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On April 18, Jesse Oldham from the ASPCA staffed the NYCFCI information table at the ASPCA Spay/Neuter Block Party in the Heart of Harlem. Photo by Susan Reilly Kitty Beat: Report from the Boroughs Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) organizations and volunteers throughout New York City are hard at work every day to improve the quality of life for the city's thousands of feral cats, while humanely reducing their numbers through TNR. Read on to learn about some of the work these groups, including the NYC Feral Cat Initiative (NYCFCI), have accomplished so far this spring. Brooklyn The NYCFCI held a TNR workshop, co-sponsored by the ASPCA, on March 14 at the Park Slope Food Co-Op. ASPCA staffers Aimee Hartmann and Jesse Oldham provided instruction to the workshop's 43 participants, including two Canadian visitors who founded the Port Colborne Feral Cat Initiative in Ontario.
Lyudmila Syrochkina found friendly Sandy giving birth in her Bronx backyard on a cold night in March and called the NYCFCI for help with mom and her kittens. Photo by Lyudmila Syrochkin Bronx On a cold March night, Bronx resident Lyudmila Syrochkina found a friendly cat giving birth in a barrel in the backyard of her apartment building. In the morning, she contacted the NYCFCI, and the mom (now named Sandy) and five kittens were immediately placed at the The Humane Society of New York. Mom and kittens are doing well and will be available for adoption shortly. Michelle and Lee Metcalf contacted the NYCFCI about a "feral" cat in their backyard. Based on their description of the cat, NYCFCI staff determined that she was friendly. The Metcalfs decided to adopt the lucky feline. They named her "Buster Mae " and had her examined by a veterinarian and spayed. Buster Mae tested positive for feline leukemia (FeLV) but was otherwise healthy. "When we were told she had feline leukemia we felt a bit overwhelmed by her diagnosis, but then we spoke to several people in the know, got her a bunch of nutritional supplements, and have decided to enjoy her sweet presence for as long as she is here," says Michelle. Manhattan Dr. Daniel Tufaro of ABC Animal Hospital teamed up with the NYCFCI to spay and neuter feral cats in honor of SPAY Day USA on February 24. Dr. Tufaro donated his services and sterilized 14 cats for a Queens feral cat caretaker. Manny Tufaro coordinated the on-site arrangements for the event. Urban Cat League has rescued and found homes for 34 cats, and has TNR'd or spay/neutered a total of 67 cats since the beginning of 2009. St. Clement's Episcopal Church is doing its part to support pet guardians during the recession. The church, located at 422 West 46th Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues in Manhattan, held free veterinary care clinics for pet cats on Saturday, March 21 and Saturday May 16. Appointments were granted on a first come, first served basis and there was a limit of two cats per household. For information about future clinics, call (212) 246-7277 x35. The Toby Project, a free mobile spay/neuter clinic founded by Dr. Andrew Kaplan, has completed 291 spay/neuter surgeries on friendly and feral cats since it was launched on February 15! The program serves all five boroughs and surgeries are performed by mobile spay/neuter clinic expert Dr. Jenny Ripka.
Buster Mae, another friendly cat found living outdoors in the Bronx, was adopted by the Metcalfs, who love their new FeLV-positive, indoor sweetie. Photo by Michelle Metcalf Jesse Oldham of the ASPCA reports that the ASPCA Spay/Neuter Block Party in the Heart of Harlem on April 18 drew hundreds of attendees — some who brought their pets to be spayed or neutered and others who explored the information tables. In addition to the ASPCA services table (Poison Control, Spay/Neuter, Humane Education, Government Affairs, Ask-a-Vet, and others), the NYCFCI had an information table staffed by Jesse. The event included a raffle, and to be eligible to enter the raffle for prizes, attendees had to pose a question to each "table." The question for the NYCFCI table was, "If you know someone feeding cats in your neighborhood, which group should they contact about learning how to fix the cats to help the cats and make them better neighbors for the community?" The answer was, of course, the NYC Feral Cat Initiative! Hundreds of NYCFCI brochures and feral cat outreach comics were handed out and people were asked if they knew any "stray cats" in the area, who was feeding them, and to pass the information along. Jesse, a feral cat expert, explained the difference between a stray cat and a feral cat, thereby helping people make the distinction between the appropriate way to help each. Queens On March 28, the NYCFCI orchestrated a free cat food give-away for feral cat caretakers who registered their colonies at www.NYCFeralData.org. Eight thousand pounds of Iams cat food was distributed to 80 feral cat caretakers.
Finn is one of the 31 amazing cats who was on the AC&C euthanasia list this spring who is now safe with a fur-ever family thanks to the work of Staten Island Feral Initiative (SIFI). Photo by Elena Bass Staten Island In April, P.L.U.T.O. Rescue of Richmond County hosted a TNR workshop at the Blue Heron Nature Center, which was co-taught by Meredith Weiss of the NYCFCI and Elena Bass of the Staten Island Feral Initiative (SIFI). SIFI is also proud to announce that there is now a regularly scheduled monthly ASPCA Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic available to all TNR certified caretakers. With kitten season in full swing, SIFI encourages all certified caretakers on the island to take advantage of these clinics. Those who are not yet certified can look forward to a TNR workshop to be scheduled in early August on SI. Traps are available from the SI trap bank by e-mailing Elena at SIFeralCat@gmail.com. Additionally, through the efforts of the committed rescuers on Staten Island, as well as cooperation from other boroughs, SIFI has been able to pull 31 cats off the euthanasia list at Animal Care & Control of NYC (AC&C) and place many of them in loving forever homes. Now with their own Petfinder page, a monthly mobile spay/neuter clinic, a few dedicated trappers and coaches, and a whole lot of initiative, SIFI is well on its way to saving the lives of already homeless cats, and preventing the birth of more!
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