David Kilby, Managing Editor
JAMESBURG Cats without a home wandering the streets and alleys of Jamesburg have caught the attention of a regional business that has proposed a new plan for dealing with the feral felines.
After noticing the excessive number of feral cats in the borough, Jamesburg Council passed an ordinance that banned the feeding of feral cats at its meeting Wednesday.
Members of the council said they felt they have to do something to address the feral cat problem in the borough, and that the feeding ban may just be in place until they find a better way to deal with the issue.
Alley Cat Allies came to the Jamesburg Council meeting Wednesday to discuss how many towns in the area have too many “alley cats”, as it calls them, and the business said the best way to deal with the cats is to simply, trap, neuter and return them.
Donna Hildreth of Cranbury Alley Cat Allies said a feeding ban is ineffective because cats still breed even if they’re not fed by humans.
”If you want to stop all of these cats you have to neuter them. It changes their behavior. They don’t wander or fight as much and their urine isn’t as offensive,” she said.
”Cats will go where the food is. When you put up a feeding ban you encourage the very behavior you don’t want,” she said, adding that the cats in the area will just start hunting rodents and going through garbage in the area if they’re not fed. “They’re not going away.”
Currently feral cats in Jamesburg are caught and sent to the Helmetta Animal Shelter for a $90 per cat cost to taxpayers.
Ms. Hildreth said Alley Cat Allies can trap, neuter and release feral cats for $30.
She said Ally Cat Allies is a national organization stationed in Washington, D.C., and can offer many other forms of advice on how to deal with feral cats humanely.
