THOUSAND OAKS : Council Rejects Plan for Licensing of Cats

The Thousand Oaks City Council unanimously scratched a proposal for mandatory licensing of cats.

Council members instead urged the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control, which serves Thousand Oaks, to encourage voluntary licensing, even though an animal control official said a voluntary program in Los Angeles has not worked well.

Bruce Richards, manager of the department’s Agoura Animal Shelter, told council members Tuesday that felines are a fast-growing problem at the pound.

Within two years, he said, cats will make up 60% of the animals at the pound. But dog owners continue to shoulder most of the cost of animal control through mandatory dog licenses.

“We want to provide a current level of services without raising the tax on dog owners, who have been paying the bill since 1934,” Richards said. Licensing also would help animal control workers return stray cats to their owners.

Now, Richards said, only one of every 100 cats that are taken to the pound is ever recovered by owners.

Richards said animal control officers will go door-to-door in Thousand Oaks between Jan. 5 and Jan. 15 to seek out unlicensed dogs. Mayor Judy Lazar suggested that they encourage cat owners to buy licenses as well.