Delaware Valley Humane Scoiety Manager Erin Insinga speaks to a full crowd at a Norwich public hearing Tuesday night to discuss a proposed law banning the feeding of stray cats. (Tyler Murphy photo)

NORWICH – When the Norwich City Council withdrew its proposal Tuesday night that sought to fine those feeding stray cats, the crowd at the public hearing erupted in cheers.

City officials had attempted to pass the law to deal with a rampant stray cat population and ticket those feeding it. The proposal made two weeks ago received a lot of public response, hundreds replied via email, Facebook and phone calls.

“It is important to identify how we arrived at tonight's public hearing,” said Norwich Mayor Christine Carnrike. “The proposed ordinance change came about as the result of numerous complaints made to members of this council for an ongoing issue that has been referenced in discussions and meetings going back to the 1990's.”

As the standing room only crowd of more than 60 people waited for last night's hearing to begin it seemed officials had already accepted the public's protest and were prepared to amend the proposal. More than 30 people spoke to the council. Most of them recognized the city's problem but advocated for a better approach. Several of the speakers came as representatives of local animal groups, who were against the proposal.

Chenango SPCA Executive Director Annette Clark said her organization was against the proposal and offered to help. She advise the council adopt programs to “Take away their way to procreate, not their food.”

She said the SPCA had income-based programs that might help the city and encouraged officials to rethink their plans.

New York State Animal Protection Federation Executive Director Libby Post said she represented all the animal shelters in the State of New York.

“Take a step back, I know you've got this feral cat problem and I understand that, but not feeding them is not going to be the answer. If you don't feed the cats they will go after more wildlife and more birds,” she said. “Not feeding them is not the issue and it is not going to solve the issues.”

“You can't just bring them to another place unless it is miles and miles away. Otherwise if you bring them a block away or to the other side of town, they will just make there way back to their home territory. If you manage the colony, it will overtime, disappear.”

Delaware Valley Humane Society Manager Erin Insinga, based in Sidney, said she had to explain the law to her 12-year-old daughter on her way to the meeting.

“I realized- we had some numbers but really we don't need that. What we need to realize is that everyone knows that starving these animals is not the right answer. Everyone agrees the TNR (trap and release) is the only way to reduce the problem. The only way, and it will take time,” remarked Insiga, as she motioned to those behind her.

She said her mother runs All Animals Matter in Oxford, a non-profit group that helps fix stray cats. The group offered to help the city and even contacted Arrow Laundry Mat over it's local cat population.