In July of this year several California communities will adopt new Feline Confinement laws, aka “Cat Leash Laws” and other new restrictive pet ownership mandates. The new regulations, targeted to be expanded to many rural counties, such as Calaveras, seek to restrict the family cat to inside the home unless the cat is on a leash. The reasons for instituting these laws are attributed to State legislators fears that native songbirds, small reptiles and rodents are being decimated by free roaming feline hunters. Some local representatives are also concerned that the costs of rescuing stray tabbies from trees have skyrocketed, leaving local cat rescue budgets exhausted.
The laws have been explained in several easy to read pamphlets that are being distributed en masse to unaware citizens a month or more before the laws take effect.
In reading one of these pamphlets “The Cat Walk” the local officials give sage advice on the best way to take fluffy or Mr. Whiskers out for a walk. “Cats love leash time when accompanied by their owners through local neighborhoods. Simple commands such as heel and sit are easily learned when spoken in a soft voice to your cat”.
Additionally, cat owners are encouraged to record and playback their voiced instructions daily to their cat. They claim that if cats hear you asking them to sit, stay, or roll over for a few hours each day, obedience training can be a snap. They also instruct how to organize neighborhood meetings where cat owners can share their training best practices in a group setting. The brochure even claims that several communities have created “Kitty Rodeos” where pets and owners compete to showcase their cats “on leash skills”.
The Cat Walk adds; “Our neighborhoods will be much more secure when loose felines are controlled with a collar and leash. Cat leashes and collars are to be made out of lightweight materials. Avoid using bicycle chains, heavy towing rope or security cables as these can be dangerous to your pet” The new statutes require leashes have a quick release clasp so animals that escape with the leash still attached can avoid choking if snagged.
Another of these brochures is cleverly named “Cats in the Cradle“. It contains claims by one purported expert Dr. Jack Russell. “In an orderly society free roaming felines need to be constrained. Cat owners are encouraged to use leashes when cats go to the bathroom outdoors, attend sporting events, or go on camping trips”. They describe the best method for walking a cat on a busy sidewalk is to actually carry it in a baby stroller. This leaflet also discourages allowing your cat to stop to climb trees or scratch on a neighbors pant leg.
Promoters of the new laws clashed recently with cat owners and breeders in Sacramento. Legislators met protestors in a sand box session where the fur flew, with pet owners taking swipes at the real need for such a law.
There was a failed sister resolution to the leash law, for rural communities. Nicknamed the “Cat Herders Act”, it was designed to force rural and suburban homes with more than 5 cats, to purchase a cat herding permit. Promoters felt that the lost art of herding cats may need to be re-introduced to modern society. However, portions of this proposed law were found to be in conflict with the “California Free Range Cat Act of 1988” and were effectively buried under a mound of potential litigation.
Another unrelated pet law that has been in the works for some time is the “Fish Owners Omnibus Legal Statute”. It requires fish owners to purchase a California Fish Owners license, similar to a dog license. Newly developed technology allows the insertion of a micro transmitter the size of a grain of sand painlessly in the fatty area just behind the fish’s dorsal fin. The transmitter carries both the owners and the fish’s identity and license information. This technology will be made available to pet stores and local police departments so fish owners can get their existing fish licensed. “The tracking of pet fish illegally flushed into public waste systems, or released into our local waterways can finally be accomplished”, claims fish licensing expert Getta Leyefe.
We welcome the ever increasing reach of our State Government into our daily affairs. I hope these common sense pet laws are quickly adopted and spread to the rest of the Golden State. In the words of our State Senate & Assembly “The Government that governs best, governs everything” (April Fools)
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