Licensing and limiting cats to six per Red Deer household will be considered under a revised pet bylaw that will also consider dogs, chickens and honeybees.
This discussion is coming up at Monday’s city council meeting.
City administration will seek direction from council on various matters, including whether to license cats and, if so, whether to limit the number of cats. Also, limits on the number of dogs, urban chickens and honeybee hives will be discussed.
Administration’s recommendations stem from a public participation process, which included feedback from animal groups, enforcement agencies and ecological experts.
The top three pet issues in Red Deer were found to be: Roaming cats, off-leash dogs, and the ability to enforce pet-related rules.
“Through a future Responsible Pet Ownership Bylaw, our intention is to address these top concerns, ensure the safety of pets and residents, and reduce nuisance factors,” said Amy Fengstad, acting inspections and licensing manager.
“With roaming cats being the number one pet-related issue heard, we believe our recommendation to introduce a cat license will help this issue, while also improving our ability to re-unite lost cats with their owners,” she added.
The proposed bylaw would combine four bylaws that currently regulate animals in the city, including the Dog Bylaw, Cat Bylaw, Urban Chicken Bylaw and aspects of the Community Standards Bylaw.
Staff will be asking council for additional funds to enforce future regulations.
