All cats should be neutered: Antigonish council

Antigonish town council is asking for a law that would require all cats in Nova Scotia to be spayed or neutered.

Councillors drafted a proposal in an effort to tackle the town’s feral cat problem. Because it's still in the proposal stage many of the details haven't been hammered out.

The local SPCA said just about every community in Nova Scotia has a cat corner — a neighbourhood where strays roam looking for food and a possible home. In Antigonish, the cat mecca appears to be in trailer parks.

President Betty O'Neill said felines are extremely fertile.

"After one litter it just doesn't stop there. You have all those kittens and it just keeps going. It's like the energizer bunny, it never stops,” she said.

O'Neill said the best way to limit the population is to enforce owners to spay or neuter their cats.

Mayor Carl Chisholm is bringing the proposal to the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities. He's asking cats be treated the same as their canine counterparts.

"We're trying to get another bylaw for the cat-lovers, I'll call them, and hopefully down the road do something to help them keep the cat population as best we can at bay,” he said.

If the resolution passes, it will then be up to the province to decide whether to limit promiscuous cats in all municipalities.

Still, the mayor said the chances of the late proposal passing are slim.

The Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities meets Nov. 5 - 8.