MURRAY, UTAH – A catastrophe resulted from a cat nap last Monday in Utah.
An orange tabby cat named Milo was having a snooze on the lawn of his owner in Murray on June 24 which was followed by animal control officers delivering quite the wake-up call by issuing two misdemeanor charges.
The cat’s owner, Kate Anderson talked to FOX13 and said animal control officers went to her house and handed her a citation that listed a couple of charges. One charge was for having “an animal at large” and another for “not having an animal license attached”. These are both Class B misdemeanor offenses based on a local city ordinance.
Kate Anderson said a person in her neighborhood took a photo of the sleeping cat Milo on her lawn and made a report about it to the city.
“This is a cat who is neutered and micro-chipped and vaccinated, and is not a menace to society,” Anderson told FOX 13. “Milo has a cat door, so he just comes and goes and is a cat,” she mentioned.
Kate Anderson said it was shocking to get such a citation.
“I just got a ticket for my cat being outside, in my yard,” the cat owner said.
Kate Anderson says she is required to call to get a court date for the two misdemeanors and has concerns about her indoor-outdoor cat pal. She made a note that her feline buddy enjoys being outdoors on the front lawn.
“I don’t think most people think it is illegal to let your cat outside under any circumstance,” Anderson stressed.
The city ordinance dates back to 1963 and it prohibits any animal being in an area, even if it’s on the animal owner’s property, without being leashed, secured inside a yard, or confined inside a vehicle. Any such pet owners of animals considered to be “at large” are found to be “unlawful” under this ordinance and could face a charge, as Anderson did.
“It’s definitely antiquated, I think if anything, there needs to be some kind of addition or amendment to the ordinance excluding felines,” Anderson said, expressing a change to the law.
According to Attorney G.L. Critchfield for Murray City, he said they’ve filed a motion to dismiss all charges, but likely won’t be amending to city ordinance.
