Feral cats on the rise near Keyport waterfront Expert warns public not to feed the animals BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer Sam Snyder, manager for Brown’s Point Marina, Keyport, poses with George, a 5-month-old feral cat he adopted after having it spayed and neutered. Snyder had many of the wild cats in his area spayed and neutered, paying for the service himself. KEYPORT — Feral cats: are they pets or pests? In Keyport, the question is up for debate. Dozens of the wild cats have found a home at marinas on the southern end of town. And while some residents find joy in feeding the strays, others want them gone. Sam Snyder, manager of Brown’s Point Marina, West Front Street, estimates he feeds about 18 of the feral cats twice a day. With the help of an Oakhurst-based group called Spay, Neuter and Protect Strays (SNAPS), Snyder managed to have many of the wild cats on his property altered. “That’s really challenging, to catch them,” Snyder said Saturday afternoon. “They’re very cautious.” Snyder adopted two of the feral cats as his own and keeps them inside his office at the marina. George, a five-month-old tabby, is his favorite. KAREN BOWES “What a great cat he is,” Snyder said while coddling the kitten. “He’s great.” Across the street at the Keyport Marine Basin, strays can be seen wandering between the buildings and parked vessels. According to Snyder, these animals have not been altered. “The owner refuses,” Snyder said, explaining he was able to get a discount on the price of spaying and neutering the cats on his side of the road. Another feral cat colony exists just across the creek, Snyder said, in the marsh along the Aberdeen waterfront. There, Snyder said, he knows of a woman who feeds those cats. But while these animals obviously provide comfort to some, experts say it’s not a good idea to feed them. “The best thing you can do is leave them to their own devices,” said Bruce Sanchez, director of the Eatontown branch of the Humane Society. “The last thing you want to do is feed them and create cat colonies.” Resident Roy Cadoo complained about the issue at the last Borough Council meeting, held Dec. 5. “Fifty, 60 cats are being born all the time,” Cadoo said. He added, “Talk about fun, these cats are having fun all the time.” “Is there nothing the borough can do to stop this cat infiltration?” asked Cadoo. At the time, borough officials were unsure what could be done and suggested that Cadoo contact an animal control group. But Sanchez says there is something the town can do: capture and euthanize the ferals, and/or require owners to have their pet licensed. “The burden falls onto the municipalities,” Sanchez said. “A lot of towns have outlawed it. You have to license your cats. There’s no longer free roaming. Cats have to have shots and you have to keep them indoors or on a leash.” But what about disease? Can a feral cat transfer illness to a human? According to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Division of Parasitic Diseases, a feral cat can transfer toxoplasmosis, a disease that is usually only an issue for pregnant women or those with weakened immune systems, such as HIV patients. According to the CDC Web site, an infant infected while still in the womb will have no symptoms at birth but can develop serious eye or brain damage later in life. The parasite is passed via cat feces. “If you really look at some of the research going on with blood barriers, people are saying these things can jump,” Sanchez said. “I’m not a medically trained person and I wouldn’t want to sit here and pontificate. But anywhere you are overrun by cats or mice, it can become a problem.” In general, though, Sanchez believes people shouldn’t be worried about catching a disease from a wild cat. “Pregnant women shouldn’t handle cats or kitty litter because they’re susceptible to bacteria in feces,” Sanchez said. “But that wouldn’t be my primary concern. I would focus on not feeding them.” There’s also the question of responsibility. According to Sanchez, if a person feeds a wild cat for a week, legally that person is responsible for the welfare of the animal. “After seven days, you’ve accepted legal ownership of those cats,” Sanchez said. He added that under humane laws, if a cat needs veterinary care, the new “owner” is responsible. Ronnie Ehrenspeck, office manager for the Monmouth County SPCA, said she knows the issue of feeding feral cats is “sticky.” Without a county shelter, the SPCA has no place to put the cats. “We have a problem not only in Keyport but in every town in Monmouth County,” Ehrenspeck said. She added, “The real problem is we don’t have a public shelter. I think Ocean County has two public shelters.”