PONTIAC - Neighbors may be fighting like cats and dogs because residents are divided over how to keep cats from running loose in Pontiac.

Judy Henderson, of Pontiac, has three cats, and the youngest is "slippery like an eel" when it wants outside. She does not think she should be held accountable for when the pet gets loose.

However, Penny Howell, also of Pontiac, says Henderson and other cat owners should be held responsible for at-large cats just as dog owners are held responsible for their loose pets.

The two women were among several who spoke Monday to the Pontiac City Council on what direction the city needs to take in drafting an ordinance to address cats.

What approach the council will take on the ordinance remains undetermined.

"I have a dog that never leaves my back yard, I pay to have it vaccinated and pay a license fee - and I don't see why cats are any different," said Alderman John McGlasson. "However, we need to find a way to protect responsible owners."

Earlier this year, a neighbor complained to the council about a residence where a woman was feeding feral cats and how the cats were making a mess in the neighbor's yard.

At a meeting in May, the council agreed to partner with the local humane society to catch feral cats, spay or neuter them and release them. The city would cover the cost of the procedure.

Mayor Scott McCoy said a rough estimate would be $15,000 to $20,000 a year for what he termed a "pilot program" to reduce the feral cat population in the city. But in the coming years, the cost should drop because the population should drop, McCoy said.

McCoy said a licensing fee to register pet cats would provide some income for the program but would not cover the entire cost. The city needs to address the cat population without catching and altering someone's pet, he said.

The council referred writing a proposed cat ordinance to the community service committee. McCoy said he believes an ordinance could be ready early this summer.