BY JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

MASSENA - Massena Village Trustees are looking to address an ongoing feral and stray cat problem in the village.

Trustees Christine Winston said she’s reached out to many organizations including the Humane Society and Spay and Neuter Now.

She said there are many ways to address the issue but one of the more effective ways is to offer a mobile cat clinic.

She said she spoke with the local Tractor Supply manager who said Spay and Neuter Now could set up a clinic at the parking to allow people to get their house cats fixed for a cost of $24.

Additionally, Winston said the village could consider doing a trap, neuter, release program if necessary.

“I think that’s a good place to start,” she said.

Winston also raised the question of whether the village wanted to consider limiting the number of cats per household.

“Is that something that we want to think about at some point?” Winston said.

Deputy Mayor Matthew Lebire said he would not support measures that could create more work for the village’s already busy codes department.

“I have zero interest in going down the code issue,” he said.

He said the village already lacks the resources to deal with some existing problems such as blight.

“I love the idea of making it easy for people to do what they should be doing and getting their cats taken care of so they are not becoming problems,” he said. “It would be hard going down the code avenue simply because of the amount of work we already put on these guys.”

Winston also sought to gauge the village’s interest in a licensing protocol which some other villages in the area use to keep cat populations in check.

She said it would also be likely hard to monitor and enforce, but added that some villages use those fees for licenses to provide free clinics to the public.

No formal action was taken but Winston will continue working toward the problem.