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UPDATE 1/11/2025:
Thanks to this community's support, we have been able to keep Cherry and Posh indoors, get Rickie listed for adoption, and start trapping more of the cats living on this street — and, oh boy, is there even more to this project than we knew.
This past week, on a frigid evening, we trapped two cats: Ingrid, a young and wide-eyed tabby, and Claude, a black tomcat who has been sporting a bad limp for at least a year now. Both had medical revelations when we sent them to vets: Ingrid was postpartum, and Claude has need for amputation of his left front leg, which was fractured and healed in a way that impedes his mobility and causes pain. He also needs dental surgery.
So we need more funds to continue. Claude's surgeries will cost $2,000 on the low end.
We located Ingrid's kittens, who are 3-3.5 months old and living in a basement. We are planning to trap them this week, and we will and bring them inside for ASPCA appointments, socialization, and adoption.
Thank you so much for helping us to continue doing this work.
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We are a small group of TNR-certified volunteers who came together to help a colony of cats, including three kittens, who were living outside in our neighborhood in Brooklyn. Life is harsh for outdoor cats. In New York, a cat overpopulation means that animal suffering is both widespread and in plain sight. If we left these cats alone as the winter approached, they would not only continue to face illness and cold; they'd also keep producing more kittens that would similarly suffer.
So we — Suzie, Eliza, Julie, Tanya, and Annie — decided to do our best to help the whole group of them. This meant trapping the cats, taking them to the vet for spay/neuter services and vaccination against common diseases, and making sure they had warm shelters and a regular feeding schedule when they went back outside.
In November, we successfully trapped five cats, including three kittens of different ages. All have received veterinary care and spay/neuter surgery, and the two adult cats are now back outside with their colony mates who we'll be trapping next. But when we saw the kittens up close, we didn't have it in us to put them back outside. These three were old enough to be spayed and neutered, but still young enough to be socialized to live with people indoors -- a much safer, more comfortable existence.
Making the decision to keep Rickie (small black kitten), Posh (gray tabby kitten), and Cherry (solid gray kitten) indoors meant taking on a lengthier and more expensive project than we had originally imagined. We are committed to getting all three of them into forever homes so that they never have to live outside again -- but doing this requires fecal tests and dewormers, testing for diseases, and a series of vaccine boosters and vet visits.
Posh and Cherry, as slightly older kittens who've spent more time living outdoors, also require dedicated socialization work to help them acclimate to living indoors.
We are not affiliated with any rescue organization, nor do we get paid for this work. All of the expenses associated with these cats have been coming out of our pockets, and in a year when some of us have been laid off and underemployed, we are coming up against the limits of what we ourselves can provide.
To date, we have spent well over $500 on vet care for these cats, and there will be more expenses as we see the project through to completion.
If you are able to contribute to our rescue work this holiday season, your gift will help ensure that Rickie, Posh, and Cherry get the care they need until they are ready to go to adoptive homes. It will help ensure that Scary and Sporty (the two adults that have been TNRed) have warm winter shelters and daily feeding. And it will allow us to go back for the remaining adults in the colony and have them spayed and neutered as well, so no more kittens have to be born outside on this block.
Thank you so much for your support!
