Proposal to Require Cat Licenses in Parts of L.A. County Blocked

With record numbers of stray cats clogging shelters, Los Angeles County officials are considering a plan to require licenses for the elusive felines.

The proposed ordinance would apply to all cats living in the county’s unincorporated communities, home to about 1 million human beings and an untold number of felines. Cat owners would pay a $5 fee for spayed or neutered cats and $10 for the unfixed variety.

Supervisor Mike Antonovich blocked passage of the measure Tuesday, saying the proposed ordinance was impractical, in part because cats have such independent and finicky natures.

“I don’t think you should license cats because it’s unenforceable,” Antonovich said. “It’s not fair and it doesn’t make sense.”

Just picking up a cat with your bare hands is hard enough, argued Antonovich, who does not own a cat. He raised the specter of an army of “cat catchers” roaming the streets of unincorporated Los Angeles County in search of undocumented kittens.

Only two other supervisors from the five-member board were present at Tuesday’s meeting. Since three votes are required to approve an ordinance, Antonovich’s objection was enough to kill the cat law for a week.

Board Chairman Ed Edelman temporarily withdrew the proposal from consideration Tuesday. The Board of Supervisors, which previously gave tentative approval to the measure, is scheduled to take a final vote on the issue Jan. 5.

The measure would also increase dog license fees from $10 to $12 for neutered and spayed dogs. The fee for others would increase from $20 to $22. Current laws require dogs to get licenses but make licenses voluntary for cats.

County officials explained that the proposed ordinance was a response to the growing number of cats filling the county’s six animal shelters. Cats account for 43.8% of the animals impounded by the county Department of Animal Care and Control.

Bob Ballenger, an executive assistant at the department, said that if current trends continue, cats will soon surpass dogs as the animal most often impounded by the department.

“Ninety-nine percent of the cats we get at our shelters have no identification whatsoever,” Ballenger said. “We have no way of knowing who they belong to.”

Unclaimed cats are held for seven days and then put to sleep, Ballenger said. He estimated that cat licensing fees could raise about $200,000 a year.

Not surprisingly, some cat lovers bristled at news of the proposed ordinance.

“It’s a lousy idea,” said Susie Page, a Los Angeles member of the American Cat Assn. “We don’t approve of animals being outside, but this is not going to solve the problem.”

Keeping a collar or tag on a cat is a dangerous, impractical proposition, she said. “None of us cat owners would want a collar on a cat that would get tangled in a bush or fence. The cat can hang itself.”

Others were skeptical about whether the program would work.

“It would be kind of hard to manage because cats are so independent,” said Peter Shin, owner of the Pet Center near Los Angeles International Airport. “A lot of cats are out and about. People feed them but nobody claims them. It’s going to be hard to track those cats down.”