Managing Community Cats - Legal and Policy Problems

It is difficult to manage a problem if you can’t define it, and community cats illustrate that conundrum. Clear and consistent definitions of community cats would help drive policy decisions, but they are currently lacking in many legal codes. Seattle Animal Watch (SAW) maintains that community cats is one of the areas that needs review in a long-overdue update of the Seattle Municipal Code’s section on animals.

How Do We Define Cats?

Are they “feral?” Community cats are often called feral cats, a definition that doesn’t quite fit. The definition of feral is a plant or animal that is “wild, especially after having been domesticated.”* Generations of cats have been born after having escaped and cannot - or should not - be deemed “domestic”. Many people view community cats as so successfully converted to wildlife that the cats ought to be labeled “native”. But Felis catus is not native to the United States - the species is exotic, imported, and non-indigenous, but capable of adapting to a free-roaming life.

Are they “loose?” Confusion over the definition and management of “loose cats” is the second problem. An unleashed cat walking in your neighborhood could be owned, unowned, stray, lost, or abandoned. If the same animal was a dog, you would assume the dog had somehow escaped from its owner. As a society, we don’t presume the same when seeing a roaming cat. Usually, we think that the owner has let the cat out - that it is owned and cared for. For cats, leash laws and confinement requirements are generally ignored, if they even exist.

How Do We Manage Them?

The sheer number of wild cat colonies living parallel to humans is driving conflict over the care and management of the colonies. The number of community cats in the United States is unknown, but a 2012 study by Loss, Marra and Will estimated the number between 60 - 100 million. (These numbers are disputed as it is impossible to calculate). One local expert estimates there are 321,000 feral cats and 225,000 owned cats living in King County. Based on the 2021 census, the county has 902,000 households - which is an average of .6 cats per household. Not only do the cats provide a reservoir for rabies and other diseases, they kill wildlife - especially birds. But the public is divided over whether these animals should be cared for - and how. It is difficult to socialize wild cats, so other management strategies have been developed.

One way to manage the colonies is to Trap-Neuter/Spay-Vaccinate-Return (TNR or TNVR). Volunteers are trained to trap the cats safely, transport them to a vet, and return them to the colony. This type of activity requires resources and community support for vet bills, transportation costs and volunteer training.

Cats and the Seattle Municipal Code

Aside from the definition of cats, another challenge hinges on local laws imposing liability on animal owners for property damage done by animals. Many jurisdictions confer ownership status on those who feed cat colonies, and some communities require caregivers to register. Fortunately, caregiver registration isn’t required here in Seattle.

On the other hand, Seattle Municipal Code (SMC) 9.25.022B sets out the animal ownership definition as follows: "Owner" means a person who harbors, keeps, causes or permits an animal to be harbored or kept, or who has an animal in his/her possession or custody, or who permits an animal to remain on or about his/her premises, or who has legal title to an animal.

This definition seems broad enough to sweep community cat caregivers into potential liability for damage done to property by free-roaming cats under the charge of “harboring.” However, one could argue that owning an animal assumes some control over it, and feral cats are not controlled by humans. Damage to another’s property would require trespass, which is defined in SMC 9.25.023F: "Trespassing" means any animal which enters upon the property of another person without the authorization of the lawful occupant. Notice that this provision does not require an animal to be owned. SAW is unaware of cases litigating these issues.

The other provision that applies to community cats in the SMC is the Seattle Animal Shelter’s municipal spay and neuter program as set out in SMC 9.25.045D: all cats and dogs served by the clinic must be licensed - except for free-roaming cats.

Cats are often overlooked in the discussion of legal codes. We look forward to when Seattle’s chapter on animals is updated so we can integrate modern approaches and philosophy into its discussions. To do so will require transparency in animal services management, something that has so far eluded the citizens of Seattle.

For more information about resources in Seattle, see your local shelter or one of the organizations listed below:

*Compact Oxford English Dictionary, 3d ed. 2008