A group of neighbours near Fourth Avenue West in North Bay are frustrated by feral cats taking over their neighbourhood.
"I've seen pregnant ones at 30 below here, freezing on my deck. And like, I've lost sleep over them because there's so many of them, and they're so unhealthy. I had one that got hit by a car and was injured badly a few weeks ago," said Mary, one of the frustrated neighbours.
Mary says the neighbourhood problem is so bad that it ruined her garden which the cats used as a litter box.
"I planted grass this year. I've got all my lawn back. There's no garden," she said.
Katherine is another neighbour who recognizes the cat problem.
"There's a group of neighbours now, like, we've all talked about, what do we do? You know, there's just so many of them," she said.
Mary and Katherine say they are cat lovers themselves. Katherine has even set up traps to catch the feral cats and have them brought to the North Bay Humane Society.
"I've been trapping cats in the area because they'll end up in my yard, pregnant and then having litters under my trailer, under cars," Katherine explained.
"In the wintertime, you have to tap your hood because they're so cold, they're in the hoods of your cars. A lot of them have tumours and are emaciated - like you can see their spine."
The issue has caused outrage in the neighbourhood as the neighbours claim the problem started three years ago by a neighbour named Joe on Third Avenue West who they believe is a cat hoarder well known to the local Humane Society.
Liam Cullin, executive director at the North Bay and District Humane Society, admits there has been a problem.
"The North Bay Humane Society is aware of the situation: since 2019, the shelter has taken in over 40 cats from the residence under an agreement with the pet owner," said Cullin in an email to BayToday.
"In those instances, the cats screened by the Humane Society were healthy and well-treated. At this time, there is no city bylaw pertaining to the number of companion animals allowed to reside in a household."
However, there is a cat bylaw in the City of North Bay that cats cannot run wild outside the owner's yard and need to utilize leashing to prevent them from running wild in North Bay neighbourhoods.
"No owner of a cat shall allow or permit the cat to be at large. Every owner of a cat shall prevent the cat from being at large. No person shall allow or permit a cat under his control or of which he is the registered owner to trespass on private property whether on a leash or not unless permission for said trespass is first obtained from the property owner," Cullin added.
"The Humane Society reminds members of the public to contact the Humane Society's Animal Control Services (705-474-1251) if they see a stray cat or dog. For animal welfare concerns, contact Provincial Animal Welfare Services by calling 1-833-926-4625."
However, the neighbours are torn. They have been encouraged not to feed the feral cats, but Katherine and Mary do not know where to turn. Neither do some of the other neighbours nearby.
"One neighbour actually told me that the guy two doors down told him that he would kill the cats if it kept crapping in his yard," said Mary.
"So that's what it does to the neighbourhood. It makes everybody angry because you got cats spraying on your doors, you got cats in your flower beds, you got cats running all over the place. They're not fixed. Nothing's done to them. They're not healthy. They're in your garbage, they are everywhere."
The neighbour in question responded to the concerns noting that he is not the sole cause for the problem.
"There are mostly a lot of strays also that seem in good health because I have been taking care of them as much as I can afford," he said via text.
