Council approves changes to animal ordinance governing cats
The city’s policies and approach to the care and treatment of feral, community and family-owned cats in San Marcos remains a work in progress following the most recent meeting of the San Marcos City Council.
The second reading of proposed amendments to 40-page ordinance identified as Chapter 6, Animals, of the city code was up for consideration and approval Tuesday.
The second reading as stated in the agenda, called for the council to consider amending definitions, and to “delegate authority for (the) department to waive or reduce fees, limit reasons to impound cats, delete stray hold requirement in some instances, include stricter requirements for spay/ neuter and microchipping, create an offense for failure to reclaim or surrender pet upon notice, add requirements for pet shops/pet stores; including regulation of source of pets; and provide for permitting and inspections; repealing any conflicting provisions; and providing an effective date.”
Early in the discussion ,which was moved back on the agenda to offer the council sufficient time for discussion, Mayor Jane Hughson suggested that most of the issues on the table be left to a later time, with the City Council Animal Services Committee taking up this work again during its next scheduled meeting. The understanding of what had been agreed to was unclear Tuesday, according to several members of the council.
Initially, council member Jude Prather moved the amendments forward with a second by council member Matthew Mendoza.
Mayor Pro Tem Mark Gleason, a cat owner, said he supported the amendments as presented, and offered his concerns that talk of reducing the hold time for cats brought into the city’s facilities would put these animals at risk for many reasons. He said that many cat owners in town including himself could be at a disadvantage should a pet get out and be subjected to less than a five-day hold, especially if the cat got out while its owner was away. He reminded the council of what had occurred during recent floods with respect to many animals in the city. Cats, unlike dogs, have the capacity to be in a home with adequate food, water and litter and owners may routinely leave them for short periods.
Concerns were raised by staff and council member Alyssa Garza that keeping animals for longer periods of time create a drain on city services and staff. City staff said that the longer you keep an animal in impound, the worse it is for their health and ability to be released successfully.
In San Marcos, a feral cat is defined as “any cat which is too poorly socialized to be handled (and therefore must be trapped and sedated for examination) and cannot be placed into a typical pet home.” The definition of a community cat is more complicated. The city code under discussion defines community cat as “a free roaming cat that may or may not be socialized.” Community cats whose ears are tipped reflect the fact they have been sterilized and received at least one rabies vaccination. These cats are exempt therefore from stray, abandonment and atlarge provisions directed towards owned animals, according to the city. If one finds a cat without an ear tip or other means of identification, it may still be considered a community cat for the purposes of the trap, neuter, and return program that is in place. This variety of cats makes setting time limits more complicated for the council.
Following a review of areas in the Chapter 6 portion of the code, Hughson said she wanted to make a motion to amend calling for a change in the amendment from a third impound to the second impound.
The motion passed 5-2 in favor of sterilization upon the second impoundment with both Gleason and council member Saul Gonzales voting in opposition. The council then voted unanimously to approve the ordinance as amended.
In September, the committee agreed to take a revision of the ordinance to the council on Nov. 1, 2022. The council first discussed potential revisions to Chapter 6 on Nov. 15, 2022, and at that time asked that the Council Committee on Animal Services review changes prior to the second reading before the council.
City officials stated, “Throughout this year, the City Council Animal Services Committee has worked with staff to address animal issues at the local and regional level. Input from the committee, staff, and the public helped shape the ordinance revisions being presented for approval.”
The committee met frequently throughout 2022 to discuss animal issues, particularly the need to address where pet stores and shops are obtaining animals and to encourage adoption of animals that are coming into city shelters and the need for more rescue animals to find homes.
At the Nov. 15 meeting, there was extensive discussion offered concerning the proposed changes. Council members agreed that the ordinance as drafted for amendment should go back to the committee for additional attention. The committee met Feb. 6, to revise and roll back some of the wording presented in November 2022.
