We find it difficult to believe the notion that Nashua police are going to abuse their newly granted authority to impound cats.

After months of controversy, Board of Aldermen members last week voted to approve an ordinance allowing police to capture felines that are deemed nuisances, suspected of being sick or running stray.

Alderwomen Patricia Klee and Shoshanna Kelly endorsed the ordinance. Klee emphasized he view that this is not a “leash law.”

“The bill does nothing but clarify the existing law. I’ve gotten many calls in favor of it…” Klee said. “I’ve got quite a few negative.”

“For those who said there is no way of identifying a cat that is picked up, you can chip your cat,” she added. “Just like you can chip your dog, or any other animal – you can put identification on them.”

Alderman Ben Clemons said residents have the right to keep stray and nuisance cats off their property.

“If there’s a cat that’s in my yard and I don’t want it there, I should be able to call the animal control officer and have the cat removed,” Clemons said. “The same thing I would do with a dog or any other animal, for that matter.”

At least one resident fears Nashua officials will use their new authority to catch innocent cats. In fact, cat owner Gary Braun recently put forth the effort to design, print, and distribute leaflets that showcased his opinion of the city’s intentions.

One side of Braun’s flyers alleged that Mayor Jim Donchess and Klee were working to pass an ordinance to “allow the city police to impound your furry family member as a ‘stray’ without informing you or giving you the opportunity to retrieve your pet.”

While recognizing Braun’s right to freedom of speech, Klee took issue with this step. She said she received numerous phone calls from concerned residents after Braun distributed his flyers.

“Including a phone call late last night from a crying child asking me not to take her cat and kill it,” Klee told our reporter during the controversy.

However, Nashua Police Chief Michael Carignan has said his officers are generally too busy to simply patrol for cats.

“We don’t generally proactively go out and get cats. If there was an incident where they bit somebody or bit something else, we would take it to the shelter,” Carignan said.

We hope this cat controversy is behind the city. We cannot imagine that Nashua officers are planning to assign some sort of a cat patrol, or deploy a cat task force.