About two weeks ago, a city animal-control officer gave John Newland a ticket for keeping too many animals. The citation, which carried a possible fine of up to $500, was under an ordinance limiting to four the number of dogs or cats a person could feed or keep.

However, municipal prosecutor Mike Miller said Monday that the local law's language specifically denoted "domesticated member (s) of the feline species" as falling under the limit. Domesticated animals are ones that can live peacably with people. By any definition, the cats living in the West End fields were feral, not domesticated, Miller said.

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