Town will delve deeper into cat issue

The issue of feral cats is to be discussed again at the Town Board’s Dec. 21 meeting.

Ulster Supervisor James Quigley said Tuesday that representatives of the Ulster County SPCA will be asked to provide information at the meeting about how a trap-neuter-release, or TNR, initiative was handled earlier this year.

“We had a complaint, we had the SPCA go in to do TNR,” Quigley said. “They (agency officials) are telling me they removed a number of cats from the neighborhood; the neighbors have said they haven’t and [want to know] what am I going to do.”

Quigley said the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals billed the town for the capture and treatment of one feral cat. That figure conflicts with an SPCA report emailed to the town in June that said 12 cats had been captured over a three-week period.

Ulster County SPCA Executive Director Tina Murray could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The TNR program was put in place after residents of the Fox Run and Sunrise Park areas complained about odors from the cats. Capturing feral cats was considered an alternative to adopting a town law that would have prohibited residents from allowing pets to become a nuisance to neighbors and from having property owners feed cats they do not own.

Feral cats are those that typically live outdoors, have little or no human contact and have not been spayed or neutered.

Town residents have reported between 25 and 50 cats have come onto their properties.

“Some of the people just want us to go in an annihilate the cats, and we’re not prepared to do that,” Quigley said. “It’s not the right thing to do.”

The proposed town law would bar cat owners or “any person harboring any cat” from allowing cats to be vicious, spray or defecate in a “way as to cause annoyance,” cause damage or destruction to property, or remain in the town unless vaccinated against rabies.

Fines would be a $50 fine for the first violation, $150 for the second violation and $250 for the third and subsequent violations.

The law also would authorize the town animal control officer to pick up unwanted cats owned by residents who are financially unable to care for their pets or have them vaccinated against feline rabies.