North Brunswick officials are touting the success of a trap-neuter-release (TNR) program that is protecting cats that live around town.
Deputy Clerk Milvi Weiner said that through Nov. 15, three colonies of 33 cats have been handled by members of the North Brunswick Humane Association (NBHA), according to a recent update filed by the NBHA. Cats and kittens have been removed for adoption, with one cat being euthanized because of illness.
“We have not had any complaints with this program,” Weiner said during the Nov. 30 Township Council workshop meeting. “It seems like a program that seems to be working.”
The township had been receiving calls on a weekly basis, former Animal Control Officer Mark Cafferty said during an interview; North Brunswick now contracts with New Brunswick through a shared services agreement for animal control services.
As a result, the program began in September 2013 through the NBHA Community Cat Program, with members of the volunteer organization caring for the cats that overbreed and congregate off of Route 130 south, township Clerk Lisa Russo said during an interview.
“We were having a difficult time trying to keep the population in check,” Cafferty said.
“We weren’t aware of how many numbers we were talking about at that point,” he added, especially because residents had been feeding the strays.
According to representatives of the NBHA, the cats were hoarding in a farmhouse on the former Otken property as Community Park was being constructed. The cats began to spread once the farmhouse was knocked down. The homeowners association of the Renaissance development contacted the NBHA, and the TNR program was developed.
Currently, there are three shelters at undisclosed locations. Similar to a doghouse, they each can accommodate one to three cats that are seeking shelter. They are lined with Styrofoam and straw to keep the cats warm during the winter, Cafferty said.
NBHA members maintain the shelters, feed the cats daily, trap the cats and bring them to People for Animals in Robbinsville, the South Brunswick Animal Hospital and Faith Veterinary Clinic Services in North Brunswick for fixing and vaccinating, all using funds raised by NBHA, representatives said.
“I think the NBHA has been very responsible with their care and their handling of the colony,” Cafferty said.
“They’ve been caring for the injured animals themselves. They’ve been trapping and neutering so all the positive things that happen in the management of the feral colony I think have been demonstrated by them,” Business Administrator Robert Lombard said.
During the council meeting, Lombard proposed that the council consider changing the township ordinance that prohibits the feeding of wildlife to make an exception if a recognized entity can operate feral colonies in the same way the North Brunswick Humane Association is doing in Renaissance.
Councilman Ralph Andrews said he agrees that not all wildlife in town should be fed, but this change would allow cats to be taken care of so they do not die.
“Oftentimes the continuity and the work of this maintenance of feeding the animals each day, caring for them, having enough funds to do the trapping and so forth really requires a lot of resources,” Lombard said. “It takes a village in this case to care for a colony of cats.”