Council OKs cat plan

A program setting up rules for allowing homeless cats to roam free in Charleston was approved Monday night by City Council, and the same ordinance will be considered today by County Council.

Under the approved city program, "free roaming" cats would not have to be trapped and killed but instead could be spayed or neutered, vaccinated and microchipped before being turned loose again. The ordinance would have an immediate effect of returning 1,000 to 1,500 cats to the wild over the course of a year instead of euthanizing them.

A $100,000 grant makes the pilot project possible, said Charles Karesh, a board member of the Charleston Animal Society. Veterinarians at the Animal Society and Pet Helpers will participate in the program, which is scheduled to start in January.

Karesh said that up to 5,000 cats are killed annually in Charleston, but the "trap and kill" approach does not work well. People would be more willing to bring in free-roaming cats knowing they would be freed afterward, he said.

The Free Roaming Cat Program received final approval Monday night. Under the program, a cat must be assessed by a veterinarian and deemed healthy. It must be spayed or neutered, vaccinated for rabies, feline viral rhinotracheitis, calcivirus and panleukopenia. It must be microchipped and "ear tipped" to indicate those steps have been taken before being turned loose again.

"Free roaming cats shall only be allowed as long as they do not create a nuisance," the ordinance states. Any cat trapped three or more times shall be deemed a nuisance. A free-roaming cat shall be returned to the area where it was trapped unless a property owner asks that the cat be released elsewhere. The city will not be held liable for the disposition of any cat in the Free Roaming Cat Program.

Charleston County Council will hold a public hearing on its cat ordinance at 5 p.m. today in Council Chambers. The council has given initial approval to the ordinance but has yet to take a final vote.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is providing grant money for the cat program.

Most of the money, about $60,000, will go for surgeries and vaccinations, Karesh said.

Reach Prentiss Findlay at 937-5711 or pfindlay@postandcourier.com.