CORNWALL, Ontario – Council received a report from administration recommending that the next council consider enacting subsidies for the spaying and neutering of cats at their meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2018.
The average cost of spaying or neutering a cat according to the report is between $200 and $300.
“Thus it can be a matter of affordability particularly for low income residents and generally, may determine the viability and benefits of by-law mandated universal spay/neutering, particularly within a necessarily compressed time period,” the report reads.
Last week, the OSPCA hosted a discount mobile cat and dog spay and neuter clinic where pets could be spayed or neutered for about $90. Dozens of pets were treated by the clinic, but according to the administration report around 20 were unable to be treated do to an affordability issue.
“Statistics strongly suggest we have a cat overpopulation problem,” said Cornwall’s head of Building and By-Law Christopher Rogers. “The response to the OSPCA clinic was overwhelming.”
Councillor Bernadette Clement stated that if it was affordable, she believed that spay or neuter subsidies for cats was something that should be considered by next council at budget time.
“There does appear to be a problem and our reputation can be impacted by that as a city,” she said. “It affects our ability to attract investment. Having this and moving forward is a good thing. As long as it is affordable to what we can do.”
Councillor David Murphy disagreed with the report and was the only member of council to vote against the report.
“I don’t think the taxpayers should be held responsible for this. We keep going back to a well that’s running dry,” he said. “Obviously there is an issue, but I don’t think that throwing money at it is a result.”
Councillor Justin Towndale felt that the time of the report was odd as the current council will likely look very different after the municipal election on Oct. 22, but General Manager of Infrastructure Mark Boileau said that the purpose of the report was to recognize that this will be an ongoing issue.
“It is so council realizes, that we realize, that this is not the end of this problem,” said Boileau. “What just occurred with the clinic did not solve this problem. You may have to commit dollars to this on an ongoing basis.”
Cornwall has struggled with feral cats over the past few years. By November of 2017, the local OSPCA had taken in over 700 cats.
“Although the City of Cornwall doesn’t own any cats, we do have a problem,” said Mayor Leslie O’Shaughnessy. “Although we didn’t create the problem it is our problem now. It is going to take dollars. I’ll be honest with you, the amount of rabbits I see in the City of Cornwall, they may be next.”
