A small feral cat tucked behind a recycling can on the front yard of a home on President Avenue, Lavallette, Aug. 24, 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
Lavallette officials say a “Trap, Neuter, Release” program initiated by a group of local volunteers has worked wonders in the borough’s efforts to control its feral cat population, which surged in the immediate post-pandemic era, leading to complaints from some residents.
The new ordinance adds specific language designed to prevent some residents from – directly or indirectly – impeding the TNR program.
Initially, Lavallette faced significant challenges in what was becoming a mounting feral cat problem, centered around President Avenue. While animal advocates had voiced support for a TNR program, the seasonal nature of the borough’s population seemed to make it impossible to keep a volunteer corps together. But after hearing about the issue in the media, many of the organizers of Brick Township’s TNR program availed themselves to Lavallette, getting the program off the ground and proving it could work.
Sadly, a lingering issue in many Shore communities involves tourists leaving their cats behind when they return to their permanent homes, or giving up a search quickly if a pet manages to escape a summer residence. These cats eventually become feral, often mate, and have wreaked havoc on neighbors’ patios, outdoor furniture and plants. Some cats, including those who were pregnant, met a disturbing demise along the busy lanes of Route 35, where they were subject to being hit by passing vehicles.
Lavallette has also made internal changes to act on the issue. The borough canceled a shared animal control officer with Seaside Heights, instead training one of its own permanent employees to do the job and funding his certification. It also took back its traps and updated its ordinance to prohibit the feeding of cats.
“Their program clearly has worked,” Mayor Walter LaCicero said of the TNR effort.
The ordinance introduced Tuesday expands on the existing prohibition of the feeding of wildlife to include cats on private property, and allows the borough to order a resident to stop feeding feral cats.
“This is, basically, what we call the cat ordinance,” explained Borough Administrator John Bennett. “It is acknowledging the program in town where they trap and neuter the cats.”
The ordinance stops short of a blanket ban on feeding cats on private property, but carves out the ability for the town to implement the TNR program without interference.
“We’re not prohibiting feeding on private property unless it is inhibiting the program,” Bennett said. “It’s not a major change, in reality, because we’ve been operating this way. But we had some problems with people feeding the cats, so they wouldn’t go in the traps.”
A small feral cat tucked behind a recycling can on the front yard of a home on President Avenue, Lavallette, Aug. 24, 2022. (Photo: Daniel Nee)
Ultimately, officials say, good intentions can delay the cats from being trapped to they can be spayed or neutered, allowing them to live out their lives without the fear of them multiplying and enhancing the danger to their own population.
The ordinance is scheduled for a public hearing and second vote at the council’s March 4 meeting.
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