MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — Virginia Dieppa, a 70-year-old retiree and part-time Uber Eats driver, spends her free time feeding stray cats near a Lowe’s parking lot in Kendall. Her car is packed with jugs of water, bags of kibble, and reused food containers. She’s named many of the cats she feeds — Patches, Pearle, Sox, Midnight, and Kee-Nee — and carefully tracks them in a notebook.
For nearly two decades, volunteers like Dieppa have been quietly feeding stray cats in Miami-Dade County. But that long-standing effort recently drew attention — and criticism.
Last week, Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado introduced legislation that would have fined people for feeding stray animals near businesses or in public parks. The proposal was quickly withdrawn after community backlash.
“I was in shock,” Dieppa said. “Those cats have been fed for 18 years.”
Dieppa and other volunteers say they’ve been warned by police not to leave food on private property, and some nearby businesses have raised complaints about pet waste. A local daycare reportedly voiced concerns about the cats’ presence.
The controversy highlights the complexity of Miami-Dade’s approach to stray cats. The county has not euthanized stray cats since 2012, when it adopted a Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. The initiative sterilizes and vaccinates cats before returning them to the streets.
According to county records, 17,800 cats were released last year — double the number in 2016.
Despite the TNR policy, the county says the cats do not need human support. “Community cats are highly adaptable and naturally equipped to survive outdoors,” the Animal Services Department said in a statement.
But feeders argue the cats face harsh realities. “One of the cats I’m feeding is missing an eye. One is missing a leg,” said 25-year-old Samuel Muvdi, who feeds cats at another Kendall shopping plaza. “When I whistle, they all come running.”
Animal advocacy groups are divided on what’s best for feral cats. PETA supports TNR only if the cats are monitored and fed regularly. The American Bird Conservancy opposes outdoor cat populations altogether, citing an estimated 1 billion bird deaths a year caused by cats.
Commissioner Regalado said her proposed legislation aimed to reduce problems like storm drain blockages and pollution from pet waste. She argued the $100 fine would offer a civil option for enforcement, rather than charging feeders with trespassing.
For Dieppa, the issue remains personal. “These cats rely on us,” she said. “We’re just trying to help.”
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