Town Council

Odessa’s feral cat problem has grown to unmanageable proportions in various hot spots all over town. Citizen complaints and concern by the health care community have prompted the Town of Odessa to pass an ordinance requiring pet owners to license their cats as well as their dogs, so that efforts to trap the feral cats do not scoop up people’s pets along with the wild ones.

Police chief Tom Clark has been working with Adams County Pet Rescue on ways to humanely deal with the feral cat problem, as well as with loose dogs whose owners cannot be found. Clark’s research also indicated that Trap, Neuter & Release programs have worked well in other communities with the same problem. Farmers in the Odessa area have expressed an interest in having some of the feral cats as barn cats to keep the rodent population at bay, so Clark’s plan is to offer trapped feral cats to farmers first, then work with the Adams county group to neuter and release the remainder that cannot be tamed and turned into pets.

The council also discussed options for building a new kennel for housing animals on a short-term basis. The town’s previous kennel is in terrible condition and cannot be used. Solutions used by other communities were proposed. Clark will continue to work on solutions. The licensing fees would be put into a dedicated animal control fund to used for expenses such as neutering, building a kennel or any other needs that might arise.

The ordinance passed by the council Monday night can be viewed by the public at the town clerk’s office and via the http://www.odessawa.com site where all public notices passed by the council can be read in their entirety.

To be continued next week