Iowa town struggles with cat feeders

CLERMONT, Iowa, May 9 (UPI) -- A small town in northwest Iowa is debating the best way to get residents to stop feeding stray cats.

Clermont Mayor Rodney Wagner urged police to start photographing anyone they catch in the act, the Waterloo/Cedar Falls Daily Courier reported. But Police Chief Arthur Sullivan has no plans to do that.

It's not that Sullivan thinks there is no problem. In the four years he has been police chief, he has been getting complaints about the cats and those who feed them.

"We have people who feed the wild cats and the cats leave something behind," Sullivan told the newspaper. "One guy won't be able to use his hot tub."

Sullivan himself would like a variation on the Pottery Barn rule -- you feed it, you own it. And then the new owner's responsibilities would include providing a litter box.