Attachment 4Subject: FW: Concerns re: proposed changes to Animal Ordinance
From: Peter Wolf <peterw@bestfriends.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2018 9:42 AM
To: Rob Rennie <RRennie@losgatosca.gov>; Steven Leonardis <SLeonardis@losgatosca.gov>; Marcia Jensen
<MJensen@losgatosca.gov>; Marico Sayoc <MSayoc@losgatosca.gov>; BSpector <BSpectort losgatosca.gov>
Cc: Lynne Lampros <LLampros@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Re: Concerns re: proposed changes to Animal Ordinance
Good morning —I hope you all enjoyed the holiday weekend.
I wanted to follow up briefly to my previous e-mail for two reasons:
1. I am surprised to see that my comments were not included in the packet for tonight's meeting —I was
under the impression that all comments submitted before the deadline (as mine were) would be
included.
2. Having read the proposed language (released only after the deadline for comments), I have several
concerns —among them: (1) the provisions regarding feeding community cats are virtually impossible
for TNR practitioners to comply with, and (2) also virtually impossible to enforce (especially without
the support of SACS). Indeed, to my knowledge, what's being proposed here hasn't worked anyplace
it's been tried.
Again, I encourage you to postpone any vote on the matter and instead work with SACS and the local
rescue/TNR community to work through this issue.
Respectfully,
Peter J. Wolf
Research/Policy Analyst
Best Friends Animal Society
602.499.1474
From: Peter Wolf
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2018 8:54:15 AM
To: rrennie@losgatosca.gov; sleonardis@losgatosca.gov; mjensen@losgatosca.gov; msavoc@losgatosca.gov;
bspector@losgatosca.gov
Subject: Concerns re: proposed changes to Animal Ordinance
Dear Mayor Rennie, Vice -Mayor Leonardis, and members of the Los Gatos Town Council,
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Subject: FW: Ordinance regarding animals and fowl
From: Eleanor Leishman, 332 Bella Vista Ave.Los Gatos, CA 95032
To: Laurel Prevetti, Rob Schultz, Rob Rennie and Town Council Members
Re: Ordinance amending Chapter 4 of the Town Code regarding animals and fowl
Sept. 4, 2018
Dear Town of Los Gatos officials,
I'm writing to add my voice to those feral cat advocates - professional as well as volunteer - who've expressed
their opposition to the ban on the feeding of feral cats contained in the original version of this Ordinance. This
ban is inhumane, unenforceable and reactive.
The newly -revised version of the Ordinance was only made available to the public on the Town website at the
weekend, and this has left little time for concerned citizens to understand the changes and respond to them in
writing. From my cursory reading, these revisions do nothing to change my opposition to the Ordinance. Here
are some of my specific concerns:
1. The term "Trap, Neuter and Release" (TNR) has been employed in the new language of the Ordinance, but
it seems that the authors don't have a complete understanding of its meaning, or else are willfully
misconstruing it. The Ordinance appears to allow animal rescuers to feed feral cats for the purpose of
trapping and neutering them, but nowhere does it mention that healthy feral cats who are not adoptable will
be RELEASED back to their original territory, and will be fed and cared for henceforth by "animal
rescuers."
2. Those who work to rescue and maintain healthy feral cats serve our community. By creating levels of
bureaucratic red tape and permissions for them to navigate in order for them to do their work, the potential
exists for this Ordinance to be used to prohibit and discourage legitimate activity by feral cat advocates and
organizations.
3. I question whether the Town officials have taken advantage of numerous offers of help and guidance made
to them by feral cat professionals and organizations. Had they done so, the current version of the
Ordinance would be (in my opinion) better -informed and more useful.
To summarize, I don't support the Ordinance in its current form. I would like to think that the Town officials who
represent me are attempting to be forward -thinking and are well-informed on issues of feral cat management.
You have quite a way to go to convince me that you are.
Respectfully,
Eleanor Leishman
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From: Patricia L Kuehmann <pkuehmann@me.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 04, 2018 2:31 AM
To: Rob Rennie; Town Manager; Clerk
Subject: Animal Ordinance, I oppose the proposal to ban feeding feral cats
Rob Rennie, Mayor rrennieAlosgatosca.gov
Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager managerAlosgatosca.gov
Shelley Neis, Clerk Administrator Clerk@,LosGatosCA.gov
and please forward to the entire Town Council for the Sept. 4th meeting -
Mayor Rennie and the entire Town Council, and Town Manager Prevetti, and the Clerk's Office,
I would like to inform you why I oppose the proposal to ban feeding feral cats.
