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A group effort on the Lower East Side rescued many kittens for adoption and spayed or neutered 15 adult feral cats before returning them to their colony. Photo by Meredith Weiss It Takes a Village to Help Feral Cats — by Meredith Weiss, NYC Feral Cat Initiative & Neighborhood Cats New York City's Lower East Side is rich in history, the proud home of many ethnicities and cultures, a neighborhood simultaneously old and new, rich and poor, more and more middle-class, drawing streams of tourists every year seeking bold clothing designers, authentic cuisine, and outsider art. The Lower East Side has seen many changes over the years without losing many of its unique qualities, cherished by locals and visitors alike. As the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. But not anymore! Change is coming for one class of Lower East Side residents: the scores of stray and feral cats who have claimed the area's back alleyways, garden plots, and river-edge acreage as their home for decades. With a TNR pilot project beginning in mid-March, one local community, partnering with the NYC Feral Cat Initiative and the ASPCA Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic services, has committed to improve the situation.
NYCFCI TNR Coach Susan Wright and gallery owner Kristine Woodward prepare to release one of the cats who had been trapped and sterilized. Photo by Meredith Weiss Kristine Woodward, owner of Woodward Gallery on Eldridge Street, offers some background. "After 15 years in SoHo, we moved the gallery to the Lower East Side in December 2006, along with my two Sharpei dogs, Lucy and Ethel, who come to work with me every day. The local residents quickly embraced our arrival since we enhanced the area with art culture and brought their beloved Chinese breed of dog." Indeed, Lucy and Ethel, with their cute wrinkled faces, sit right up front at the gallery's glass storefront and passersby can't resist taking a closer look. Several months ago, a neighbor across the street came running over begging for help. "Kristine, you are an animal lover, we have too many stray cats over here and just found a heap of kittens. Please, come help them!" Lucy and Ethel's veterinarian just happens to be the ASPCA's Medical Director, Dr. Louise Murray, also a Lower East Side resident. Through this connection and with a donation from the Woodward Gallery to cover expenses, a pile of squealing kittens was removed from dangerous surroundings and brought to the ASPCA for rehabilitative care and eventual adoption. When Dr. Murray saw not only the dismal conditions the kittens had lived in — trash and debris-filled alleyways — but also the unexpected and shocking number of adult cats eking out an existence, she knew something had to be done! Cats everywhere, impossible to count, leaping atop cement walls and over chain link fences, scurrying into crevices and basement doors left ajar. Dr. Murray and gallery employee Jenny Piette attended a Neighborhood Cats TNR Certification Workshop to learn more about TNR and how to organize the project. NYCFCI TNR Coach Susan Wright headed the effort, with her 10 years of trapping experience.
CBS 2 HD News covered this story on April 3, including an interview with ASPCA Medical Director Dr. Louise Murray explaining and promoting TNR. Photo by CBS 2 HD News On March 27, the ASPCA Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic arrived on Delancey Street to neuter 15 cats trapped from the alleyway. Fifteen young rescued kittens were either taken in at the ASPCA for health care or fostered by individuals. CBS 2 HD News documented this initial TNR project. But Dr. Murray, Kristine, Susan, Jenny, and other volunteers are not done yet! It's only after at least 80% of any given colony is neutered that you begin to stabilize the colony, and everyone here is convinced they want to do the best job possible — both for the cats and for their community — and many more cats remain to be neutered. Another mobile clinic was scheduled for the end of April; these people don't fool around! It really does take a village sometimes — in this case a small niche in the East Village where several residents, all sharing a love of animals, came together to tackle a problem often hidden from the general public's view. This is a model all TNR advocates would love to see repeated throughout our fine city! Kristine summed it up this way, "I suppose my Lucy and Ethel have made a difference, one kitty at a time." Well, 15 or 20 at a time, we hope! For more information on TNR and mass trapping, visit the NYCFCI website's Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) page. About the Author Meredith Weiss is the TNR Director for the New York City Feral Cat Initiative, and she has been a Board Member of Neighborhood Cats since 2000. She is widely recognized for her compelling photographs of feral cats that have appeared in Cat Fancy, The New York Times, and Newsday, among other publications. She has received a Certificate of Excellence and a Muse Medallion from the Cat Writers Association for her color photography series that appeared in the Fall 2003 issue of the ASPCA's Animal Watch. |
