"It is our problem and we can't solve that because the city's not willing to support that," says Cathie Smith, a frustrated resident of Shelley.

One local neighborhood wants their city to control the cat population. They say their neighbor, an animal lover, at last count had more than a dozen cats. And it's becoming a problem, but it's one the city won't help with.

There are several people in a Shelley neighborhood that tell Channel 3 Eyewitness News cats are everywhere and they're frustrated, because the city has no ordinance to limit the amount of cats you can have in your home.

"I've seen 'em in the garages and messing in the yard," says Shelley Resident, Ryan Perry.

He is talking about the more than a dozen cats that roam the streets of his Shelley neighborhood.

"That's kind of what I generally see, is the 6 or 7 same cats," says Perry. "It is kind of annoying."

He's not the only one, Cathie Smith lives right next to the house with all the cats.

"We have a lot of cats on on our property. They tend to leave things behind," says Smith.

Eyewitness News actually found this story online.
Smith posted an ad on the freecycle website, asking for a dog that doesn't like cats.

In the posting she said it's because her neighbor has nearly 20 cats.
They're in her front yard, back yard, on the fence and in one case, Smith says one of the cats came through a dog door in her garage and destroyed several of her belongings.

She's contacted Shelley City Hall and says they won't do anything to help.

"If I could have a dog that would just not tolerate the cats and scare then off, it would possibly fix the problem," says Smith.

She got the idea after some of her neighbors got dogs to keep cats of their property.

"Rick: You just want the city to do something right?
Cathie: I do, I think in short, the city should be obligated to take care of this because this is a city matter."

So I went to City hall to see what the mayor thinks, he was out of town so I talked with the Chief of Police, Alan Dial.

"Rick: How many cats is too many? When does it become a problem, do you think?
Chief: I don't know."

"The city of Shelley does not have an ordinance regulating cats, no, says Chief Dial.
Rick: But there is one for dogs, correct?
Chief: Yes, there is a dog ordinance, 2 dogs per household with the exception of the kennel license."

Shelley isn't the only city, Idaho Falls has a dog ordinance, you're allowed no more than 5 dogs.

In Shelley its two and in both cities, if its more than that you need a license.

And speaking of a License, your dogs need one, but the cats don't.

"We don't have a system to tag 'em, so we don't know who they belong to," says Chief Dial.

Which may contribute to the cat problem, the Chief tells me, even though there's no law, there's still something you can do.

"If a neighbor has too many cats and is creating a problem for a neighbor, they could come in and we can do a complaint as a public nuisance," says Chief Dial.

In that case, you have to file papers, see a judge, and prove your argument. But Smith feels that won't work.

"I don't want to take em to court, I just want to complain that there's a problem," says Smith.

So the police chief, and the Bingham county humane society both tell me there are things you can do on your own, like trap the frustrating feline.

"In Bingham County we can, if they request a trap, we can give 'em a trap they can put in their yard," says Chief Dial.

"Bingham said we do have cat traps but they're far and few between and you can't use 'em," says Smith.

When I talked to them on the phone tonight, they told me you can borrow them, but there are only four to loan out for the entire county.

"I've already discussed this problem with the city, I've discussed it with the Humane Society, I've discussed it with the neighbors. I've covered it all and the only thing I'm getting, is well that's too bad for you," says Smith.

"Rick: Do you think that it would ever get to a point that you would need a cat ordinance?
Chief: Someday in the future probably."

"I think the city needs to have a limit," says Smith.

Earlier today I went to the home of the cat lovers, they declined to talk on camera, but the man of the house tells me he's already bought traps of his own, so he can catch some of the cats and hopefully alleviate the problem.

I also talked with a few veterinarians in the area, they tell me in a situation with a lot of cats, or any animal really, there's always a sanitation issue, but, if the house is kept clean like the homeowner tells me it is, there's not much to worry about.

As for now the city isn't going to do much about the situation, but the homeowner tells me he's working on the problem and invited me to check back in with him in the near future.

If you have a situation you would like Channel 3 Eyewitness News to look into for you, just email us, newsroom@kidk.com