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Bed-Stuy Cat Rescue?
By Alexa11221 | December 2, 2007
Recently (around Halloween) I found myself taking in two really really cute kittens that were abandoned when a house across the street either went into foreclosure or the owner decided to renovate (at first I thought it was subprime fallout but since then I’ve seen workmen in there, so I don’t know). There were actually 5 cats, 4 kittens and their mom, but I could only catch two of them. Since then the other cats have disappeared.
Then we found another young cat who had apparently been abandoned on the street and took him in (and last week he was hit by a car and incurred large veterinary bills which is a saga of its own).
Yesterday I saw this posting on the “northslope” email list:
Give a kitty (a great home) for Christmas:
Here’s a list:
4 month all-orange male. Darling, gentle playful kitten found on Hoyt Street. Loves human companionship. 200db purr.
10 month white & black male. Playful, sweet, funny athletic.
(both of the above get along with other animals and with EACH OTHER
great. consider taking both!)
Siamese (seal point?) 2 year male. Gorgeous blue eyes. He has a “normal” cat body, so he’s really what pundits call a “color point,” a short haired cat with Siamese color. He’s not vocal, and his eyes are not crossed. He’d be better on his own; other cats, especially males, seem to rev up his temper. But otherwise, great with people.
All orange 1 year male, found here on Pacific Street. He’s lean and muscular. Lovely quite cat.
All orange female Manx (that’s a breed with no tail!), intriguing deep amber eye. Lovely and loving, but a bit timid of loud noises and quick movements. Doesn’t attack, but will run off. So perhaps best in a quiet home with no kids.
Tortoise Shell 1 year female found on Bond Street. Lovely cat with beautiful markings.
Orange & White 2 year tuxedo female. Previous owner on Pacific Street didn’t want her anymore and was going to put her out (unspayed) on the street. Very nice cat.
Orange & White mature male cat. Someone didn’t want him, gave him to someone who couldn’t keep him, who gave him to someone else, who gave him to me! He could be 6 years old, or 8, or older. I had his teeth done, plus a course of antibiotics, and now, he’s a new cat! Not that he wouldn’t fit in anywhere, he’d be a particularly great quiet appreciative pet for someone’s parent(s).
All these pets have been fixed and most tested.
Claire
128 Wyckoff Street
718 643 9061
All of which led me to wonder: is anyone in Bed Stuy doing cat rescue? Because thechangeling’s protests to the contrary, there are at least as many stray cats around here as there are in Bushwick.
Bonus cute kitten photo:
December 2nd, 2007 at 10:56 am
What area of the nabe did you find these cats in? I usually don’t see them in Stuy Heights.
December 2nd, 2007 at 11:06 am
Central/North Stuy is Feline-ville. I’m so sorry to see these strays. They look so cute and innocent. I hope that there are Bed-Stuyers out there who can/will/are doing cat rescue.
December 2nd, 2007 at 12:07 pm
I seem to be doing de facto cat rescue. But I don’t really want to be! I would love to hear from anyone who is more experienced/better organized.
December 2nd, 2007 at 12:23 pm
I thought Central/North stuy would be the likely area more strays would be found in, and just because they came from this area, doesn’t make them any less cute and adorable. I do think it’s important to know where the cats were found because there could be owners out there that have lost their cats and have no sense of tracking where they were from or how far they wandered off. Many of these cats seem like they have been on the streets forever, but it only takes one night on the streets to make you look like a stray.
December 2nd, 2007 at 3:56 pm
Hi, I started doing TNR on my block this year - Quincy Street at Malcolm X. I was able to catch three strays and they were all fixed. Let me know if this is something you would be interested in as i will be doing it again when it gets warm. You may also try BARC in Williamsburg which is a no kill shelter - they might be able to help you. Good Luck.
December 2nd, 2007 at 9:49 pm
TNR is the best solution. I have a small managed colony on Classon near Fulton. The ASPCA offers a workshop and lots of resources if you participate. For a more local program check out http://www.slopestreetcats.com/ Avail yourself of the help you can get at these organizations! There are mobile clinics, etc., that offer low cost spay/neuter servcies (for ex., Muffins Pet Connection sells coupons that get you reduced rates at Vet clinics). Check this out too: http://www.animalalliancenyc.org/services/spayneuter.htm
December 2nd, 2007 at 11:43 pm
I wish I wasn’t allergic to cats because those kittens are so cute! Also, there’s a cat that I see on my block and it’s been around for a while. I hope it can find a home before it gets too cold… I should get on that.
December 3rd, 2007 at 8:49 am
When I lived on Tompkins between Putnam and Madison there was a cat that was on the roof of the adjacent building. Someone used to come up and feed it sporadically, but didn’t make any move to get it down. I called Animal control (or some such org, I forget the name) and they said they couldn’t do anything about it! I also had 3 strays that used to come to my window every day - I had a cat in the apartment that they were keen to get to know better, but when I called about them I was told that I had to take them to the shelter myself. I had no car, and the shelters were only open during work hours when I couldn’t get there. There’s got to be a better way!
December 3rd, 2007 at 3:33 pm
i think most cat rescue operations are pretty disorganized! glad to see so many others pitching in on this effort. i can’t say enough good stuff baout the Mobile Spay Clinic, which does both neuter/spay and vaccinations. i just took a cat in this morning, 3 hours later i had a spayed, vaccinated cat (cut her nails too)! i plan to get in on the TNR thing soon, too, then you can schedule the mobile clinic to come and fix the cats in your neighborhood.
i’ve adopted out several cats using craigslist, if you’re careful and ask a lot of questions, you will find some really good people out there to adopt. when you get used to seeing so many cats wandering the streets, it’s easy to forget there are tons of decent folk who might want them.
December 10th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
Hi, I started doing rescue about a year or more ago when I moved into the neighborhood. I took a TNR class via the ASPCA and have been successful in finding good homes for a number of cats. I have had to cut down because one of the ones I brought in is diabetic and taking a bit more time to get healthy. There are great groups out there to help. I highly recommend contacting Mike Phillips of Urban cat League who helped me. There are people who work through that organization that have also helped me find homes for the cats. Craigslist: after getting the cat fixed/neutered via the mobile clinic (after you take the tnr class), you should post every Friday, but you must must ask for a donation as there are nasty people who will use/abuse the animals in ways you don’t want to know about. Minimum fee should be about $65. I recommend screening them with the adoption screening sheet found on the Best Friends website. The first thing to do though is get them all fixed! Also there are ways to catch the other cats that you will learn through the class so you can stop that mom cat from producing any more kittens.
I’m glad to hear you are out there as I can’t keep up with the numbers.