The Town of Hanna council discussed the ongoing issue of stray cats during its June 9 meeting after receiving a resident's email outlining concerns about feline nuisances.

The email, read aloud by Coun. Fred Crowle, described problems including cats roaming through neighbourhood yards, damaging gardens and leaving feces on private property. Crowle said he sympathized with the residents who raised the concerns, noting that cat feces had become an issue.

Bylaw officer Skye Suntjens told council she had been investigating the situation, but explained the town currently has no bylaws requiring cats to be licensed or confined to their owners' properties.

Mayor Danny Povaschuk said the problem extends beyond a single neighbourhood, noting that unwanted kittens are often advertised online or abandoned in rural areas.

"There is a group in Calgary that will come out and do a spay and neuter program," said Povaschuk. 

Council members acknowledged the frustration residents experience when dealing with neighbourhood cats, with several sharing their own unsuccessful attempts to keep the animals out of their yards.

However, the council concluded that creating a cat bylaw would be difficult to enforce. Povaschuk said enforcement is often the biggest challenge with municipal regulations.

"The challenge to any bylaw is that we have no teeth," said Povaschuk.

Chief administrative officer (CAO) Matthew Norburn added that requiring cats to remain on their owners' property would create significant enforcement demands.

Council agreed, noting that to enforce people to keep cats on their property, Skye would spend all day chasing cats.

Council also discussed the financial implications of implementing measures such as trapping programs or bringing in organizations to conduct spay and neuter clinics. Members were told the cost of having an outside organization provide those services could be about $20,000.

Instead of pursuing new regulations, council suggested residents communicate directly with pet owners when possible and use private deterrent methods to address nuisance concerns. Members agreed the town could not justify spending thousands of dollars on a problem that may not be resolved through municipal action alone.

"The bottom line is how much money are we willing to spend?" said Coun. Angie Warwick. 

"I don't think we can spend $10,000 to $20,000 to put a bandaid on a situation that is not going to go away," said Povaschuk. "Because it won't."