Hamilton city councillors vote again not to license cats

It's the third time it's come up in 15 years. But on Tuesday, Hamilton city councillors once again walked away from a plan to require cat owners to license their pets.

There's a mindset that cats are disposable.If I lose one, I can go onKijijiand get another.- Ken Leendertse, Hamilton's director of licensing

City council's planning committee pondered a plan to require cat owners to buy licenses $20 per year for spayed or neutered cats, and $45 otherwise.

It would have generated about $200,000 per year, said Ken Leendertse, Hamilton's director of licensing. Of that, $85,000 would have gone to paying a new staff member to handle the licensing. The remaining $115,000 would go to programs to help curb the growing population of feral cats, including vaccinating and fixing strays.

Licensing would also be intended to get people to appreciate their pets, Leendertse said.

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"Right now, there's a mindset that cats are disposable," he said at Tuesday's meeting, whencouncillors voted 5-3 not to act on the plan. "If I lose one, I can go on Kijiji and get another."

But councillors walked away from the plan yet again, merely receiving Leendertse's report instead of moving ahead with it.

Don't talk about it if you don't want to do anything about it.- Coun. Doug Conley

Cat licensing may eventually happen, saidCoun. Aidan Johnson of Ward 1, a self-described cat lover. Thisplan didn't do enough to include other groups who already deal with cats, he said. He also worries that with licensing, people will think the problem is fixed.

It also penalizes people on low incomes, he said.

"A lot of low-income people have cats and love their cats dearly," he said. "There are enough of them that it will constitute an injustice to them."

Councillors gave various other arguments against cat licensing. Some worried it was a cash grab. Others balked at the idea of another hire when the city is trying to keep taxes in line.

Others like Coun. Doug Conley of Ward 9 said it's time to act on the problem already.

"Don't talk about it if you don't want to do anything about it," he said. "Anything you say about a cat license applies to dogs too. Are you suggestingwe stop dog licensing?"

That's what Sam Merulla, Ward 4 councillor, is suggesting now. If the city isn't going to license cats, he said, then it shouldn't license dogs either.

He'll introduce a motionat a future meeting to "abolish the alleged redundant animal licensing tax grab program."

Right now, the city has a limit of four pets per household, Leendertsesaid. When the city moves on cat licensing, it will probably revisit the household animal limit too.

The vote could change next week.City council will vote whether to ratify the decision onNov. 23.

Who voted to move forward with cat licensing:

Doug Conley (Ward 9), Maria Pearson (10), Judi Partridge (15)

Who didn't:

AidanJohnson (1), Jason Farr (2), Chad Collins (5), DonnaSkelly (7),Brenda Johnson (11)