Smoke & Mirrors the Game of Cats
- Kathy Gabrielescu
- Feb 22
- 3 min read
There are common statistics we see from national organization guessing on the number of cats who reside on our streets. NJ seems to present an orchestrated narrative that leaves us not really knowing how bad this issue has become on any given day.
In our effort to get the the only available facts in NJ we researched the number of confirmed rabies cases in cats across a 20 year span. https://www.whiskersrescue.org/post/rabies-how-good-intention-kills
These numbers are documented by the state. We saw a steady increase in this number . It has almost tripled in this time frame. With some basic knowledge of how viruses move we can only conclude that the number of stray and feral cats is escalating rapidly.
Next we want to look at why this is happening despite more and more rescues being established and more towns having TNR related ordinances. Please be clear and ordinance is a list of rules and not an actual program that helps with TNR.
NJ shelters are not required to report to the state of NJ on intake of animals. This form is voluntary and can be ignored.
IF this form was required it would still only give a tiny glimpse of the the cat population.
A. Some towns openly advertise that they do not answer calls regarding cats. They do not pick them up and they will never be taken to a shelter to be logged.
B. The majority of towns seem to contract with closed admission
shelters. This means if they are full you are turned away. They often
tell residents to look for rescues who are not required to report any
statistics to the state. Other times residents are simply told to "let them go" where the cats will either die or join feral cat colonies.
An untold number of private non profits and individual residents take in stray cats and find homes with out documentation which once again leaves them uncounted.
Nearly ever town in NJ has an ordinance about cats and how they must be kept. That being said few enforce the ordinance on a regular basis. Even if one resident calls about a neighbor feeding unaltered cats often the only outcome is a letter telling them to stop feeding. The cats are never removed nor fixed which again leaves the number undocumented. Residents who are actively ignoring state animal cruelty laws are rarely charged.
Many NJ towns currently contract with private animal control companies. These offer a la carte services to towns that often do not require removal of stray cats nor TNR. These cats are also ignored and never counted. Beyond that some do not have shelters but instead a "network of rescues" that fall back into the category of undocumented intake.
Much of this is being done by towns to maintain low kill rates and to avoid the necessary animal control budget to handle the problem we are facing. Rescues and well meaning residents are left to fend for themselves. While we respect the efforts many are not equipped to handle this job. This is why we see an endless number of cats being given away for free and yet others adopted out with out sterilization.
With out standardization of the municipalities minimum obligations this vicious cycle will continue as will the number of homeless cats. While they state provides best practice guidelines they are not required. https://www.whiskersrescue.org/post/nj-best-shelter-practices-ignored Of the towns we have surveyed we have not found one that has chosen to comply with these standards.
No matter how great an effort rescues and individuals put in we cannot solve the issue of free roaming and homeless cats with out fixing the broken system we are operating in. It is time to step back from this cycle and fix the system. Join us in supporting ground breaking legislation. https://www.whiskersrescue.org/post/love-cats-hate-cats-a4898-is-the-key-to-improving-quality-of-life-in-new-jersey
Support us in our effort to create a functioning system.
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