SPCA will trap, neuter and release feral cats

The Town Board has agreed to let the Ulster County SPCA trap, neuter and release feral cats to reduce the number of nuisance felines in some neighborhoods.

The program was authorized following a public hearing Thursday on a proposed town of Ulster law that would allow cats to be taken to shelters if they are the subject of complaints from property owners.

Efforts to trap cats in the Fox Run and Sunrise Park neighborhoods will take place while town officials determine whether to adopt the regulations.

“We’ve already tried this two or three times in this neighborhood and had it fail,” Supervisor James Quigley said. “The SPCA is asking us for the opportunity to undertake the process, and they believe ... if they can convince the [people feeding the cats] to stop feeding for a period of time, we will have a successful project.”

Adams Saunders, executive director of the Ulster County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the agency will seek cooperation people who are feeding the cats. He said previous efforts by other organizations were unsuccessful because people believed the cats would be euthanized.

Under the plan, about 25 traps are to be set over several weeks.

Saunders said it was unclear how severe the problem is because residents have given a range of between 20 and 50 feral cats.

“I would expect they would see a reduced cat population overall,” he said. “Any that were friendly or pregnant would be retained by the SPCA and not rereleased back into the area. The true ferals would be rereleased [after neutering], but that would be done with the ... monitoring of several colonies.”

Under a draft agreement, the town would pay $40 for each cat caught during the project.

“The individuals monitoring or feeding the colonies would be working with us in the future to ensure medical care and to ensure that the feeding is handled properly and to be sure that, if any new animals do come into the area, they would also be targeted for trapping,” Saunders said.

Town residents who have asked for a law prohibiting people from feeding feral cats voiced skepticism that the trap-and-release project will work.

“If you’re going to trap these cats, you’ve got to tell everybody to not lay out salmon, so [cats] don’t go into the traps, which is what happened last time,” resident Dawn DeLuca said Thursday. “Just because these people are going to feed them, they need to keep them on their property. I do not want them on my property. My property happens to be one of the runs [cats use] to go back and forth to the feeders.”

The Town Board has left open a comment period on the proposed law for 30 days.

The proposed law would prohibit cat owners or “any person harboring any cat” to allow any feline from being 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 under the law would be $50 for a first violation, $150 for a 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.