Waseca Police Will No Longer Impound/Transport Feral Cats

The Waseca Police Department posted this morning that it was making a change to its policies over handling feral cats, or a better way to put it, is that the police department in Waseca will no longer be transporting and impounding collar-less cats based on the costs to the organizations that house the cats and city.

According to the post from the Waseca Police Department "Starting today, with the guidance of the City Council at their January 18th meeting, The Waseca Police Department will only transport and impound cats with collars." This change is being made in part because "placing feral cats in kennels for months at a time is inhumane...and...the costs to house and treat these cats can become astronomical to our taxpayers."

As we start 2022, we would like to share with you some important decisions regarding the impoundment of feral cats by the Waseca Police Department and Waseca County Sheriff’s Office.

An analysis of the data shows the vast majority of cats impounded in 2020 and 2021 by law enforcement were feral and were not claimed. Finding homes for them was exceedingly difficult. Feral cats are extremely hard to place with foster families or to even be adopted.

Law enforcement currently uses Canine Central in Waseca as their animal impound facility. To place feral cats there and then expect their staff to find homes for them is an unrealistic expectation to place upon them. It is a business and not a rescue organization.

We are fortunate to have a close working relationship with the Waseca County Animal Humane Society. Unfortunately, they do not have any foster homes set up to successfully foster feral cats. As a result in recent years, all cats have been impounded at Canine Central. While we do not want any animal to suffer or be neglected, placing feral cats in kennels for months at a time is inhumane. The costs to house and treat these cats can become astronomical to our taxpayers. Residents and law enforcement officers have been bitten and scratched by unvaccinated animals when handling them.

Starting today, with the guidance of the City Council at their January 18th meeting, The Waseca Police Department will only transport and impound cats with collars. Hopefully, their collars will also have a City of Waseca license on it since cats should be licensed with the Waseca Police Department (City of Waseca ordinance 95.17). The Waseca County Sheriff’s deputies will no longer impound cats from the County.

Here are some suggestions: If you are a cat owner, please license your cat, and place that license on a collar, and put it on your cat(s). There are some exceptionally good collars on the market that will not bring harm to your cats. Get your cat microchipped. We also strongly encourage our residents to stop feeding feral cats. If necessary, you can contact WCAHS for ideas on how to trap feral cats, get them vetted and placed in their barn cat program by emailing wcahsadoptions@gmail.com or by messaging their Facebook page.

Thank you for your cooperation. If you want to be a part of the solution, please contact the Waseca Animal Humane Society or call our respective Departments with your cost-effective suggestions.

The post has stirred up some extreme feelings amongst those who have seen the cat post from the Waseca Police Department.

Image Credit: Paul Shea/TSM

While the change was made in an effort to curtail the costs associated with housing, feeding, and caring for the impounded cats, Waseca Police indicated in their post, that often times the feral cats that have been impounded in that past have been difficult to adopt out.

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