Be advised: according to this morning’s CBC Radio broadcast, the Rosemont – La Petite Patrie borough has passed a by-law that limits each household to three cats. A filed complaint will result in a home inspection by borough officials, and a fine if the owner refuses to give away any cats over the limit.
Anyone seen feeding stray cats will also be fined. The borough reasons that these measures will reduce the number of strays living in its area.
Meanwhile, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Montreal (SPCA) announced recently that its facility is over-capacity with unwanted cats, most of which are abandoned by households. While adoptions are at their normal rate, the SPCA reports that the surge in house cat abandonment has increased their euthanasia rate.
The SPCA has a different approach than Rosemont – La Petite Patrie on how to curb Montreal’s cat overpopulation: it now offers free sterilization of feral and house cats at monthly clinics with Steri-Animal. According to their website, an un-neutered pair of cats can produce up to 12,000 offspring during their lifetimes.
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The city’s Nov. 7 press release also mentions improvements to the borough’s recycling collection, which believe me, needs an awful lot of improvement.
As for the limit on cats, if the animals don’t go outside (as mine doesn’t) I don’t see how it’s the Borough’s business. I can’t imagine they’ll try to enforce this on housebound cats, although I don’t see that in the wording of the press release.
A friend told me about this heinous by-law yesterday. Ironically my beloved cat is missing. I usually keep up with local stuff, and I never read anything about this (I know live in that arrondissement, just south of Jean-Talon market).
Methinks they should be starving out surplus politicians.
Yes, the problem of strays and overpopulation is real, but that does not excuse such an inhumane, vicious by-law. As long as a person is keeping a multi-cat household clean, there is utterly no reason to clamp down on him or her. Many of these people are taking in strays and unwanted cats, and neutering them. My own cat was a stray.
Does the city even have a right to pass such a by-law?
Is there any evidence that a significant part of the overpopulation problem would be solved by cracking down on households with more than 3 cats?
So long as people neuter them, people should be able to take in as many strays as they want.
And who is going to be the cat police?
I happen to live in NDG on the same street as the person who had over 30 cats living in his apartment and about 40 more in the freezer. It made the news about 3-4 weeks ago. I understand the by-law and I am all for it. Furthermore, cat owners are irresponsible because they leave their cats urinate everywhere namely against my house foundation. I am in favor of a by-law that restricts the amount of cats in a neighbourhood.
It won’t be enforced unless there are complaints against egregious animal hoarders, who are luckily not too common. There’s not enough hours in the day for them to invade private homes and try to count the cats.
Mimi, the type of person you mention has a mental disorder called animal hoarding. They are a subset of more generalised hoarding behaviour, and will not obey any by-law as it is a compulsion. They need psychological help.
Mimi, I dearly hope your house is infested by rats. How are cat ownees supposed to tell their cats where to go?
Oh, in my anger against the anti-cat person, forgot to mention that the unsanitary hoarding behaviour is already illegal under existing sanitary regulations – whether one has dozens of cats, piles of newspapers or bags of refuse in their dwelling.
I belong to a tenant’s association, and we had to step in to help a person with this disease clear out his flat, while negotiating with the landlord and the fire service. This is a rather common problem among isolated elderly people (no cats involved in the cases we had to help sort out). There was one fellow who even had his balcony stacked up with stuff, including an artificial Christmas tree.
Likewise, cat overpopulation is a serious problem, but mass murder is not the solution; spay/neuter and release is.
Meanwhile my lease prohibits pets of any kind; I would love to take in a needy cat or two (a friend offered me one of her two, that weren’t getting along, when I moved here, but…)
Mimi – by stating”cat owners” without any sort of qualifier do you mean to tar all of them with the same brush? Most owners are responsible and loving; I think you’d find, if you’d look further than your apparent prejudice, that the problems you cite are the exception. Just as mundane news rarely makes the papers (“Bulletin!: Cat owner gets pet spayed, changes litter box!”), we only notice the few egregious phenomena. Frankly, you sound a bit like the clichéd old guy shaking his fist and yelling “hey you kids! get offa my lawn!”
The by-law seems crude as apparently it has no mechanism to distinguish between those many who care for their pets responsibly, no matter how many they might have, and those few who might only have one or two, but don’t. It’s not the quantity of cats in a house but the quality of their care that should be addressed.
This new by-law is ridiculous. I understand the “rationale” behind the law; however, this will only be counter-productive and will in turn, penalize those who are trying to help animals.
If the borough enforces this law, there will be an influx of animals to the local shelter…instead of reducing the problem, it will add to the shelter’s “space” problems. Subsequently, cared-for family pets will be forced to be surrendered, where they will be euthanized.
Fining people for feeding stray/feral cats will also not help the situation. Prohibiting such kind acts will put those individuals willing to take care of and give homes to stray/feral cats under fire, when all they are trying to do is help the animals. After all, it is not necessarily their fault the cats are homeless; they are just trying to be upstanding citizens, by taking it upon themselves to help the animals. Instead of blaming the feeders and criminalizing their actions, we should encourage their acts of compassion by assisting them with the resources and information available to care for and sterilize the animals.
