Cat lovers battle company over feral feline eviction

HAMILTON TWP, N.J. (WPVI) -- Dozens of feral felines live in a section of Hamilton Township, well-fed and even sheltered by a small group of animal lovers. But that will soon change if the Babe Ruth League gets its way.

The baseball business wants the cats off its property. And those who care for the felines fear that's a death sentence.

Every day at lunch time seven days a week 80-year-old Irene Strubel enters the woods off Whitehorse Mercerville Road to feed two colonies of feral cats, roughly 20 in all.

She and a group of other animal lovers have been bringing food and water to them for years.

Irene says, "I do it because I love animals and I'm afraid that they wouldn't have nothing to eat."

But the woods these cats live in is private property and the new owner, Babe Ruth league Inc., has concerns about liability and the calling cards the cats leave behind.

They've told the cat feeders they want the colonies moved.

Steve Tellefsen, Babe Ruth League CEO, explains, "We are just concerned that one of the cats might scratch or bite someone. So again it's just a safety, liability issue."

Linda Kerwin, one of the feral cat feeders, says, "Feral cats can't be moved. They grow up here, this is their surroundings, that's all they know."

Linda says these cats are cared for by volunteers who feed them, take them to the vet for vaccinations and when they are sick, and also arrange for the cats to be trapped, neutered and returned.

Some from the colony have even been adopted.

Linda says, "We don't want to move the colony. We would like to move them further away from the building."

So far, the cat feeders have been given four separate ten-day extensions on the order to remove the cats. It hasn't happened yet, but property owners say it eventually must.

Steve Tellefsen says, "We want to work with the cat organizations to safely relocate these animals."

Cat lovers gathered well over 100,000 signatures for an online petition to stop the removal of the feral cats.

Babe Ruth League officials say they and their families have received death threats on social media.

They say they love animals and wish the cats no harm, they just want them off the property.

By some accounts, these feral cat colonies have been living in these woods for up to 18 years. However, in the 'Cats vs. Bats' clash, Babe Ruth League officials say they think they're going to win this one.