FLOCK’s efforts fails to declaw its neighbors

Wednesday, April 5, 2000 | 12:09 p.m.

After allowing a Sloan cat sanctuary to remain open, Clark County planning commissioners asked its owners to smooth relations with neighbors.

But the two Roark Estates residents who attended Tuesday night's Clark County Planning Commission meeting weren't retracting their claws. They want nothing to do with Sylvia Renee Lyss or any other volunteers from the For Love of Cats and Kittens (FLOCK) sanctuary.

"Nope. Not me," Wanda Reynolds said as she stomped out of the county building following the ruling late Tuesday.

"Everything there is illegal. I'm going to fight it all I can," added her husband Frank Reynolds.

Almost 80 people showed up to speak on behalf of FLOCK. They congregated in the hall outside the meeting, wearing cat T-shirts and cat jewelry and asking people to sign petitions in support of the sanctuary.

Planning commissioners first heard Lyss' request for permission to have a cat sanctuary Jan. 18. The 5-acre property includes three mobile homes that are climate-controlled for the cats and is surrounded by a 10-foot fence.

Lyss said she knew the property wasn't zoned for a kennel when she moved her 30-year-old operation there five years ago. But she thought the land's rural designation would allow cats.

However, a July flood knocked over the fences, letting Lyss' cats out of the bag. Soon afterward neighbors in Roark Estates, a manufactured home community 1,000 feet away, began complaining about strays.

Lyss said they have gathered all of FLOCK's cats from Roark Estates and even went door to door with letters recently asking people to call if they spot any others. She told planning commissioners no residents have called.

Reynolds, who moved to Roark Estates two years ago, says one stray is still fouling his yard.

"First thing I do when I go outside is get a shovel and clean up cat stuff -- six to seven loads a day," Reynolds said.

"Loads or piles?" Planning Commissioner Kirby Trumbo asked.

"Piles," Reynolds said. "And I don't think this is funny. We can't kill the cats. We'd go to jail for animal cruelty if we do. The only thing we got standing between us and a cathouse is you."

And commissioners stood with Lyss. They granted her request under conditions that she keep no more than 150 cats, keep health and identification records current, come back for a review in two years and work with Roark Estates' residents.

"I see no problem with this. If I was a cat, I'd want to move out there," Planning Commissioner Charley Johnson said.

"Mr. Johnson, you'd have to be neutered, though," Trumbo responded.

After the meeting Lyss said she is thrilled with the decision but challenged by the conditions. She has sheltered upward of 400 cats in her sanctuary, and a cap of 150 means she'll be turning them away in droves.

Susan Snyder is a staff writer for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4082 or by e-mail at snyder@lasvegassun.com