Politics & Government
Free-Range Cats Cause Problems in Birmingham
Resident wants the city to lay down the law after roaming cats cause her indoor felines to become more aggressive. She was bitten twice.
BIRMINGHAM, MI – There’s a cat fight going on in Birmingham.
It seems two free-range cats are messing with a trio of indoor cats.
“They stare into my windows and cause my cats to go absolutely crazy,” Patricia Lang told the Birmingham City Commission Monday, The Birmingham Eccentric reports.
Find out what's happening in Birminghamfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The two cats that are allowed to roam outside seem to have raised the ante. Lang’s cats “feel like their territory is being invaded,” and they are becoming more aggressive in their play.
After she was bitten twice by one of her own cats and needed an antibiotic prescription, Lang filed a police report. She said she doesn’t want to cause problems for a fellow feline fancier, but thinks her neighbor should keep the cats confined indoors.
Find out what's happening in Birminghamfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Commissioners sympathized with Lang and said she probably isn’t the only person in the city with nuisance complaints about cats encroaching on their property. City Manager Joe Valentine promised he’d look into appropriate remedies.
In the meantime, Birmingham Deputy Police Chief Mark Clemence advised Lang to trap the cats and take them to the Gasow Veterinary Hospital, where their owner would have to pay to a boarding fee to retrieve them.
Lang said she’s reluctant to do that.
“They’re nice people,” she said. “But the situation doesn’t change.”
» Read more about the discussion on The Birmingham Eccentric.
» Photo by Guyon Morée via Flickr / Creative Commons
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.