WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- A 79-year-old woman from the U.S. state of Ohio has been given a 10-day jail sentence for violating a city ordinance against feeding stray cats, media reported on Tuesday.
Nancy Segula from Garfield Heights, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio told media that she feeds the stray cats in her neighborhood because it brings her comfort and companionship after the death of her husband in 2017.
"It began in 2017 with me feeding stray kitties. I used to have a neighbor that had a couple cats and he moved away so he left them," she told news outlet Fox 8. "I would always feed them and care for them because I was worried about them and I'm a cat lover. Once my neighbors got upset about it, they called the animal warden."
Garfield Heights Police Department wrote in a Facebook post that the city's Animal Warden has received numerous complaints regarding this issue from other residents in the area of Segula's home, dating back to early 2015.
Feeding strays violates City Ordinance 505.23 and violation of this ordinance often results in a large number of cats moving into one area and thereby creating a nuisance for neighbors, which happened in this matter, the post reads.
The authorities said they had asked Segula to humanely clear the area of the cats and advised her of the city ordinance prohibiting feeding strays, but she continued to feed the cats.
Segula had already received more than 2,000 U.S. dollars in fines for feeding the strays, media reported.
The jail sentence is scheduled to begin on Aug. 11.
However, as the controversy surrounding the case continues to bubble, Garfield Heights Municipal Court Judge Jennifer Weiler decided to schedule a review hearing to hear all sides of the case before deciding if another outcome is necessary instead of jail, The Washington Post reported.
