In the city and county of Santa Cruz, every domestic animal must either be restrained on the owner's property or be licenced—except house cats.

Cat owners have the privilege of
•allowing their pets to defecate on neighbors property,
•kill birds at neighbors bird feeders,
•yowl at night disturbing neighbors sleep,
•spread diseases such as plague, parasitic worms, toxoplasmosis (in their feces which are found in gardens and childrens sand boxes-it can KILL people with weak immune systems) and
•knocking over garbage cans and
•Overbreeding

According to the American Bird Conservancy's Cats Indoors-the Campaign for Safer Birds and Cats," housecats, even when fed, kill over and over again, killing 650 MILLION birds each year in the US alone.

Also, outdoor cats suffer from fleas, ticks, diseases and parasites, are killed by cars and cruel people, get wounds, are killed by coyotes, dogs and other cats, and suffer in harsh weather.

Allowing cats to roam is cruel and since SC is so broke, requireng licences for cats as well as passing a law to keep them indoors would raise a lot of revenue—and save the SPCA tons of money dealing with outdoor cats of irresponsible owners.

According to a survey, one third of all cat owners already keep their cats either indoors or in large enclosed indoor/outdoor cateries. Indoor cats can live more than 15 years while outdoor cats often die young.