existing ordinance that already covers dogs and to extend it to cats that roam free.
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