NEBRASKA CITY – Mayor Bryan Bequette called for city codes that are friendly to a trap, neuter and release program for stray cats and advised TNR volunteers to make a request for public funds during the next budget cycle.

Nebraska City program leader Rachael Inman said feral cat populations can be controlled by preventing kittens.

Inman: “This time of year cats are getting pregnant and it’s nice to be able to stop that because we have too many. Two of the ladies that work with me are meter readers and so they see stray cats around. They know where communities are.”

Inman suggested using a portion of pet license fees to benefit homeless animals, but was told everything the city collects goes on to the state. She said she was disappointed the idea did not appear to gain traction.

 

 Inman: “I have friends who don’t license their pets because they don’t know where the money goes .. if It went to the homeless animals, I think that would really help. Not just me, but anyone who is trying to be in the non-profit with me. And why do we care about cats? Because they have no choice. They are here. They’re just trying to eat, they’re just trying to live. There will be less of them if we do a TNR program.”

City Clerk Randy Dunster says the state requires $1.25 from each $10.25 license the city issues to fund oversight of the state kennel license program. He said the city has more cats than the 29 that are licensed in 2021.

 

Dunster:  “That tells me there are quite a few skating by.”

He noted that under a TNR program, unlicensed cats have potential to be trapped, spayed or neutered and then returned to the area they were caught.

Dunster: “With the TNR program it essentially incentivizes them to get a license so that it doesn’t get TNRed, if they don’t want it to be.”

Inman: “But as far as a first-time contact, seeing a cat and not knowing whose it is, I’ve just been assuming that if it’s outside and it’s running around and nobody is watching it, that it’s a loose cat. Right, no collar, no tag.”

Cats would be released without population control procedures if they have a collar or tag.

Finance Commissioner Gloria Glover said the city should retain the authority to remove cats if there are too many.

Glover: “Who decides too many? Obviously we have cats running around now and we don’t make a hard effort to reduce that number right now, but, if we should ever get – even if they are spayed and neutered – if we should get too many, we still need to be able to take care of them.”

Ann Bauers and Jaime Sanks of the Lincoln TNR program says the purpose of TNR is to control the pet population humanely.

Bauers: “If you take a feral population of let’s say 20 cats and you remove those 20 cats, other cats are going to move into that territory. You’re really never going to get rid of them. You’re just going to have new ones come in. Plus they also keep down the rodent population. They keep down mice and rats and things people don’t want anyway. They are great hunters.”

She said a TNR colony does not grow. “Normally a population remains pretty stagnant once they have been TNRed.”

City Attorney Drew Graham said issues like legally trapping and releasing animals within the city limits can be addressed to allow for the program.

Inman: “I feel some hope from some of the members.”