Cat owners in Montgomery County, MD, have a new incentive to keep their cats indoors, on a leash, or confined to their property. Under a new law, owners of all types of pets, including domestic cats, may not allow their pet to enter other private property without the property owner’s permission. Violations of the new law could result in the issuance of a $100 fine. Second offenses or offenses committed after a warning could increase the fine to $500. In addition, private property owners legally have the right to humanely trap or capture trespassing animals and bring them to the County’s animal shelter. Dogs and unaltered cats must be leashed when off their own property.
Linda Winter, director of the American Bird Conservancy’s (ABC) Cats Indoors! Campaign stated, "People write or call me every day wondering what they can do about their neighbor’s cats in their yards. They are sick and tired of watching other people’s cats kill birds at their feeders or bird baths, defecate in their gardens, or create a health risk in their children’s sandboxes. If owners of outdoor cats respected other people’s property rights, this legislation would not be needed." The city of Newport News, Virginia is considering similar legislation.
"ABC’s Cats Indoors! Campain seeks to educate cat owners and the general public that the nation’s estimated 100 million free-roaming cats kill hundreds of millions of birds each year in the US," said ABC President Dr. George Fenwick. "Outdoor cats often suffer and die prematurely, and can transmit diseases and parasites to people, such as cat-scratch fever, toxoplasmosis, and rabies. Montgomery County has set an excellent standard to promote responsible pet ownership that will help protect cats, wildlife and people. We encourage other counties and municipalities to follow their example," said Fenwick.
Campaign materials include a four-color brochure and poster, Keeping Cats Indoors Isn’t Just For The Birds, an education kit with 13 fact sheets, and a new teacher’s activity guide for grades K-6. One of the fact sheets is titled, "What Can You Do About Your Neighbor’s Cats In Your Yard?" Campaign materials are also available on ABC’s web site at: www.abcbirds.org
"We encourage people to politely ask the cat’s owner to control their cat. Besides just keeping the cat indoors, they can train the cat to go out on a leash, or build an outdoor enclosure or cat run. Cat-proof fencing is also available. We also have a fact sheet on how to make an outdoor cat a contended indoor pet," said Winter.
For a free brochure and an order form, call 202-778-9666 or write: American Bird Conservancy, Cats Indoors!, 1250 24th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20037.
