Meri Dahlke has been caring for the stray cats around her Bishop Arts bar for the last decade.
鈥淚鈥檓 a colony manager,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t keeps everything healthy. All the bar cats at the old Ten Bells had shots.鈥�
She takes care of the cats through the city鈥檚 Community Cat program: a clinic spays and neuters the cats, microchips and vaccinates them, and tips their ears before they鈥檙e released to the same area, where registered community members maintain the colony.
Dahlke said the cats are part of the fabric of the community. But recently, she noticed some of the cats 鈥� the ones she says her neighbors and customers all know by name 鈥� started to go missing.
Local real estate developer David Spence, who owns over a dozen properties in the area, said he鈥檚 been trapping and relocating cats for years without incident.
鈥淲hat I did was I got my trap out and I trapped a cat,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 found a rural location that I thought would promise access to water and where there were lizards and frogs and squirrels and where a wild cat could have a chance of surviving.鈥�
He said the cats present a public health issue: they leave behind waste, and it can be unpleasant for customers. He said taking the animals to the shelter isn鈥檛 a possibility: Under Dallas city code the shelter doesn鈥檛 accept 鈥渉omeless, wild or untamed cats.鈥�
Spence said he鈥檚 just doing his job as a landlord.
鈥淚 don't have anything against cats. I have nothing against cat advocates, "Spence said. 鈥淏ut I can show you a copy of both my residential and my commercial lease, and I have a contractual obligation to keep the building clean, and so I would be in violation of the lease.鈥�
Debate over TNR
The tension brewing between Spence and cat advocates reflects a larger argument over feral cat management. Dallas鈥� TNR ordinance calls it the only humane way to control the population.
鈥淭his process prevents them from reproducing and also puts an end to many problematic behaviors like yowling, fighting, and marking,鈥� according to the city鈥檚.
While advocates like Dahlke say the feral cats are part of the community鈥檚 identity, others say they鈥檙e a nuisance.
The Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife said in a 2014 briefing feral and free-roaming cats 鈥減ose a direct threat to the health of our natural resources,鈥� including songbirds, small mammals and other native wildlife.
鈥淭PWD does not support the creation or perpetuation of feral or free-roaming cat colonies or feeding, sterilization, or Trap, Neuter, and Release programs,鈥� the paper read.
A 2023 state law protecting TNR programs and cat caretakers drew criticism from the American Bird Conservancy, which said 鈥渄umped鈥� cats put the community at risk.
There is also no limit to the number of cats a colony can have, and Spence said the ones in Bishop Arts are too large to manage.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 give cat advocates total license to create these cat colonies in a completely unregulated way,鈥� Spence said.
四虎影院 requested the number of registered cat colonies in Dallas 鈥� and how many are in each 鈥� but the city did not respond. Shelter data shows nearly 350 cats went through the TNR program in FY 2023-24.
Lisa Dennis, another cat colony manager in Bishop Arts, said her group of 10-15 cats has been 鈥渄epleted.鈥�
鈥淚 was crushed to the core because you know, I love these cats,鈥� Dennis said. "I had been feeding for, you know, for so long, eight years, 10 years."
She said taking the cats away from their colonies is not only a death sentence, but it exacerbates the problem Spence said he鈥檚 trying to fix.
鈥淵ou can't do that because what happens is you create a vacuum, and more cats come in,鈥� she said.
It could also be illegal: Animal dumping or abandonment is a Class A misdemeanor under Texas law.
What happens next?
Meri Dahlke started an online petition calling on Spence to stop moving cats and is asking the city to step in. She also wants to see charges brought against him.
鈥淚 don't think he's gonna stop. I think telling him, 鈥榙on't do this anymore,鈥� I think he could ignore that,鈥� Dahlke said. 鈥淚 want the DA to prosecute him for animal cruelty and whatever comes with that, I'm all for it."
Spence said the city needs to overhaul how it handles community cats entirely.
四虎影院 reached out to City Council member Chad West, who represents Oak Cliff, but he declined to provide a response when asked whether the city would be looking into or making any changes to the current policy.
In the meantime, Spence said he鈥檚 in his right to continue removing cats around his buildings.
鈥淚 am committed to lawfully relocating cats and I defend my lawful right to trap an animal on my private property, period,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd I am unapologetic about that.鈥�
Priscilla Rice is 四虎影院鈥檚 communities reporter. Got a tip? Email her at price@kera.org.
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