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Public commenter urges changes to Laredo feeding rules; staff outlines TNR and registration options
Summary
A retired teacher warned she could be fined for feeding stray cats and urged the city to change nuisance-feeding rules. City animal-care staff said the ordinance is complaint-driven but offered trap-neuter-return surgery slots and pointed to a community-cat colony registration and responsible-feeding guidance.
Laura Reyna, a retired teacher who said she currently fosters and feeds stray cats, told the Laredo Animal Care Services advisory committee she feared fines and asked what the city can do to address the population of community cats. "Three minutes is not enough," Reyna said, describing stress over possible enforcement and neighborhood complaints.
An Animal Care Services representative, Miss Bluestone, said the city does not proactively cite people for feeding animals; enforcement is triggered when neighbors call with nuisance complaints. Bluestone said the department runs trap-neuter-return (TNR) surgeries at the shelter and has reduced the TNR wait list by holding one or two days each week dedicated to TNRs, and by bringing in veterinarians from other parts of the state when available. "We also do TNR surgeries at our shelter. The wait list has gone down tremendously," she said.
Bluestone warned that holding community cats at the shelter for extended periods raises risks of upper respiratory infections and other stress-related illness, which can make animals unsuitable for release. She explained that, when possible, owners and fosters can bring animals in for surgery on designated days and pick them up the next day to minimize disease risk.
Committee members and staff discussed whether the city's nuisance-feeding ordinance should be amended or replaced with language recognizing "responsible" or "compassionate" feeding while including registration and colony-management requirements. Bluestone said the city currently has a community-cat-feeding ordinance pathway that allows a colony to be registered, and stressed that registration requires responsible practices. "There's an established vehicle there that you can do with responsibility," she said.
No formal ordinance change was adopted at the meeting. Committee members asked staff to research existing language used by other cities, to draft possible responsible-feeding language, and to return with legal review so the governing body could consider any proposed change.