If the borough really wants to control the stray and feral cat population, then they need implement a trap-neuter-return program; where cats are sterilized. I applaud the SPCA for providing free sterilization clinics; they have the right idea about tackling the problem. Sterilization STOPS reproduction, limited the number of household pets does not.
Well just to get into this fun fray, let me say: There are too many pets in this city! I recently moved from Jeanne Mance street near the park to another street in Mile End and boy did my years on JM inoculate me to the “charms” of people’s pets.
Cats everywhere, dogs doing their business everywhere, the two species running after and killing each other. A dog (on a leash) killed my cat (yes I had one) a few years ago. Why does everyone and their grandmother need a pet?
These creatures (and I say that with affection) are animals first, pets second. That means they need to be treated with dignity and not just besotted and petted. From my observations, domesticated animals are mostly neurotic and with little purpose. So I guess, cutting down on the number of strays or pets doesn’t really pull at my heart strings.
Maria, don’t hate me. ;-)
I don’t hate you, but I find it sad. These little creatures provide much-needed affection and companionship for a great many people; moreover, they have as much right to live as you and I do. We are also animals, but we are supposed to be animals with the capacity to reason. That means yes, tackling the overpopulation problem without resorting to mass murder (which is not effective anyway, in addition to its wanton cruelty).
It means cutting down on the number of births of unwanted kittens (and puppies) throuh a spay and neuter programme, both for ferals and assistance for people who can’t afford it – often people for whom their pet is their only friend and reason to live.
Cats also do a great deal to eradicate vermin. There is a good reason people in Venice, with water everywhere, worship their stray cats; if not, the place would be overrun by rats.
My!!! aren’t some of the Folks being CATTY!!!
Two cats ( or dogs ) per residence should be enough, given their personalities?
Now, how ’bout 100-pound dogs in the City that have a greater output than humans?
Why not a weight limit of, say 30 pounds of pets per household?
The idea of 30 pounds of Hamsters or Budgies is interesting?
ALL pets should be neutered, regardless.
I’ll tell you this, the people who feed the stray cats do a great service to the city. They should be supported and contacted so those cats can be properly spayed/neutered or returned to their homes if possible. I lost a cat for a month and he survived because of a friendly old woman who fed the stray cats.
If one of those bylaw officers tried to give me a ticket for feeding strays he or she would quite quickly find my foot in his or her ass.
This is a punitive law that doesn’t solve the problem for anybody. It’s typical short-sighted municipal politicians who are thinking only about “property values”.
I saw a fox this morning while bike commuting across urban montreal, I’m sure Mr Fox does his part to control the cat population.
Folks, the city is for people, not to cater for your need for non-human friends.
I think we should have a dog-free day on the weekend in Montreal parks so I can safely take my children there. Every dawg owner who thinks his dog deserves to be off-leash should have that dog confiscated.
Unleashed dogs, Unlicensed dogs, and unneutered dogs, should be confiscated and these dog owners should never be permitted to own a dog again. There is a serious lack of dog owner responsibility in this city.
What a PATHETIC bylaw.
We will need to fire every single politician who supports such utterly retarded laws or bylaws and replace them with someone who has more sympathy and love for other creatures inhabiting this planet.
It is precisely this kind of political retardation which costs young Canadian men and women their lives in foreign countries. The complete disregard of care and love for life, whether human or animal has no place in politics.
Because the government’s job isn’t to police and over regulate people’s lives, but to make sure that people are living in peace and prosperity, without having to worry about some stupid fine.
Overpopulation? how about we look into the over employment of the government and the fact that it has so many USELESS departments which simply have no place in society.
This whole corrupt backwards government system needs to be completely reformed and the Canadian constitution be restored.
igor, relieved to hear a bit of compassion. I was strongly tempted to wish JulieB experience the dogs’ salutary role in controlling the excess human-child population, but since most people on boards don’t know eath other, she would have no way of knowing that I was merely channelling Swift and am not some evil harridan who wants her children to be savaged by canines.
My beloved cat has been missing for almost two weeks. No, I did not “let” him run about; he is a lot faster-moving than I am, with a touch of arthritis. I am beside myself and want to die.
I don’t think some people fathom how important companion animals are for a lot of us.
Actually, though, I do think there is a pet overpopulation, but that can be solved by compassionate means such as spay-and-neuter clinics for poor pet owners and spay/neuter and release schemes to stabilise feral colonies.
And war doesn’t only kill people. A lot of people in Iraq and Afghanistan have lost their livestock, and one of the saddest incicents in the first Gulf War was the massacre of terrified wild camels.
Similar short sighted by-laws have been passed in boroughs all over North America. Whatever your feelings about pet ownership, this sort of by-law is ineffective at controlling animal populations and punitive to people trying to ease the city’s burden. Typical bureaucratic rational “if you pretend the problem isn’t there it will go away”. It’s also an example of magical thinking “Attack one small part of the issue to redirect people’s attention from the bigger picture”.
