Shelter's disappearance upsets felines' friends Equipment was set up at local park as a home for feral cat population BY KAREN E. BOWES Staff Writer MATAWAN - Two local cat enthusiasts accused the borough last week of mistreating its feral cat population. On Thursday, SPCA volunteers Joan Brewen, of Hazlet, and Valerie Niess, of Holmdel, expressed outrage to the Borough Council over the removal of a shelter for wild cats located at Gravelly Brook Park. "I go around to various towns. I am a professional trapper," Brewen told the council. "I spay and neuter to control the population." According to Brewen, she and fellow cat activists spent several hundred dollars spaying and neutering wild cats in the area of Gravelly Brook Park, off Route 79 and near the Henry Hudson trail. After releasing the cats back into the wild, she established a makeshift cat village in the park, with shelters and feeding areas. "This has nothing to with a bill," Niess said. "This has to do with her taking care of the cats at Gravelly Brook Park. Apparently, someone in the town removed the feeding and housing for these cats. They have all been spayed and neutered." Niess and Brewen each complained that it took several attempts before someone in the borough called them back. "At least in Holmdel, the township clerk gets back to you when you call and is at least civil to you when you talk to her," Niess said. She added, "This is unacceptable behavior for a township committee." Borough Administrator Fred Carr reported that he called Brewen back earlier in the week. He said that several residents complained about trash, so he instructed the public works department to clean it up. "And I asked you, sir, if I can have the igloo back," Brewen said. "That was a $57 igloo, and they refuse to give it back to me. I talked to the people down there. God only knows where the igloo is." Carr said he would look for the igloo. If he can find it, he will return it to her, he said. Brewen said her feral cat program is meant to be a help, not a hindrance to the town. "We can't believe you're not interested in having the population of the wild animals controlled," Brewen said. She added, "You should be happy to have something like this." On Friday, Carr said the problem is not so much Brown and her plastic cat igloo, but other "rinky-dink" cat shelters. "Down there, in that wooded area, in that area of shrub, there's a number of cat shelters," Carr said. He added, "There are also people who just want to take care of stray cats. And they just put out cardboard boxes. ... It looked trashy. I received complaints." Carr said there's a schism among local cat enthusiasts that compounds the problem. "The guys who just throw the trash and chicken out to feed them, they're at odds with the feral cat people," Carr said. "You're not helping the cause because you're attracting unwanted attention." There's also the matter of "hellacious germs," he said. "The best thing you could do is a trap and release program," Carr said. "You don't want to catch grandma's favorite cat and put it down. That would not be good." Councilman William Malley, who adopted two feral cats himself, agreed that an official program needs to be established regarding the feral cats. "First off, I think what you do is good work," Malley told the women at the meeting. "I think the population of cats should be under control. However, I think if you're going to put cat shelters and feeding stations on public property, I think it would be best to ask permission first." "Well that's why we're here," Brewen replied. Malley said on Monday that he spoke with Brewen on the phone over the weekend. "I think what she is trying to do is commendable," Malley said. "Matawan and the surrounding towns do have a feral cat problem. I think the town should support her efforts. Maybe some resolution to allow her to do this but with some parameters."