Resident urges League City to review animal-shelter practices for found cats

A League City resident urged the City Council to review animal-shelter practices after describing cases where friendly, unowned cats were returned to fields rather than placed for adoption.

Kathy Lopez, who said she lives at 2921 Bridal Court, told the council she saw a social media post about an orange cat that appeared debilitated and was taken to the League City Animal Shelter. Lopez said the shelter “checked it, chip it, and drop it off in front of” the finder’s house and that she has seen similar posts repeatedly. She said returning friendly, unowned cats to fields is not the same as returning a pet to an identified owner and argued the practice is inhumane for animals that appear domesticated.

Lopez said she supports trap-neuter-release (TNR) for feral cats but distinguished those animals from friendly found cats that need committed owners. She said shelter management has cited national studies when responding to concerns but has not shown follow-up proof that returned animals fared well. Lopez also said the city reduced the animal advisory board in December, scaling back meeting frequency and membership, and urged restoration of at-large members or formation of a working group to address the issue.

Lopez asked the council to ensure the shelter tries to identify owners for found animals and to consider restoring advisory-board capacity or creating a working group to focus on the problem. The council did not take immediate action on the request during the April 8 meeting.