The days of second-class status for city felines are one step closer to being over.
A bill requiring owners to either buy ID tags or implant microchips in their cats — much like rules requiring similar identification for dogs — passed out of committee Thursday on an 8-2 vote.
House Bill 1019 would apply to cities or counties with more than 100,000 people and aims to make it easier to return lost cats to their owners. It also allows local authorities to set up a fee schedule for owners of cats that don’t carry their home address with them.
Fewer than one in 20 cats on average are retrieved from shelters, Jed Rogers, president of the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association, told the House committee on local government.
“Cats shouldn’t be this poor second cousin to dogs,” Rogers said. He said the chips or tags can help owners pick their animals out of a crowded shelter. “It’s easy for people to spot their dog at a shelter. Whereas my little black cat, there could be 50 black cats at a shelter.”
City dwellers also would be responsible for chipping or providing identification tags to strays they regularly feed or shelter.
At least one committee member came up with his own strategy for dealing with strays that involves a different kind of tagging. Rep. Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, said he shoots them.
In his neck of the woods, feral cats are a danger to both wildlife and humans, said McKinley, who voted against the bill.
“This defines an owner as anyone a cat has chosen to live around,” McKinley said. “You can’t trap a cat. They’re smart.”
