Granite Shoals targets feral cats with possible feeding ban

A recording of a recent Granite Shoals Wildlife Advisory Committee meeting is making the rounds and raising concerns about the best way to manage feral cats in the city. The committee discussed trapping and killing cats during its Nov. 6 meeting, but its ultimate recommendation to the City Council was to amend a city ordinance that would make it illegal to feed or harbor the cats.

The cats are considered a nuisance due to reported property damage, the mass killing of native wildlife, and the potential spread of disease.

The committee’s proposed ordinance amendment was presented during the council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 12, but no action was taken. The change would remove language in Ordinance No. 740 allowing for the legal management of feral cat colonies and add language making it “unlawful to harbor or maintain feral cats in any area of the city.”

The Wildlife Advisory Committee has had feral cats on its agenda since it was reinstated in April. City Manager Peggy Smith brought the issue to the committee’s attention, according to Chairman Todd Holland. The committee was originally started to manage Granite Shoals’ large white-tailed deer population but has since expanded to include other wildlife and nuisance animals.

On Dec.1, the committee asked that residents refrain from feeding feral cats to curb the problem.

While the committee’s final recommendation to the city was simply to make it illegal to feed and harbor feral cats, a recording of its Nov. 6 meeting highlighted in-depth discussions that explored the possibility of trapping and killing the animals.

“The committee does not intend to trap and kill cats,” Holland told DailyTrib.com on Dec. 14. “Was it discussed? Yes.”

He explained that the committee talked about multiple ways to manage the feral cat population at several meetings over the past few months, including trap-neuter-spay programs, but the vast majority of the 1½-hour meeting on Nov. 6 was spent discussing how to trap and kill the cats.

One committee member, Billy Kelly, went into detail on his personal experience with trapping cats. He said he could catch four to eight cats a night with four traps.

The committee also delved into the potential means and methods for catching and killing the cats, such as using low-speed .22-caliber rounds, air rifles, lethal traps, sterilization methods, and mass trapping. 

Granite Shoals Police Chief John Ortis told DailyTrib.com that no one has been authorized to discharge firearms within city limits or pursue such methods for feral cat management, which would require his final approval.

Where to dispose of the cats’ bodies was also talked about.

“We have a location on this property that is called deer heaven that I’m sure could be kitty cat heaven, too,” said Smith during the Nov. 6 meeting.

The city manager also noted that there was no easy solution to the feral cat problem and the city had limited resources to deal with it.

“We don’t have a facility to hold animals,” Smith said Nov. 6. “And we only hold an animal if it has a tag for a resident, whether it’s a cat or a dog, for 24 hours and then it has to go somewhere else. We’re talking about cats that don’t have an owner or someone who’s going to come claim them.”

Several committee members also expressed concern about the public perception of a trap-and-kill program.

“The more the public knows, the more they are involved, the uglier it gets,” Kelly said. “The less people that know, the better, really, is what I’m saying. I hate to say that.”

While no action was taken on an ordinance change during the Dec. 12 council meeting, it included an extensive discussion between Wildlife Advisory Committee members and local animal welfare experts. Hill Country Humane Society Executive Director Paighton Corley and HOPE Animal Clinic veterinarian Dr. Natalie Lord attended and offered their support to the city.

“We are planning on heavily tackling (trap-neuter-release methods),” Corley told the council. “(It costs 20 to 30 dollars per cat to get fully altered and vaccinated. I just got a grant for 30 traps. We are more than happy to share those with you guys.”

Corley strongly advocated for the TNR method, which would see cats trapped, neutered, vaccinated, and released to ensure they cannot breed or spread disease. This method was initially thrown out by the committee due to its own research and evidence from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, but Holland and other members were open to considering a collaboration with the local Humane Society and veterinarians.

“(Corley and Lord) had some great ideas and great resources to go and look at it,” Holland told DailyTrib.com.

Granite Shoals Mayor Ron Munos seemed optimistic about a balanced solution through collaboration between local experts and the Wildlife Advisory Committee.

“My hope is that we can get the Humane Society and veterinarians to work with the committee and remedy the feral cat situation,” he told DailyTrib.com. “I would rather them join and come together and figure out how to solve it.”

dakota@thepicayune.com