Community-based Approach Best Bet To Control Free-roaming Cats, Survey Suggests

A survey gauging Ohioans’ attitudes about free-roaming cats suggests that no single statewide measure would be sufficient in managing cat overpopulation because public opinion about outdoor cats varies widely across the state.

In particular, perceptions about the need to regulate cat overpopulation in Ohio tend to differ among rural and urban dwellers and among cat owners and people who do not own pets.

Compounding the problem is that a quarter of Ohio households are feeding free-roaming cats, but most of those residents aren’t ensuring that the outdoor cats they feed are spayed or neutered.

The Ohio State University survey indicates that about 40 percent of cat owners allow their cats to go outdoors. At the same time, almost half of the survey respondents believe laws should prohibit owners from letting their cats roam outside and nearly as many believe local governments should be responsible for controlling free-roaming cats.

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Tags: Cats, Neutering, Ohio, Ohio State University, Spaying, Stray Cats, Surveys