NEW YORK, NY November 16, 2007 —A small group showed up for the Port Authority's meeting on its first toll hike in several years. But most of the crowd wasn't there for or against EZ Pass - they were there for the cats.

REPORTER: The advocates want the Port Authority to end a program to curb the wild cat population of JFK airport's 5,000 acres of open space. Several animal rights groups insist the PA's approach would lead to the cats' destruction. Bryan Kortis, of Neighborhood Cats, says the PA has overreacted.

KORTIS: We were told that the real risk is that the cats are going to run onto the runway. There has not been a single documented case in aviation history of a cat colliding with a plane. If there were cats near a runway, we would move them under this plan.

REPORTER: The advocates support a trap, neuter and release approach. The feral cats are descendants of abandoned pets. A PA spokesman said the program was suspended and that the agency was trying to resolve the dispute with the animal rights groups.