Feral cats are taking over neighborhoods according to a discussion during the June 2nd meeting of Conshohocken’s Borough Council. Loose dogs and roosters were also discussed as generating complaints from residents.

However, the problem driving the discussion was people feeding feral cats, and thus more and more cats making their home on the mean streets of Conshohocken. The problem areas mentioned were Maple Street and Spring Mill Avenue. Mayor Yaniv Arnonson mentioned that residents used their own money to hire a company to set traps on the lower end of Maple Street and caught more than 30 cats.

Due to ongoing complaints from neighbors about yards becoming litter boxes and the potential for health-related issues, Borough Manager Stephanie Cecco asked members of Borough Council to weigh in on hiring an animal control officer. The position would be part-time and could either be an employee of the borough or from a company that provides that service. The average pay for this type of officer is $20 an hour according to Cecco.

Members of the borough council were supportive of exploring creating the position and updating the borough’s ordinance similar to one in Lower Merion that offers residents legal recourse against a fellow resident who is negligent in controlling their animals.

The borough’s staff will now explore the issue further and potentially draft an update to the borough’s current ordinance about animals and have the hiring of an animal control officer on the agenda for budget discussions in the fall.