Update: Henrico panel rejects feral cats case appeal

Update:

The Henrico County Board of Zoning Appeals today upheld a Planning Department finding that a county woman violated the the county's zoning ordinance by feeding feral cats on her property.

The board voted 4-1 to reject Susan Mill's appeal of the decision after hearing arguments in the case this morning.

(This has been a breaking news update. Come back to TimesDispatch.com for updates. Look for a full report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch tomorrow morning.)

Original story:

Susan Mills ran afoul of the Henrico County Planning Department for caring for feral cats in her western Henrico neighborhood.

Mills was cited July 7 for violating the county's zoning ordinance when she cared for the cats because it is not a permitted use in residential areas.

Her appeal, based on the argument that caring for companion animals is "customarily incidental to a dwelling," will be heard this morning by the county's five-member Board of Zoning Appeals.

Henrico officials say feeding feral cats is not the usual thing that residents do in the county.

"People feed their own house pets all the time," Deputy County Attorney J.T. "Tom" Tokarz said, "but not cats living homeless in the wild. That is the difference."

In a letter dated Oct. 18 to Board of Zoning Appeals Chairwoman Helen E. Harris, Tokarz writes that Mills' arguments, while well-intentioned, do not prove that feeding feral cats is a customary use in residential neighborhoods.

"Unfortunately, in a world of competing interests, her position increases the health risks to other county residents, diminishes their enjoyment of their property and violates the county zoning ordinance," Tokarz writes.

One of the original residents of the Laurel Pines subdivision just off Hungary Road in Henrico's Brookland District, Mills is no stranger to feeding the hungry, whether it's homeless people or homeless animals.

"I am not turning my back on anybody," said Mills, who has two indoor cats.

On Wednesday morning, she opened a can of food and placed portions in seven bowls scattered on her backyard deck. Cautiously, several of the feral cats — and even one feline belonging to a neighbor — approached the food.

Mills has fed feral cats in the neighborhood off and on for nearly 35 years. Currently, she feeds seven feral cats twice a day and has had them spayed or neutered and taken them to get their rabies shots.

Records of the care the cats receive are kept in a thick, three-ring binder. The binder also contains signatures from several neighbors indicating that they have no objections to caring for the animals.

"I didn't do anything underhanded or sneaky. I just wanted to be able to take care of these cats," Mills said this week.

Under Virginia and Henrico code, feral cats are considered companion animals. They are naturally occurring in the world, said Robin Robertson Starr, chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA.

"They are domesticated animals. They are not socialized," Starr said. "Feral cats … have acclimated to caring for themselves, on their own, outdoors. They have become extremely wary and frightened of people."

Starr is representing Mills during the appeal. She said that if Mills were to stop feeding the cats, they would begin to forage for food in places such as trash cans and exhibit other behaviors that bother people.

During a previous Board of Zoning Appeals hearing, Mills' next-door neighbor Johnny Walker said he also provides care for the feral felines.

Tokarz said the county enforces zoning ordinances on a complaint basis.

"When it received a complaint about Ms. Mills, an inspector investigated and gave her a notice of violation, which she has now appealed," he said.

If Mills' appeal is rejected and she continues to care for the feral cats, she could be charged with a Class 1 misdemeanor.