Feral and stray cats have been a hot topic of discussion in Palmerton for several years. Now, a Carbon County judge will decide if citations against a Palmerton woman for feeding them will stand.

On Thursday, during a summary hearing for FayeAnn Reiner, of Palmerton, Judge William Kissner heard arguments concerning three citations against Reiner for the placement of cat feeding stations outside of her home, which is in violation of the borough’s Ordinance 728.

The ordinance, adopted in the spring of 2017, defines feeding stations as “any area where food is supplied to animals in an open, unrestricted manner, allowing animals to come and go freely.”

The borough, which was represented by Peter Luzzo, animal enforcement officer, said the citations in question were given to Reiner after feeding stations were seen outside her home.

Luzzo said he received a complaint in October related to Reiner’s feeding habits that was submitted through the borough hall. He went to Reiner’s residence to investigate, and took photographs of paper plates with cat food in the front and back of her home. Between that instance and January, Reiner was given three citations, two from October and one from December.

Admits feeding

Reiner didn’t deny the borough’s allegations. In fact, she said that she did feed the cats, and that she didn’t think it was a crime.

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Reiner said that she fed the cats at the same time everyday. She fed the two felines separately — one in the front and one in the back — as they did not get along. Reiner also said that while she did not have the two animals licensed, they were neutered.

Humane Society Police Officer of Carbon County Donna Crum was at Reiner’s side during the hearing. Along with Reiner’s argument, Crum pushed back on the borough’s ordinance, saying that the borough does not have the authority to tell residents that they must stop feeding stray or feral cats, as in many cases, residents have been providing the animal’s food for an extended period of time.

Crum has held this position since the borough first began considering Ordinance 728.

Crum has remained steadfast in the belief that when a resident feeds a cat over an extended period of time, that animal becomes their property. She also said that despite living outside, stray or feral cats are domesticated animals, and therefore, the borough can’t crack down on residents feeding them.

According to Ally Cat Allies, a nonprofit feline advocacy group, feral, stray and pet cats all fall under the same species, and thus, are considered domesticated cats.

Crum also had a letter, signed by other animal welfare activists, for the borough council and Kissner, where they write that there is no definitive way to distinguish a pet cat from a stray or feral one, and that simply not feeding the cats is not going to solve the problem.

“A cat is a cat is a cat. It’s just that simple,” Crum said after the hearing. “They cannot (create) their definition of a domestic versus feral cats.

“We have to protect them (the cats.) I mean, we’ve created the problem. We can’t just throw the problem away and walk away.”

“Something has to be done, but it has to be done right, and it has to be done humanely,” Crum added.

Borough’s stance

After the hearing, Luzzo said that the borough’s stance is clear.

“The ordinance is the ordinance,” Luzzo said. “You have to look at the whole picture, and it’s not just (Reiner’s) side. You’ve got to look at the people that have it worse, where there’s tons of cats running around, and with the houses being so close, I think it has to be the way it is for the good of all the neighbors.”

But there are some in Palmerton who still believe there’s another way to address the borough’s cat issue.

“Trap, neuter, release really does work,” said Barbara Greenzweig, president of the Palmerton Cat Project.

Greenzweig said that if properly implemented, with neutered, stray cats are fed at a certain time and food bowls are moved from the outdoors, the cats eventually die out and colonies cease to exist.

“This is the direction this was going in,” Greenzweig said in reference to years prior. “To intentionally deny food and water to animals that are depending on it, especially in the winter — they will not survive.”

“Certainly we can come up with a solution to this that is common sense, and also shows compassion,” she added.

Kissner will take 90 days to decide whether or not Reiner has to pay the citations. Until then, he’s instructed Reiner to not feed the two cats.