Petitioning the City for Legal Feeding Stations
As many of us locals know, it is still illegal to feed our furrends on the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk — a violation of City ordinance 14-315-e that currently carries a $101 fine. But hopefully, not for very much longer.
Cats of the Boardwalk founder and president Laurie Peterson is working to amend the local law. She hopes her vision of installing designated feeding stations along the boardwalk will one day become a reality — a change that would let volunteers feed the colonies on a consistent schedule, in fixed locations, rather than relying on the kind of scattered, informal feeding that’s harder to monitor and easier to run afoul of the law.
The first step she took involved appealing to city leaders directly. Last year, Laurie brought her vision and concept to the Myrtle Beach City Council, presenting the case for installing and maintaining feeding stations as part of the city’s broader approach to managing its community cat population.
Consistent, monitored feeding is also central to how organizations like the Grand Strand Humane Society recommend caring for outdoor colonies — feeding cats privately, at the same time each day, rather than leaving food out indiscriminately. Formal feeding stations would let Cats of the Boardwalk bring that same standard to the boardwalk itself, legally and sustainably.
The petition process with the city is ongoing, and we’ll share updates here as they develop.
