EPPING — Town officials are cracking down on the feeding of feral cats at the town’s recycling center, fearing they’ll become domesticated and give up on the hunt for rodents.

“These cats need to go do their job,” Selectman Karen Falcone told other selectmen at a meeting Monday night, insisting that the cats are being turned into house cats instead of “mousers.”

Several cats have been living at the recycling center for years and are being cared for by residents who show up to feed them and provide the comforts of home. Selectmen said some people are coming after hours when there’s no supervision.

While they agreed to allow some of the feeding to continue, the selectmen said they don’t want people coming when the center is closed.

Town Administrator Gregory Dodge took a look at the stall where the cats are living. They have blankets, crates, small cat houses filled with hay, a scratching post, and a few toys.

“I was surprised to see the elaborate setup for these cats,” Dodge said.

Falcone said the stall has become a “cat condominium” for feral cats that were allowed to stay at the recycling center to help control rodents. At one point a few years ago, the town’s former solid waste supervisor credited the cats for a rodent-free recycling center, but officials said they’ve seen more rodents lately.

Selectmen said some people have become possessive of the cats, which has caused other problems.

According to Dodge, some of those taking care of the cats have been in “squabbles” with salvagers and employees at the dump.

“It’s just not a good situation,” Falcone said. “I don’t know how it got to a point where the residents were maintaining a home.”

In 2008, the town received help from Seacoast Area Feline Education and Rescue, a Hampton-based nonprofit volunteer organization that trapped the cats, provided medical care, and spayed and neutered them before returning them to continue catching rodents.

Selectman Dianne Gilbert said she doesn’t have a problem with feeding the cats, but agreed that there should be a limit.

“I don’t think it’s wrong to feed them. They need water and so forth, but I think that maybe it’s being overdone and maybe it needs to be scaled back a bit. I wouldn’t stop it because they are valuable, they do do a job,” she said.

Selectmen asked Dodge to meet with some of those who are feeding the cats to outline the concerns and make them aware that no feeding should be done after hours.

“I don’t want anybody in there when there’s no supervision there,” Falcone said.

In an e-mail to Dodge, Mary-Jo Hinkle said she’s one of those who’s been helping with the cats. She said she and others who have helped her have never fed the cats or changed their bedding outside of recycling center hours.

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Jason Schreiber may be reached at jschreiber@newstote.com.