Dallas is taking steps to better manage its stray cat population by updating city code language that, for decades, has left a significant gap: feral cats are defined, but community cats - the friendly, managed outdoor cats many neighborhoods know by name - are not recognized at all.
Dallas' Chapter 7 animal code defines feral cats as those that avoid human contact and are rarely seen. It does not define community cats. That distinction matters practically and legally, and advocates say the omission has caused real problems on the ground.
Dallas City Council member Chad West said the lack of clarity led to confusion in the Bishop Arts District in recent years, including a case in which a property owner trapped community cats and released them miles away. "The cleanup that we're attempting to do here is to provide a legal system and education for the community on what to do with community cats," West said. "There's a lot of confusion, and what this ordinance revision is going to do is clear up confusion."
The two categories are meaningfully different. Feral cats are typically unsocialized, born and raised outdoors, and avoid human contact. Community cats, by contrast, are often friendly - they may have been lost pets or strays - and live in managed outdoor colonies. Advocates spay, neuter, vaccinate, and ear-tip them through a process called trap-neuter-return, or TNR, to control population growth without removing cats from their territory.
According to the city of Dallas, most 311 service requests related to feral cats come from areas south of Interstate 30. ZIP codes 75217 and 75227 account for nearly 17% of the citywide total.
City documents show the Dallas City Council could vote on updated ordinance language in late May.
Meri Dahlke, owner of the Ten Bells Tavern in the Bishop Arts District, has managed community cat colonies for 15 years. "The city the size of Dallas should have had something in place already," she said. "I think it's just a good education process, and to me, honestly, it's just the right thing to do. It's creatures in need."
Currently, the city of Dallas subsidizes spay/neuter, core vaccinations including rabies, microchipping, and ear-tipping services at no cost to Dallas residents who are managing community cat colonies. Residents can obtain a service request number through the 311 system to access those services.
Not everyone supports community cat colonies, however. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has stated that free-roaming cats pose a direct threat to native wildlife, including songbirds and small mammals, and that it does not support TNR programs. Some property owners have argued that outdoor cats create public health and nuisance issues.
West said he hopes the ordinance update will resolve those tensions by creating a clear legal framework. "I want to commend Dallas Animal Services and our advocates for getting us to the point where we're ready to push this ordinance forward," he said.
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