Cat ordinance debate resurfaces at Conrad council meeting

An age-old question about how so-called “community cats” should be handled in Conrad re-emerged during last Thursday night’s city council meeting and resulted in a heated spat between two neighbors on opposite sides of the issue.
           
Becky Merschbrock, who lives on North Dwight Street, took the floor first during the public comment period to question a recent call she had received from City Clerk Lori Stansberry in reference to an accusation that she was harboring feral felines. She admitted that she leaves her door open for one cat who comes and goes and, along with her cousin Denise Yantis, asked the council to change its ordinance allowing residents to trap, seize and impound cats that enter their properties. Yantis presented a letter from Conrad resident and Marshalltown veterinarian Ashley Ladehoff in support of a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) policy.
           
Merschbrock went on to claim that Pamela Poe, the neighbor who had called in the complaint, had threatened to “take them out in the country and kill them.” Poe also attended the meeting and explained her ordeal, arguing that the cats create health hazards for her family members who are allergic to them and ruin her landscaping. She added that she supports the current ordinance.
           
“Don’t get me wrong, they’re sweet… (But) they can’t be there, and I chase them away. Earl May doesn’t sell anything that will keep them off my perimeter,” Poe said. “I’m so tired of cat feces I don’t know what to do with them. I have to do something. I think it’s worthy of consideration to keep the ordinance in place as it’s written.” 
 
For the full story, see this week's Grundy Register. Subscribe by calling (319) 824-6958 or clicking here.