"Suspected by the feds of a few alleged killings, Cape May's wild cats were all set to start new lives in distant places. Call it the Whiskers Protection Program.

But the deal fell apart when the cats' backers - who say there's no proof anything was killed - persuaded the Cape May City Council to back down on a plan to relocate the cats far away from the beach, where endangered shorebirds nest.

Now, it's not only the lives of rare birds like the piping plover are at stake. The city stands to lose millions of dollars in federal beach replenishment money if it continues to refuse to move the felines.

"What they said to us was `Approve this or you don't get beach replenishment,' and this town dies," said Deputy Mayor Neils Favre, who said he received 600 e-mails against the cat relocation plan on a single day this week.

But after hearing from an audience of 100 - most of whom appeared to be cat-lovers - Favre suggested the council wait a while and try to convince state and federal environmental authorities that its own measures are working.

Those measures include a trap, neuter and release program that has gradually reduced Cape May's wild cat population from 450 to about 100 over the past decade, he said.

Cat-lovers said people are the real threat to endangered shorebirds.

"The cats should be kept away from there, but so should people," said resident Bill Pollock, who feeds a wild cat colony near his house.

Brenda Malinics, who loves cats and birds, said she patrols the beach each summer to see what - and who - is near Cape May's two known nesting grounds for endangered birds.

"I have not seen any cats along those stretches of nests," she said. "To pick on just cats is a witch hunt. I am a birder, and I see both sides of this. Humans are the real problem. Teenagers play Frisbee behind the ropes where the birds are. People ride their bikes there."

This whole feathered flap wouldn't have happened if it hadn't been for the fact that both cats and birds are wildly popular in this historic beach community at the southernmost tip of New Jersey.

Cats are as much a part of genteel Cape May culture as rainbow-colored Victorian bed and breakfasts, trolley tours and cocktails on the porch at sunset.

But Cape May is also one of the prime bird-watching spots in all of North America. The World Series of Birding is held here each year.

"People are really upset about the lack of action on this," said Eric Stiles, vice president of conservation with the New Jersey Audubon Society. "There is a thriving nature-based tourism industry in Cape May, and I've heard talk about boycotting the city."

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers every plover death to be a big deal. As of last summer, only 115 pairs of piping plovers were left in New Jersey.

But the population actually rebounded somewhat last year; at the end of 2007, there were 129 pairs in New Jersey, said Elaine Makatura, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Protection.

The federal Endangered Species Act prohibits killing, harming or even bothering endangered birds like piping plovers and least terns, both of which nest in the shallow sandy ruts of Cape May's popular beach during the summer. Because they nest on the ground, they are like sitting ducks for predators including wild cats, foxes and other animals.

The government originally wanted feral cat colonies moved back a mile from the beach - something that cat lovers say would have mandated eliminating all wild cats from Cape May. They dug their heels in and resisted, leading to a compromise proposal to move the cat colonies at least 1,000 feet from the beach, and a half-mile from areas already identified as nesting grounds.

Jim Cramer, a spokesman for the Fish and Wildlife Service said the agency is skeptical the compromise will work, but is willing to give it a chance.

"The situation is a bit fluid," he said. "We're trying to decide exactly what we're going to do next."

Communities that receive federal beach replenishment money must adopt beach management plans that, among other things, protect endangered wildlife. If both the federal and state environmental officials reject the plan, the government can withhold beach replenishment money.

That's something the feds view as a last resort, but it is a possibility, Cramer said.

Cape May officials plan to reconsider the situation in early March, which would leave little time to move the cats. The state expects the plovers to start returning to Cape May around March 15, Makatura said.

"I know in my heart if we don't do something with this soon, it's going to jeopardize our beach fill for this fall," Mayor Jerry Inderwies said. "It's serious, it's real, and we have to come up with something."" (Wayne Parry, Associated Press, February 24, 2008)