Wandering pets are a nuisance in town

As Mother Nature continues to tease us with nice weather, then snow, and we gardeners are chomping at the bit to start getting the garden ready, it has come to my attention once again about the disrespect people have for other people and our yards.

I started to clean up around the garden and grabbed some empty coffee cans to put all the cat droppings and spots where they used my garden for their litter box. Yep. You hear all about the people who love cats, and yet they turn them out to do their bathroom duties in other people’s yards like mine.

But there is a solution. As I am usually up most of the night, I get to see all of the wildlife that live and walk about our town at night, from skunks to a herd of deer and a pack of coyotes. It is interesting to watch as the deer stand in the middle of Second and Shoshone or to see a line of coyotes walking down the street looking for a meal.

So, I read on Facebook how some lady is crying, “My cat didn’t come home last night (after I turn it out to use other people’s yard as a litter box).” Boo hoo hoo. Really? Guess what? I guess that family of coyotes got fed. Drive around town and you will see cats running around everywhere, and very few if any have a collar or tags. But the coyotes seem to like them.

I don’t dislike cats. I am allergic to them, but they make great mousers on the farm and ranches. My ex at the time kept one in the house, and it had its own litter box. I think she kept the one cat indoors to irritate me. So, here we are on a ranch, and we have barn cats, but the indoor one has a litter box. We make cat litter outside of town, yet cat owners in town feel it is OK to let their cats run free with no tags and use other people’s yards.

But now for dog owners, yes, I have owned dogs, cats and horses. On any given day, you can hear all the dogs barking all around town. My dogs never barked unless someone had come into the yard. The cats had their own litter box. The horses had trained me to clean their stalls, and the cows never got out because I checked the fence almost every day. And how many people have been bitten in the past few years now? Disrespectful dog owners.

So, we have a town full of cats using other people’s yard for a litter box and nonstop barking dogs. And worse? As Wyoming has a moving population, whenever these cat and dog owners move, they just turn the animals loose. Maybe $40 per call on barking dogs is not enough? Cats, especially the feral cats, pose a danger to the children and violate city law.

I think it is time for the town to step up its animal control to the next level. You know, double or triple the fines for the next six months. With current gas prices, a $100 fine for barking dogs is not unreasonable. Let your cat run around with no tags? $100 fine and double each time.

It is fine for the city to be nice and warn people, but are the pet owners past taking advantage of the city?