Jan 30, 2009 - 01:00 PM

By Jillian Follert

Comments (0)

OSHAWA -- Most people associate Lakeview Park with the playground, pier and picnic tables that make it a popular summer destination, but the park is also home to a small handful of residential houses and the Oshawa Community Museum.

Those are the voices that are struggling to be heard as the City debates what to do about a colony of about a dozen feral cats that live in the park.

Last month, cat lovers across the city rejoiced after councillors voted to temporarily allow volunteers to place food bowls and cat shelters in the park to carry the cats through the harsh winter months.

But residents who live near the park and museum officials were not impressed, saying the cats shouldn't be encouraged to stick around, because they pose a health and safety threat and are causing property damage.

"The food is a big issue for us. It's left right outside our buildings," said Laura Suchan, executive director of the Oshawa Community Museum. "The people who feed the cats leave cans and garbage strewn around. Our heritage garden is a mess. That's a place where we have tours and summer teas and children's programs."

Ms. Suchan said the cat food also attracts raccoons and skunks who get into the museum buildings where artifacts are kept. On occasion, the cats themselves have also weaseled inside and sprayed the buildings with urine.

Another concern is the safety of the children who come to the museum grounds throughout the year for programs. The cats hang around the museum garden and Ms. Suchan said it's a constant battle to keep the kids from trying to pet them.

Also upset is Jennifer Laffier, who lives at the foot of Simcoe Street South. Speaking on behalf of her neighbours, she recently told council's finance and administration committee the cats are making life unbearable.

She said they burrow holes underneath her house, which is causing the kitchen to sink and she is worried about her well water being contaminated by the amount of cat waste on the ground.

Ms. Laffier also said she is scared to let her young children or her own cats go outside, because she believes the feral cats are dangerous.

"It's not about managing the cat population, it's about relocating them somewhere else," she said. "No taxpaying citizen wants a colony of feral cats living at the end of their driveway. They should be taken to a sanctuary or a farm or a rural area somewhere."

The most recent debate over the cats started on Dec. 5, when staff from the City's Animal Services department removed food bowls and makeshift shelters left in the park for the cats. Dozens of volunteers who care for the cats on a daily basis complained loudly about the lack of compassion and council quickly reversed the decision.

The City's Responsible Pet Owners Bylaw is up for review this spring and politicians decided to allow the bowls and shelters to stay at the park until April 30.

Councillor Brian Nicholson, who chairs the committee and is the ward councillor for the area, said there are at least six other cat colonies in his ward alone and thousands of stray and feral cats wandering the city at any given time, making it a difficult situation to control.

"If we went down and trapped every cat in the park on a Tuesday, by Thursday we'd have all new cats there," he said, noting they're attracted by the lakefront greenery and ready food supply of birds and small animals. "The problem is irresponsible people who let their cats roam outside and who don't spay and neuter them."

Animal experts, like those at the Animal Alliance of Canada, have told the City to work on an animal population control program that ensures every dog and cat released from a shelter is spayed or neutered and provide funding to trap and sterilize feral cats before returning them to their colonies.