I have reduced the number of feral cats in Los Gatos by feeding them. I recently listed on nextdoor.com a cat that I had been
seeing more and more often during this hot dry summer in our neighborhood, it was drinking water at night from a potted plant
on my porch. I had not been able to get close enough to get a good photo of it, so I thought long and hard about it and decided I
was going to feed the cat until I found it's owner or found a home for it, or took it to the San Jose Animal Care Center for
evaluation/trap-neuter-release. After feeding the cat, I was able to get close enough to take a photo which I posted as a found
cat on nextdoor.com, but no one claimed it. I got a trap, but did not need it, by feeding the cat it trusted me, plus it was a sweet
and gentle cat, I was able to pick it up and take it to a local vet. The vet scanned it a couple times to see if it had a microchip, it
didn't. After examining the cat the vet determined it was an in -tact Tom cat, a non -neutered feral male, then the vet tested it for
feline leukemia, which it sadly tested positive for. I had the cat put down, because it would pretty much be impossible to find
anyone to adopt it and I didn't want to release it knowing it could infect other cats. I cried. It was a sweet cat, and to no fault of
its own did not have an owner. I'm glad that its no longer trying to survive on the streets of Los Gatos without future medical
care, and its not making more feral cats, and its not spreading feline leukemia. If I had not been able to feed that cat to take a
photo to hopefully find its owner or when there was no owner, to stop it from making more cats, I think that would have been
worse. I never fed that cat recklessly. I was careful, and I monitored the food continuously. I can account for where the food
went, it never went to rats, mice, or raccoons. I know that because I had a camera that showed the food, and I could watch the
video. I saw when cat was there and how much it ate and how much it left. If there had been any rats, mice, or raccoons I would
have seen it and the cat would have `played' with it or most likely got it at some point, but that was never the case and so was
not an issue whatsoever. There is another instance I fed a cat. Someone posted on nextdoor.com that a beautiful cat was stray
around her house, I put food out for the cat near her home and told the homeowner if she saw the cat any time of day or night I
would get it, I had a cat carrier in my car for whenever I got the call. It took some doing but I did get the cat, and was
successfully able to return it to its owner. The owner was a young family that had moved in temporarily with their older
parents/grandparents while they were in the process of selling and buying their home, the cat was not familiar with the area and
had got out of the house. I have only fed cats at times when I thought it was necessary to get them the help they need. Cats are
not wild animals, there should not be feral cats. Unfortunately due to neglect or accidentally getting out, they become cats that
need assistance. That assistance may be trap -neuter -release to prevent more cats in that same situation, or may be getting it
back to its rightful owner, or finding it a home, but it hasn't been to support more cats or attract wild animals. By me feeding
cats at the times I have, I have reduced the number of feral cats in Los Gatos. I have so much empathy and love for them, I
would never want to create or cause more of them to be in that horrible situation.
I'm also not sure how the town can determine the difference between feral cats and outdoor cats, that are owned. I don't agree
with it, but I know people that own outdoor cats and they feed them outdoors, the ones I'm aware of are spayed/neutered so its
not creating more cats.
An individual that is for this proposal says "It seems as though we have an overpopulation of cats, and nobody is doing
anything about it other than to make the situation worse." That is not true, I'm doing something about it and I'm not making the
situation worse. I know other people that are doing something about it and not making the situation worse. I know first hand
and by talking to others that are doing what I'm doing, how hard it is to get a cat trap as they are in high demand, very often
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From: Sylvia Carrillo <sylviac27@icloud.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 01, 2018 5:27 PM
To: Council
Subject: Ordinance on Feral Cat Feeding - Sylvia Carrillo
Importance: High
September 1, 2018
To Los Gatos Town Council:
I have lived here in the bay area for 57 years. I have lived here in Los Gatos for the past 11 of those years. Since 2015,
Ann (the cat lady) has been feeding the cats, and thus this has created chaos here in the Town Terrace neighborhood. I
also have heard that there are others who are feeding the cats at 4am in the morning.
There has been an increase in cockroaches, coyotes, skunks, raccoons, and cats. I am not able to walk at night, the
animals and the crows are fighting and making a lot of noise as they all fight for the food.
I have seen Ann feeding the cats many times and she leaves food on the property at 141 Towne Terrace and 200 Avery
Lane. This property is located across the street from where she lives. I have confronted her and have told her to stop
many times, but she refuses.
In 2015, I called the police and the police called code enforcement. Dolores Salazar came and witnessed the
cockroaches and the cat food on the street. There were cans of cat food and milk and the cockroaches were all over it. I
was in the middle of the street, wearing boots and spraying the cockroaches. I showed Dolores where all the cat food is
being placed and all the cockroaches. It was a horrible site!!
This problem has gone on for too long now. This needs to stop immediately, feeding the wild animals is not healthy for
them as well as for us humans. I know if this stops, the animals will go somewhere else to look for food. Hopefully they
will go back to the mountains where they belong. I would appreciate you all passing this new ordinance, so we can have
our neighborhood back.
Thank you for your time,
Sylvia Carrillo
Los Gatos, CA
PS: In 2015 Allen Meyer came to see me during the day and saw the cat food that was on the property located at 141
Towne Terrace.
