SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — Following the example set by neighboring municipalities, such as Maplewood and West Orange, South Orange is now looking into a trap-neuter-return program, also called “trap-neuter-vaccinate-return,” to control the feral cat population in the village.
In order to learn more about the cat-management program, the South Orange Board of Trustees heard attorney Michelle Lerner, a policy specialist for the Animal Protection League of New Jersey, speak at the April 13 trustees meeting. TNR involves reducing feral cat colony populations by catching feral cats, spaying or neutering them, vaccinating them, and returning them outdoors with their ears tipped so they can be identified. These cats are then exempted from feeding bans and are cared for by residents.
According to Lerner, South Orange likely has more than 1,000 feral cats roaming its streets. A feral cat is defined as a wild cat that is unsocialized when around people. South Orange’s animal control officers currently use two feral cat population-control methods: feeding bans, and trap and remove, also called “trap and kill.”
Lerner explained that trap and kill is not ideal as a population-control method because animal control would need to remove at least 50 percent of all cats each year just to stabilize the population, and remove 75 percent each year to reduce it.
That means South Orange animal control officers would need to impound approximately 750 cats per year to reduce the numbers, but the village lacks the resources, both in manpower and financially, to do so.
Additionally, as cats are removed and killed, more cats are born or migrate into the vacated areas; Lerner called this the “vacuum effect.”
“Trap and remove has not worked anywhere in the United States for mathematical reasons,” Lerner said at the meeting. “Cats have a very high reproductive rate,” she said, explaining that the average female cat can have two to three litters per year, and each litter can contain four to seven kittens.
Also, residents often do not cooperate if they believe the cats will be harmed, meaning the cats remain unreported and unvaccinated. This leaves the cats to continue reproducing until their levels make them a nuisance to residents.
“Most cats within the borders of a municipality remain unreported, reproducing, unvaccinated, until they reproduce to the point that they create nuisances large enough that people are willing to report them to the municipality,” Lerner said.
For similar reasons, feeding bans are not as effective as it may seem they would be, according to Lerner. Out of compassion, people do not stop feeding the cats, but feed them more discreetly. And, even if people do stop feeding the cats, they do not disappear; cats will forage and hunt for food.
“Cats that stop being fed don’t just evaporate,” Lerner said. “They don’t migrate en masse to the next town. They don’t tend to drop dead in the streets. Cats are resilient. They are very territorial; they stay where they are. They just go into garbage cans and dumpsters, they start to hunt. They may be thinner and less healthy, they may be vulnerable to parasites, but they remain and keep reproducing.”
Some trustees questioned whether or not the feeding ban in South Orange is currently being enforced, but South Orange Health Officer John Festa assured the trustees that the ban is enforced. According to Festa, they stopped a “major feeder” on Meadowbrook Lane last year after receiving complaints; eight residents testified against the feeder and the ongoing problem has now stopped.
“We are actively dealing with it,” Festa said at the meeting.
According to animal control records, in the five months from mid-March to mid-August in 2014, 30 cats were impounded, 80 percent of which were feral. Two died of natural causes and 21 were euthanized — a 76-percent death rate.
And, in the five months from June to November 2014, South Orange fielded 49 complaints of stray and feral cats, with most complaints mentioning multiple cats.
Due to the dearth of records in South Orange, Lerner used Maplewood as an example for why TNR should be considered and eventually implemented. According to Lerner, complaints about cats doubled in Maplewood after the township passed a strict feeding ban in 2010. Only 36 cats were impounded in 2010, but 84 cats were impounded in 2012.
According to Lerner, TNR is a preferable animal control method because it reduces the cat populations and makes the population that remains healthier through vaccinations. Additionally, neutering and spaying costs approximately $50, whereas euthanasia is approximately $90.
Additionally, spaying and neutering the cats not only keeps them from reproducing, but stops a lot of cat behavior that is often the source of nuisance complaints, according to Lerner. She explained that when residents complain about feral cats urinating on their property, it is more likely that a male cat is “spraying” to mark its territory; similarly, cats often bury their feces, except when marking their territory. Male cats mark their territories as a way of attracting females to mate. And cats yowling and fighting are often part of mating, as well.
And the results so far seem positive, according to Lerner. In just two and half years since the TNR program was instituted, Englewood saw a 72-percent reduction in its feral cat population; in five years, Morristown saw a 76-percent reduction; in four years, Cape May saw an 80-percent reduction; and in five years, Mt. Olive, Lerner’s hometown, saw a 74-percent reduction.
Aside from towns like Maplewood and West Orange embracing TNR programs, TNR is accepted or endorsed by the New Jersey Department of Health, the NJ Local Boards of Health Association, a veterinary subgroup of the American Public Health Association, Sustainable Jersey, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Humane Society of the United States and more.
Trustees seemed receptive to TNR, but questioned how it would be implemented. Trustee Walter Clarke, for example, asked Lerner how the village would transition to run such an operation.
Lerner explained that towns can be involved to varying degrees, although the more involved the town is, the better the results usually are. She said some towns pass ordinances allowing nonprofits to conduct TNR, while others train their animal control officers to conduct the program. For example, all Bergen County animal control officers are trained for TNR and there are many training programs out there for TNR.
Trustee Sheena Collum lauded Maplewood for its current TNR pilot, which will last for five years, at which point the township will evaluate all the data collected and decide whether or not to continue the program. The Maplewood Township Committee passed an ordinance in November 2014 to create a TNR program to be overseen by the newly created nonprofit Furry Hearts Rescue; the ordinance passed 4-1, with Committeeman Marlon K. Brownlee voting against it, saying the wording and parameters of the ordinance were too vague.
Collum even suggested joining with Maplewood’s TNR program if possible, and Furry Hearts President Lisa Lert is receptive to the idea.
“I live in South Orange and have been contacted by residents who are interested in Furry Hearts’ TNVR program,” Lert told the News-Record earlier this week via an email interview. “We’re sure we can assist South Orange as well.”
Since the program went into effect in January in Maplewood, Lert told the News-Record that Furry Hearts has successfully used TNR with approximately 80 cats. And residents seem pretty happy with the program, as well.
“The residents have been overwhelmingly supportive and the town is behind our efforts,” Lert said. “Besides the TNVR, we also rescue and find homes for any friendly, adoptable kittens and cats.”
Partnering with a local student, Furry Hearts Rescue will be participating in an animal adoption event on Sunday, May 10, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the parking lot of Congregation Beth El, 222 Irvington Ave. in South Orange.
And, as the program is run by the nonprofit Furry Hearts, Maplewood has not incurred any costs, according to Lert. All of Furry Hearts’ money is raised through fundraisers and donations.