Dogs not the only annoying pets

Richard F. Alley Albemarle County
Published: July 20, 2008

I am a dog owner, and I accept complete responsibility for my dog. I fully comply with the current laws and ordinances for control of, picking up after and quieting my dog and so on.

However, there are several cats in my neighborhood that roam 24/7. They stalk my bluebird houses, my bird feeders and my bird bath. They kill the birds and their young.

They sleep on my outdoor furniture on my deck day and night and they claw and tear the cushions on my outdoor furniture. They dig in, urinate in and defecate in my flower beds and under my shrubbery.

Not all of us are cat lovers and many of us do not want cats in our yards, destroying our landscaping, camping out on our outdoor furniture and harassing and killing birds.

My question to the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors, then, is: When are you going to stop discriminating against dog owners and enact ordnances that require cat owners to contain their cats and prohibit them from trespassing on the property of those of us that do not want them?