I applaud the SPCA’s free sterilization program which goes right to the heart of the issue. Unwanted animals abound because animals aren’t sterilized. Free programs make it much more attractive, especially to people on limited incomes. Trap Neuter Release programs are 100% effective at reducing and eliminating feral cat colonies. How much money will this borough spend on inspectors, enforcers and shelters to support this absurd by-law? How much more effective would that money be, spent on a developing and implementing a working program to support sterilization and responsible pet ownership?
We have taken cats and dogs into our homes and domesticated them. In return for their love and companionship we have taken responsibility for their welfare. Time to step up.
Le totton qui a pensé à ce règlement n’a, de toutes évidences, jamais passé une heure à essayer de faire sortir un chat d’en dessous un gros meuble…
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Kai: although your lease says “no pets”, the landlord has no legal standing to enforce such a clause (which falls under the “abusive clause” of the Civil Code), unless he can prove that the cats have been damaging the property beyond reasonable use.
See this Gazette article for more info (other boroughs with similar laws, fine amounts, etc.):
http://www.canada.com/story.html?id=957446
Regardless of what side of the fence your opinion falls on this issue, let’s not lose sight of the facts. The over population of cats running the streets is horrendous and detrimental to both citizens and the animals themselves. The situation has gotten so out of control(and why is that?) that only severe and desperate measures followed by everyone will help reduce their population. The boroughs are responsible to act upon problems such as this, how else would you suggest they handle it? Unfortunately, there is no easy solution but the problem has to be addressed and limiting the number per household is a desperate start. Anyone who loves cats should be shamefull of the numbers which are euthanized or killed on the streets every day and be thankful that someone is trying to do something about it. The cats deserve that effort, so I ask you to please stop throwing stones and ask yourselves what you can do to help make a difference? As someone else logically mentioned, it would take complaints to cause an enforcement of the by-law and I highly doubt responsibly cared for animals are the target.
S. MacDonald
I believe that if animals are well cared for, and kept under control while in public that it shouldn’t matter how many animals you have. And, it is no one elses business how many a person wishes to have as long as they take good care of them and not allow them to wonder off outside on their own, and off-leash.
This is the most stupid thing i have ever heard. How can anyone believe that killing innocent, living creatures is going to fix a problem? If there were homeless people over populating on the street, would it be ok to kill them? Or how about limit 3 people per household? People’s pets are their family and making them get rid of their pets just because they have more than 3 is rediculous! By passing this law is only going to create more problems. There wouldn’t be enough room in animals shelters for all the animals, so they would have to be euthanised. It will cause people to protest and possibly riot. People should be given the right to choose if they want to help a living being in need or not.
This is disgusting. What kind of an archaic by-law is this? Aren’t we supposed to be progressing in society, not going backwards? If those uneducated politicians (and they obviously are uneducated on this issue) actually took the time to properly research EFFECTIVE long-term solutions (not to mention find a soul), they would know that trying to starve homeless cats to death is not only heinously cruel (how would they enjoy it?), but does absolutely nothing long-term to reduce stray populations. All of the scientific studies prove this. The evidence is in: the ONLY way to ensure the long-term population control of stray cats is to:
a) Trap, sterilize, and re-release the cats to live out their lives (which will be short anyway)
b)Have volunteers manage & monitor the feral colonies and
c)Set up free/low-cost spay/neuter programs for low-income families with companion cats.
This way, the stray cats that are currently out there will cease to reproduce. The numbers will initially stabilize (as opposed to increasing through new births), and over time will drop dramatically as the remaining cats die off. With few cats continuing to give birth on the streets, this method would virtually end the stray cat problem in Montreal. After an initial up-front cost to create a sterilization program, long-term the borough would actually spend less money than it does now on these problems.
When will citizens and politicians wake up? When will this madness end? If going around killing cats was actually effective, we would have seen an end to this problem a long time ago. This has been employed many times here in Montreal and all over North America and the ones that are killed are simply replaced by new births by the ones that remain. Municipally-funded sterilization is the only solution! It’s a win-win situation for everyone: the citizens, the government, and the cats. What will it take for our policy-makers to get with the program?
So, I have signed a dozen petitions, 95% of the people I talk too speak out against our animal rights laws bla bla bla…… Why is it we can’t get our voice heard loud enough that the government will appease the, what seems like, an overwhelming majority of people who want sterilization over killing and better animal rights laws in general. People keep saying write your government…doesn’t seem to be working. So as Marina P. asks, What WILL it take for our policy makers to appease the majority on this issue?
I live in parc-extension.
I would like to know where to report stray cats in my area and people who let their cats out to use my garden as their toilet.
I have a flower and vegetable garden but the smell is unbearable. I have to watch my step every time I walk out to the garden.
Today I scooped up 5 piles of feces but I can still have the smell of feces somewhere in my garden.
The cats are driving me crazy and I am close to the edge of breakdown. The cats could just jumped over the fence into my garden even I was watering over there. And I have to close my door all the time. There was one night I did not close my door and left a small gap, a cat sneaked in and scared the hell out of me when I turned around.