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From: Maggie Lloyd <mgmt@majerllc.com>
Sent: Saturday, September 01, 2018 2:00 PM
To: Council
Cc: Majer (majer@pacbell.net)
Subject: Feral Cats on private property
Hello,
This email addressed was passed along to me by Allen Meyer. I have been in contact with him over the last few years
regarding feral cats living on and near 2 apartment buildings we own. The apartments are located at: 205 Avery Lane
and 115 Towne Terrace.
My apartment manager, Jim Patton, has been dealing with this issue for many years now. There was a neighbor/tenant
(Anne) that lived across the street from our property that continuously left milk and food in our landscaping for stray
cats. On many occasions she was asked to refrain from this activity but refused to do so. I believe she was already told
by her landlord she could not feed them on their(her own) property.
As a result of her trespassing on our personal property and leaving food and milk that she never cleaned up — we had
ongoing problems with cats but the activity also attracted skunks and roaches. Jim did work with the "catch and
release" organization but that did not resolve the problem sufficiently and did not stop the neighbor from her behavior.
We actually changed out our landscaping completely in the last year or so — one of the reasons being to eliminate areas
that animals could hide in. Also, so that neighbors like Anne couldn't continue to hide containers of food/milk on our
property.
I am hoping that an ordinance is put in place that restricts human activities/behavior that encourages feral animals and
insects to nest and live on private property.
Jim Patton is going to try to attend the meeting on 9/4 to share his perspective as well.
Thank you for looking into this issue,
Maggie Lloyd
925-413-3460
livermorellovds@comcast.net
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From: Bill Holt <holt.bill@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2018 2:01 PM
To: Council
Subject: Proposed Ban on Feeding Feral Cats in Los Gatos
To: Los Gatos Town Council
From: William Holt
8 Central Ct, Los Gatos, CA 95030
Subject: Proposed Ban on Feeding Feral Cat Colonies
With regard to the proposed ordinance to ban feeding feral cats, I feel the idea behind this is not supported by science. In fact,
simple research of the scientific information available through the public domain shows that the proposed action will not only fail,
but will make the feral cat situation generally much worse in Los Gatos.
My understanding is that this has been attempted in other communities similar to Los Gatos as an emotional response to an
irritating situation in regard to individuals within those towns. The reality is, dealing with feral cats is not as simple as people that do
not understand complex animal behavior might perceive. That is why these measures have proven not only ineffective, but result in
a worsening situation.
There is also a responsibility for the Los Gatos Town Council to maintain a level of humane treatment of animals, whether feral or
not.
Based on these facts, I urge the council to not adopt the measure proposed.
Respectfu Ily,
William Holt
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Subject: FW: Written Comment on Item on Sept. 4 Council Meeting re: the feeding of cats
Original Message
From: Denise <denisebythesea@icloud.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 30, 2018 11:01 AM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>; Town Manager <Manager@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Written Comment on Item on Sept. 4 Council Meeting re: the feeding of cats
Dear City Manager and Honorable City Counsel Members,
I am writing in in opposition to the city's proposed feeding ban for community cats.
First, and foremost this proposed language for this section of the Animal and Fowl code is still being edited, as
I understand it, thus the final draft has not been made available to the public and city residents for review and
comment. Therefore, I respectfully ask that the item be postponed, to allow for full government transparency
and the proper time for review and response to the final draft.
An enforceable ordinance is ALREADY in place that addresses the improper feeding of wildlife. So, if the issue
is that someone at Town Terrance is feeding in such a manner that is attracting wildlife and is inconstant with
proper feeding guidelines for proper Colony Cat Management, already outlined by your contracted animal
control agency San Jose Animal Care & Services (I.e. leaving out excess food which attracts wildlife, bugs, ants,
etc and creates problems and/or leaving behind cans/trays and debris to create blight, etc) that YES, that need
to be address through outreach and EDUCATION, not CRIMINALIZATION.
To me, it's sounds as if the Property Owner, Property Manager, Landlord of the effected units AND the 80+
year old lady who is feeding incorrectly, but out of the kindness of her heart, just need educating and
assistance on how to properly and humanely address the "community cat issue" at their complex, through a
mitigation effort (to immediately fix the incorrect feeding practices currently happening, restore property
rights, and allow the residents there the right "to quiet and peaceful enjoyment" of their property, which they
certainly have a right to, and deserve!
They "experts" in human/animal mitigation and correction, are ready and poised to help at this location. From
my understanding, the Humane Society of Silicon Valley and your own city's contacted animal control agency
San Jose Animal Care & Control (SJACC) have already written in in opposition of the feeding ban, and have
offered other solutions, that have been proven effective elsewhere.
So why not create a Task Force, and listen to the experts in this field?
Trap-Nueter-Return is the ONLY solution proven to be effective in reducing the number of free -roaming cats.
By creating ordinance that prohibit or discourages TNR, by not allowing these animals to be fed or properly
cared for once released, is to only make the situation worse, by discouraging the trapping and fixing of cats,
and allowing their population to being to grow and expand again, creating a greater nuisance.
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