It's been raining cats and dogs in the city of Jamestown.
With the rescue of 31 dogs from an apartment last month to the cats roaming the streets of the city, those who work with stray or abused animals have their work cut out for them.
The Jamestown Police Department is no different, as the department has recently been inundated with calls about feral or roaming cats.
TRYING TO FIND SOLUTIONS
The problem-cat population in city has been rising, and according to Capt. Barry Swanson of the Jamestown Police Department, his department doesn't handle these types of calls.
"We understand the level of frustration people have in the community," he said. "We have been dealing with this for several years. I can date back to 1995 having people upset because cats were going to the bathroom in their flower beds, walking on their vehicles, at night getting into their garages. But we really do not handle cat calls. It's an issue that we are dealing with and we are trying to come up with good solutions."
Swanson said Greg Fye, the city's dog control officer, has been receiving many calls pertaining to cats.
"The dog control officer, Officer Fye, came to me with a great level of frustration because he had been dealing with so many people coming to him and talking to him about the cats that are in their neighborhoods," Swanson said. "The cats that are either feral cats or strays or ones people don't believe are being cared for."
The problem with such calls is that Fye is a dog control officer, said Swanson.
"His main job is dog control," he said. "The only time he really gets involved in a case with cats is if it were to be a cruelty case, then he would be working with the officers from the Jamestown Police Department or if there was a case where a cat had bitten a person. He would then work with the owner or try to ascertain who the owner of that cat would be, so the cat could be quarantined."
Swanson said the overpopulation of cats can be attributed to the fact that there is no registration process for cats.
Although his department does not handle these types of cases, he did have some suggestions for the community.
"There are certain measures that people can take to keep cats out of their flower gardens," he said. "I am told moth balls work well, there are other types of sprays that can be used that will keep cats from getting into areas where they are unwanted."
'WE DO THE BEST WE CAN'
Susanne Bloom of the Chautauqua County Humane Society said her organization receives similar calls.
"The many stray cats that are out there, we get several calls as well," she said. "And being a nonprofit organization, we do the best we can obviously."
Some of the ways the Humane Society helps with the pet population is to take these strays in. However, she said, space in limited and the ability to take these animals in requires a space to be open.
"We only have so many cages," she said. "As long as we have space open we will bring in the animals. We do have a waiting list, and as soon as we adopt something out we call the next person that has an animal that will fit in a cage that has just opened up."
Bloom did have some suggestions for members of the community who do find strays.
"If you find a stray pet, call us at the Humane Society, we will be happy to give you all the information on what you can do for that stray cat and we can give you other options as well, how to deter animals from being in your flowerbeds and such."
Another program offered by the Humane Society to cut down on the pet population is the free low-income spay/neuter program, she said.
"We run that every Monday as long as the funds are available," she said. "As long as you qualify, we help them and get them spayed or neutered so hopefully there won't be that overpopulation out there."
Those who meet certain income requirements are eligible for this free program.
Bloom also said part of controlling the population is being a responsible owner.
"If you are a cat owner, it doesn't mean your neighbor likes your cat running all over their house," she said.
The Humane Society also has a lost-and-found area, where animals who have been found can reconnect with their owners.
"If you did find a stray cat, we do have a lost-and-found area, in case someone is missing their pet, so that we can hopefully connect those people and find the animal's proper home," she said. "We want to make sure we can reunite owners that are looking for their pets."
Bloom said that it is not just Jamestown that has this problem.
"Most of Chautauqua County, we do have animal control officers who pick up animals, but they are actually dog control officers," she said. "They don't pick up the cats. When you call the dog control officers, they may give you advice in finding a shelter but unfortunately there is just nobody out there dealing with cats."