It’s official: Summit County, Ohio, is no longer impounding and killing community cats! This is an enormous victory that will save countless cats’ lives, and bring the community up to the humane standards of its many residents who care for community cats and practice Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR).
Months of hard work in court brought about this critical win. When Alley Cat Allies learned, through public records requests and from local advocates, that Summit County and its county-operated animal shelter were impounding cats and needlessly killing them, we jumped into action. We filed a lawsuit in December of 2024 to stop the cruel and illegal killing of cats.
Lethal Cat Policy of the Past
Previously, the shelter in Summit County would take in any cats—regardless of whether they were community cats, who are unowned and live outdoors. Most of these cats were destined never to leave the shelter alive, as the shelter would kill any cats they deemed to be “too feral.” The reality is that community cats are generally not socialized to people, and any cat can act in a manner that could be interpreted as “aggressive” out of fear in a stressful shelter environment.
No cat deserves to be killed based on an arbitrary standard. Some cats were even killed the very day they arrived.
Alley Cat Allies Achieves Lifesaving Change for Cats
But change has come to Summit County, and we are proud to have made it happen alongside dedicated advocates! In addition to the county no longer taking in cats unless they are critically injured or ill, its euthanasia protocol has been updated.
Now that we can rest assured that community cats will remain where they belong—in their outdoor homes—we urge Summit County to support TNR efforts in the area. And there are many! And looking at the bigger picture, we hope this victory will signal to more communities that catching and killing community cats is never the answer. There is always a better, more humane path forward.
Thank you to every advocate and ally who spoke out in support of the cats of Summit County. And thank you to our supporters for making our lifesaving law and policy work possible every single day. This is our achievement, together!