Resident Urges Enforcement Over Neighboring Cats After Birds Found Dead

Tim Fox, a resident at 4814 Greenlee Avenue, addressed council during public comment with printed photos showing cats on his porch and a dead bird.

"I shouldn't have to be cleaning up dead bird carcasses in my yard all the time," Fox said, describing repeated incidents and showing images with timestamps. He said he had knocked on a neighbor's door and left an ordinance notice but continued to find birds killed on his property.

Fox said the ordinance allows the safety department to impound animals and asked that the village act. "I think they should be seized," he said, naming two orange cats he identified as Linus and Lucy and saying he has made prior calls to city offices and the SPCA with little resolution.

Council members acknowledged the complaint and said staff is updating the animal-control language to address definitional gaps (feral versus owned cats) and enforcement options. A council member said the village had previously partnered with groups that trap, neuter and return feral cats but that shelters sometimes would not accept animals.

Council described the next step as the resident filing a formal complaint with the safety director and the laws/contracts committee finalizing ordinance language at the rescheduled Aug. 20 meeting. No immediate seizure or enforcement action was recorded in the meeting.