Feeding of feral felines creates friction in U.F.
Health department considers trapping cats near nursery
BY JANE MEGGITT Staff Writer

UPPER FREEHOLD - The Freehold Area Health Department may issue Princeton Nurseries a citation for causing a public health nuisance by having a large number of cats on its property.

Aneighboring resident recently alleged toAnimal Control OfficerMary Klink that felines at the nursery were attacking her pet cats. When Klink notified the complainant that she would be charged the township's $84 fee for picking up each stray, the complainant notified the state's health department about the issue, according to Klink.

The township's Board of Health discussed the issue at itsApril 8 meeting. Chairman Dr. S. Perrine Dey said he spoke with Princeton Nurseries President Ivan Olinsky, who told him that no one at the nursery has been feeding cats on the property for the last five months. Dey also said that Olinsky told him the feral cats live on state land adjacent to the nursery.

Freehold Area Health Department officer Margaret Jahn told the board that Lee Westcott, a representative from her office and a registered environmental health specialist, visited the nurseryApril 7 and found open bags of cat food near a Princeton Nurseries warehouse. Westcott also reported seeing two cat colonies on or near Princeton Nurseries but did not provide an estimated number of cats there, Jahn said. She said it is possible that the cats were being fed without Olinsky's knowledge.

Board of Health member NancyAmontis commented that there are cat lovers who covertly leave food for feral colonies.

Board Vice Chairwoman Dr. Kathy Stryeski, a small-animal veterinarian, said that communities with successfully managed feral cat colonies work in cooperation with residents and the state. However, she said that the township does not have its own animal shelter where feral cats could be spayed/neutered, vaccinated and released. She also said that the state has done away with its program for spaying/ neutering feral cats.

"The only thing we can do is take them to a shelter," she said. "We don't have a facility."

The township has animal control take stray animals to Popcorn Park Zoo in Lacey Township. Stryeski said trying to spay/neuter, vaccinate, and release feral cats from that facility would burden taxpayers. While there are rescue groups that provide funding for managing cat colonies, Stryeski said they work with local shelters, which again Upper Freehold does not have. The township could generate more funding for such causes by requiring residents to license their cats, she said, adding that it may be difficult for the township to track all of the cats in the area.

"I don't see how you can track all the cats on a farm," Stryeski said.

She noted that some people in the area use feral cats on their farms to catch mice.

Board member George King asked why the township would want to re-release feral cats into the environment once they have been picked up. Stryeski said trapping, neutering and releasing feral cats prevents colonies from growing and is an alternative to putting the animals to sleep.

Klink said that state law requires municipalities to hold strays for seven days before having them euthanized.

Dey said township ordinances do not require cats to be vaccinated nor do they require the removal of animals from the environment unless they are injured or sick.

Jahn said that if animals are creating a public health nuisance, the town is obligated to have those animals picked up.

"When cats wander onto another person's property and create a nuisance, we have to address it," she said. "In Freehold Township, we made it illegal to feed wild cats." Jahn said her office recently worked a case in Freehold Township where it had to remove 38 cats from a

Francis Mills Road home. She said the effort took four months.

Klink said she has spoken with the resident who alleged cats from Princeton Nurseries came into her yard and beat up her pets. The animal control officer said that she informed the woman not to leave cat food outside and that the woman did not want to comply.

Dey said that any resident who puts pet food out in the yard without having some kind of some kind of tamper-proof border is inviting other animals to eat that food.

"More of them will drift over to [the complainant's] property if she is continuing to feed," Dey said.

Stryeski said it is difficult to determine who is feeding the animals. Klink added that it is also hard to prove who is responsible for the situation.

Jahn said the owner of the cats is the person who is feeding them. The owner would be responsible for stopping the feeding and having the cats removed, she said.

Jahn said her office would work on the issue with the Freehold Area Health Department.

"We work where they pay us up front, a couple of thousand dollars, and we will help trap them," she said.

Jahn noted that there are animal rescue groups that would work with the owner.

"The township does not incur fees but puts burden on the owner of the property," she said.

In an interview, Olinsky said that he has posted a letter from the Board of Health at the nursery and has notified all employees not to feed cats.

He said he is not sure where Westcott, the health department representative, located cat food at the nursery. Olinsky also said he wanted to know why Westcott did not see him during the visit to the nursery.

Olinsky said he is unaware of anyone affiliated with Princeton Nurseries feeding cats. He said he would instruct all nursery managers to look into the situation again.

"I am certain we could address the situation, as this is a community situation and not necessarily all Princeton Nurseries' problem," he said.

Olinsky said that he sees fewer cats than before. He said that some of the felines live on state-owned property adjoining Princeton Nurseries' parking areas and that others on neighboring properties could be someone's pets.

In a follow-up interview, Jahn outlined the protocol for a nuisance complaint.

"Once a complaint is received, we visit the property and confirm the existence of a nuisance. Once a nuisance is identified, we follow up with a letter and/or notice of violation requesting that the nuisance be abated. We then routinely follow up and confirm that the nuisance has been removed."

Jahn said that Christine Whitehead, a representative of the health department, had visited the complainant on Jan. 23 and witnessed several empty bags of cat food and two cats. Subsequent to that, Whitehead spoke with the director of human resources at the nursery, who told her to speak with the vice president of administration.

"[The vice president] said that she was aware of the problem and would notify the employees," Jahn said. "Soon thereafter, Ivan Olinsky contacted Ms. Whitehead and requested that a letter be sent to him addressing the problem. A letter was mailed to him Jan. 21."

She continued, "Since Ms. Whitehead is no longer employed with us, I asked that Westcott revisit the complainant's house to assess the status of the situation. She also witnessed two to three large bags of cat food and a couple of cats. She did not reach out to Princeton Nurseries at that time, as it was not clear whether the Board of Health was in support of our presence out there."

Jahn said her department's philosophy is to work with people in resolving issues and not to be adversarial.

"We have every intention of contacting the appropriate parties and working with them to resolve the problems," she said. "Sometimes, intermediaries can create misunderstandings and inflame a situation, making it more difficult for my department to do its job."