Feral cat proposal spurs concerns in Currituck County

GRANDY

Currituck County Animal Control officer Gina Maurer slowly approached a tall pine tree behind the Grandy Food Lion.

Just minutes before, two feral cats had been there munching but disappeared quickly into the nearby patch of woods.

Placed around the tree in a near-perfect circle were 21 small piles of dry cat food. Just inside the underbrush, empty food containers lay scattered around. A few feet away were more containers, one full of food. This was where nearby residents cared for a feral cat colony.

"They know every cat," Maurer said. "They know all their names and they know how old they are."

Stray and feral cats are beloved by some and despised by others and can quickly become a hot issue in which elected officials want no part.

But the Currituck County Board of Commissioners has stepped into it. It is looking at a measure that gives more enforcement power to an ordinance on feral colonies.

Currituck County passed the ordinance 20 years ago that outlawed people feeding and harboring a feral cat on their property without contacting an Animal Control officer within three days.

But it does not say anything about feeding feral cats on someone else's property, Currituck County attorney Ike McRee said. A measure to fix that loophole came before the commissioners last week, and the board tabled it to get more information. It's unclear what initiated the requested change in the law.

Neither Currituck Sheriff Susan Johnson nor Maurer, a sergeant with Animal Control, were aware of the pending change. Also left in the dark were officials with the animal shelter and the local Animal Lovers Assistance League. Johnson has not received complaints about the colony behind Food Lion.

"We did not ask for this," Johnson said. "We believe they are very well taken care of."

Currituck has a few feral cat colonies, but at least two larger ones in Grandy and another in Corolla are managed by nearby residents. Cats are fed, but they are also trapped, neutered or spayed, given shots and released. A managed cat colony would eventually die off naturally, Johnson said.

The trap, neuter, release plan is practiced all over the country, said Ginger Sikes, president of the Animal Lovers Assistance League. Under the amended law, those feeding the strays could be cited. Sikes knows the colony caretakers in Grandy and Corolla but would not give their names because she was worried they might be cited.

"They should not be criminals for feeding cats on their own property," Sikes said.

Johnson and Maurer are working with managed colonies. Animal Control provides traps, but it is up to the residents to capture the cats and get them to veterinarians, Maurer said.

Residents have shown her records of doing that, she said. A treated cat gets a notched ear for tracking. If a new cat joins, it is supposed to be trapped and treated as soon as possible.

"They are doing it the right way," she said.

But some people put out food for a stray cat and then more show up. Without management, it turns into a big problem fast, Maurer said. Complaints start, and Animal Control has to step in.

The animal shelter in Maple took in 637 cats last year with 210 of those feral, shelter manager Laura Marquette said. Animal Control accounts for many of those, Maurer said.

"If they cross the line, we have to enforce the law."

Jeff Hampton, (252) 338-0159, jeff.hampton@pilotonline.com

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