A Jacksonville man is dealing with what he calls a “cat explosion” in his westside neighborhood.
Alan Colburn was so frustrated with the city’s response to all the stray and feral cats that he reached out to the mayor for help.
Colburn said he’s seen as many as 25 cats roaming on his Paradise Village cul-de-sac in one morning.
“It’s just annoying for me,” said Colburn. “One of them actually pooped on my motorcycle seat. I mean, it’s just frustrating.”
None of the cats have collars.
Colburn contacted Animal Care and Protective Services for help, but he said they told him he’d have to pick up traps from their office, trap the cats and bring them in himself.
“I told them no. I said I’m not going to drive down there. If you can’t come up here and take care of what I feel is your job, then I’ll take other steps. And that’s why I went to the mayor,” said Colburn.
He emailed Mayor Lenny Curry, but his email was referred to Animal Care.
An Animal Care division chief wrote him back, saying an Animal Code enforcement officer was dispatched to his community to educate the neighbors and reminding him about the trap-neuter-return program.
“They wanted me to do their work,” said Colburn.
Colburn said Paradise Village is now under new management and he hopes they’ll help find these cats homes farther away from his own.