IT’S A JUNGLE PET RESCUE CASE: How a Home‑Based Cat Nonprofit Ended up in Court

By Coastal Carolina News Staff Writer

CAROLINA SHORES, NC — A resident of Carolina Shores founded a small, foster‑based cat rescue. That rescue is now at the center of a zoning dispute that escalated into a restraining order, after town officials said the operation crossed the line into an unpermitted animal shelter.

According to state records, Jeanna Cash formed It’s A Jungle Pet Rescue Inc. in April 2025, registering the organization as a current and active North Carolina nonprofit. The filing links the rescue to Fence Post Lane, where Cash began taking in stray and abandoned felines, to meet what she described as a growing regional need.

Cash told officials she works with foster homes across both North and South Carolina, providing services such as FIV/FeLV testing, spay‑and‑neuter, microchipping, and temporary housing until adoption. She said the rescue’s presence inside her home was intended to be limited and foster‑based – not a full shelter.

But the town became involved after a complaint from a resident who adopted a cat from Cash. That individual reported seeing 30 to 40 cats inside the home and described an odor of urine and feces. A neighbor also contacted the town’s code compliance officer, saying they had observed Cash bringing cats into the home for months and could smell cat urine from their backyard.

The compliance officer visited the property and reported seeing about 20 cats downstairs, along with urine and feces on the floor. Based on those observations, the town issued a notice of violation on September 6, 2025, stating Cash was operating an animal shelter – a use not permitted in that residential zoning district. The notice also alleged the situation constituted a public nuisance.

Despite the friction, supporters emphasize the vital community gap the rescue fills. Pat T. states, “Jeanna Cash goes to extraordinary lengths to save, treat, and care for kittens that are abandoned, injured, or sick with the goal of finding them loving homes.”

Cash acknowledged that at certain points, the number of cats inside her home was higher than usual, but she said this occurred only during emergency situations, such as when a foster home lost heat during extremely cold weather. She described those instances as temporary and necessary to protect the animals, calling the situation a misunderstanding rather than an attempt to run a shelter from her residence.

The town later sought a restraining order in Brunswick County Superior Court to prevent the rescue from operating at the location. The legal action did not dissolve the nonprofit, but it restricted Cash from continuing rescue activities at her home.

The case highlights a familiar tension in small communities: the intersection of animal welfare efforts, neighborhood expectations, and municipal zoning rules. Foster‑based rescues often rely on private homes, but towns enforce limits on animal housing to prevent noise, odor, and overcrowding. Neighbors may support small‑scale fostering but object when numbers grow or conditions become noticeable.

For Carolina Shores, the dispute raises broader questions about how home‑based rescues can operate within residential areas and where the line is drawn between fostering and sheltering.

Despite the legal hurdles and the restraining order that halted operations at the Fence Post Lane residence, It’s A Jungle Pet Rescue survived the dispute. The nonprofit restructured into a fully decentralized foster network across the Coastal Carolinas and launched fundraising initiatives – including ongoing community efforts to complete The Jungle Bungalow allowing the organization to continue its rescue work while aiming to comply with local municipal codes.

Disclosure: Coastal Carolina News is an independent, locally owned digital news platform serving southeastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina.