Feral Cat Infestation Can’t Support Homeowner’s Takings Claim

An Albuquerque, N.M., woman didn’t show that the city’s “trap, neuter, release” program for feral cats created an unlawful taking of her property by allowing a colony of cats to settle near and foul it, the Tenth Circuit affirmed.

The TNR program involves catching, vaccinating, and sterilizing feral cats, then releasing them. The feral cats are supposed to be released where they were caught, but Marcy Britton alleges the animals are sometimes let go elsewhere.

Britton sued the city, its mayor, and its chief animal control officer. She alleges that over time, a colony of dozens of feral cats has ...