A proposed requirement to have cat owners register their felines with the government and pay tax on them has residents of Kenya’s capital steamed up.
The proposed policy would require those who live in Nairobi and who own cats to buy an annual license for their furry friends at a cost equivalent to $1.50. In addition, owners would have to vaccinate their cats against rabies and provide proof of vaccination to the city.
But the government’s plans go farther than just requiring registration and vaccination. Cat owners would be expected to make sure their animals do not “scream or cry in a manner that disturbs the peace.” How exactly a cat owner is supposed to do that remains a mystery, and it might cause one to ask if the government understands what a cat actually is.
While we speak of cat ownership, the reality for most cat fanciers is that the creatures treat humans more like servants than as “parents.” Unlike dogs, cats are largely independent, and they are resistant to training or discipline.
Complaints about yowling, however, are understandable. Anyone who has lived near a female cat in heat can attest to being woken up by surprisingly loud moaning and screeching if a cat is having her own personal mating season.
Under the proposed rules, female cat owners would have to keep their pets confined when they are in heat.
The city says the hoped-for regulations are about keeping the city livable for humans, but are also aimed at ensuring cats are well cared for medically and looked after properly. But ordinary people aren’t so sure, as many residents see the country’s national and local governments as simply tax-hungry, and they think they’re looking for plausible excuses to squeeze more cash out of taxpayers.
Besides, many ask, how can any of this be enforced? Who is going to control feral cats, and how are they going to do it?
No one knows how many stray cats live in Nairobi, but the population is substantial. They can be seen strolling the capital’s streets, relaxing in local restaurants, and pawing through rubbish heaps looking for a meal.
Local cat enthusiast Naomi Muta, who has more than 12 cats and styles herself the “mother of Nairobi’s cats,” said the government should have consulted with cat owners before drafting new policies. She supports mandatory rabies vaccinations for cats, but says she doesn’t see how it can be realistically enforced.
But there is a real concern in the country, which has an astonishingly high rate of rabies deaths. Every year at least 2,000 Kenyans die of rabies, a figure unheard of in developed countries.
