La Verne : Licensing of Cats Approved

At the urging of the Pomona Valley Humane Society, the City Council on Monday unanimously approved a licensing requirement for cats as of July 1.

The proposed license fee would be $10 a year for an unaltered cat and $5 a year for cats that have been spayed or neutered.

William Harford, humane society executive director, said La Verne is the only city in the state to have such an ordinance since Fremont and Westminster rescinded their laws. Harford, who called himself “the voice of cats in your community,” appealed for the program, saying money raised by it will sponsor cat spay and neuter clinics.

For a city the size of La Verne, he said, “your cat population is out of control.” Harford said there would not be a “Cat Gestapo,” forcing people to comply with the new rule, and City Manager Martin Lomeli said the regulation would be introduced gradually as people adopt cats.