Several residents in the area of Old Norwalk and Holly Roads are complaining to police about a neighbor’s cats urinating and defecating on their properties, officials say.
Most recently, at about 7:25 p.m. on Sept. 22, a man told authorities that he found feline feces on his porch, according to a police report.
Complaints have been coming in for a few years since a resident of Old Norwalk Road near the entrance to Kiwanis Park began feeding stray cats, according to Animal Control Officer Maryann Kleinschmitt, who retires Wednesday.
“This individual feeds these cats—and thank goodness, because [otherwise] they would get sick and create a problem,” Kleinschmitt said. “She feeds and cares for them and makes sure they are spayed and neutered. We do not have a cat ordinance and in all fairness, in this town, we do not have an issue. We take each incident for what it is. Cats can roam. They can be ‘wild’ cats or domesticated.”
At last check, the number of cats in question totaled about five or six, Kleinschmitt said. That figure may be down from what it had been in recent years, according to Officer Allyson Halm, who takes over this week as head of the New Canaan Police Department’s Animal Control unit.
It doesn’t matter whether the cats are roaming on private or public property and even with an ordinance that specifically addresses cats, it’s an open question as to how it would be enforced, Kleinschmitt said.
“They are peeing and pooping and they are roaming at night,” she said.
Though it isn’t clear just how many cats are being fed and make their homes in the area of Old Norwalk and Holly Roads, “when you are feeding cats that live in the area, it will attract others,” Kleinschmitt said.
If a cat ordinance were introduced, all stray cats would have to be picked up and housed and there is no facility now equipped to handle that demand, she said.
More cats = fewer mice – balanced against a little cat poop that is probably a good fertilizer – and the problem is?
I would like to remind residents that these cats could be LOST PETS that owners are trying to find! If you can get a photograph or give a detailed description, you can post it on my community Facebook page called Lost and Found Cats of Darien, CT. There is a network that will pass it along to several adjoining towns. Cats can become ‘displaced’ and not able to find their way home. They may end up wherever food is offered so that they do not starve to death. As it is getting cooler, I am seeing more Found cats, so if you are missing a cat, don’t forget to look online! You may contact me by responding here or through th page and I will help if I can.