Residents of Northampton Avenue continue to express concerns about the ongoing stray cat population in the area.

Reportedly, a 98-year-old resident has been feeding approximately 50 cats in the neighborhood, causing fellow residents to turn to borough council, citing quality-of-life and health code problems.

According to borough Manager LeRoy Brobst, borough council approved a TNR (trap, neuter, release) program, and a weekly trapping procedure was begun.

A local resident is assisting with the TNR program, and she reported it is moving ahead, despite some challenges. Through the TNR program, cats are caught, spayed or neutered, vaccinated against rabies and treated for fleas before being released.

“I am so grateful that No Nonsense Neutering exists,” the resident said. “It is truly awesome what they do at such a low cost for the community cats in the surrounding areas of the Lehigh Valley.”

Reportedly, No Nonsense Neutering, with which the borough has a contract, had to close for two weeks, putting the process behind schedule. The resident reported No Nonsense Neutering is now open and is continuing to schedule appointments.

“We are limited by the number of animals No Nonsense Neutering can handle,” Brobst added.

One of the people assisting with the efforts reported being yelled at by a neighbor who said what they are doing is illegal, the resident feeding the cats needs to be cited and that the cats need to be euthanized.

Brobst noted the borough code has an ordinance that addresses the feeding of animals that run at large. Feeding these animals is prohibited by the ordinance.

In light of this, the next steps for the borough include filing a complaint with the magisterial district judge.

According to Brobst, Councilwoman Judy Kutzler reported at the Jan. 7 borough council meeting that a complaint was filed with the magisterial district judge Dec. 14, 2020, and a hearing was expected to be held Dec. 30, 2020.

“While I understand that there is code on the books about feeding feral cats, I believe that in this situation, for this program to work, we need cat caretakers,” said the resident assisting with the TNR program. “The TNR program is a community-based program that only works if a community cat caretaker is appointed to feed, shelter, TNR and care for the basic needs of the colony.”

This resident’s concern is that taking the older woman to court and ordering her to stop feeding the animals will cause more problems. She is concerned the hungry cats will then go looking for food in the garbage.

“It is inhumane to attack the problem by not feeding anymore,” she noted.

The resident expressed her frustration that the other neighbors are going after the older woman and reacting so violently toward the humane solution presented.

“The people in this neighborhood [who] are complaining will not take the time to educate themselves on the TNR program and the success that it has had in other areas,” she said.

The resident noted most of the nuisance behaviors of the cats including spraying, howling and overpopulation will be curbed by the TNR program. She noted they also installed an outdoor litter box in the older resident’s backyard.