Cats in the City (NYC)

02/09/2025

Don't serve food directly from the refrigerator.

01/09/2025

TNRed cats from my crew in Jamaica near my job

26/08/2025

17/08/2025

17/08/2025

I returned to my job in Jamaica after 6 weeks off post hip surgery to find several new / dumped cats at my feeding spot. I have trapping/ tnr to do!

11/08/2025

This is an important, but often overlooked aspect of a successful play session. You want to end the game with your cat feeling satisfied and content. After the game, you can offer a treat, or time the play session for right before mealtime.

08/08/2025

🐾 Happy International Cat Day! 🐾

Every cat deserves a safe, healthy life—whether they’re curled up on our couches or roaming our streets. VFAR’s Community Cat Fund protects NYC’s most vulnerable felines by providing grants to individuals and organizations running Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs. We also advocate for humane policies and increased City funding to support this vital work.

Your support means fewer kittens born into dangerous conditions and more cats living happy, healthy lives. 🐱💜

👉 Celebrate International Cat Day by giving back to the cats who need us most. Donate to the Community Cat Fund: https://bit.ly/4leXySR

28/07/2025

Scholarships available - Return to Home Certification Workshop
https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/events/return-to-home-certification-workshop-july-2025
July 30, 2025 2-3:30pm EDT
RETURN TO HOME CERTIFICATION WORKSHOP
$10/Scholarships available

The MSPCA in Boston, MA has an impressive 30% return to owner rate for cats! In this session Corinne Bourgoin of the MSPCA will explore straightforward, effective strategies and processes you can implement to support the owners of lost cats, become a valuable resource for those who find stray cats, and boost the rates at which cats in our shelters are joyfully reunited with their families. This session is not to be missed. At the end of the workshop attendees have a week to take a test to get Return to Home Certified and they have access to the handouts and the recording for up to a year.

For more information and registration follow the link above.

To complete the scholarship application please go to https://www.communitycatspodcast.com/event-scholarships/

for this opportunity.

24/07/2025

To help ensure your cat stays hydrated, locate water bowls in convenient and quiet spots around your home. Don’t place them near litter boxes or in high-traffic areas. It’s also recommended that they not be placed close to food bowls. For senior cats or those with limited mobility, elevated water bowls are often more comfortable. A small change can make a big difference.

It's also important to wash water bowls daily and refill with fresh water to prevent the build-up of biofilm.

20/07/2025

Read this! Share! Send an email to your council member letting them know that they must support funding for nyc pets and pet owners.

When the Shelter Closes Its Doors: NYC’s Growing Cat Crisis

Animal Care Centers of NYC (ACC) — the city’s only open-admission shelter system — has quietly begun limiting cat intakes due to overwhelming overcrowding. And while that may not sound alarming at first glance, make no mistake: this is the front line of a full-blown animal welfare disaster.

We’re already in the middle of a cat overpopulation crisis. Now we’re about to watch it explode.

In 2023 alone, ACC took in over 17,000 cats. But that’s a fraction of NYC’s estimated 500,000+ free-roaming community cats — a number that’s growing by the day. With ACC now turning cats away and rescues already packed to capacity, there’s nowhere for animals to go. And that means more and more cats will be dumped outside, joining an already unmanageable population.

This is happening because of many things — rising rent, evictions, a lack of affordable pet-friendly housing. But we also have to say the hard part out loud:

Part of this crisis is people.
People who don’t fix their pets.
People who let cats breed, then dump the kittens.
People who move and leave their animals behind like garbage.

It’s not just a housing issue or a resource issue — it’s a responsibility issue.

We’ve created a perfect storm:
• Less than 25% of NYC rental housing allows pets.
• Over 50,000 evictions were filed in 2023.
• Spay/neuter access is often expensive, limited, or simply ignored.
• TNR programs are underfunded, undervalued, and overwhelmed.

And now with ACC shutting its doors, we’re seeing the real cost:
More cats on the street. More suffering. More disease. More breeding.

Cats left to fend for themselves outside don’t just disappear. They mate. They multiply. One unspayed female cat can produce dozens of kittens a year, and potentially hundreds of thousands over her lifetime through her descendants. And most of those kittens will not survive. They will suffer. They will starve. They will die in gutters and alleyways and backyards.

This isn’t just a crisis — it’s a breeding engine for an even worse one.

And rescue groups? We’re already past the breaking point. We’re operating without funding, without space, and without rest. We’re doing the work the city should be doing — and now we’re doing it without even a shelter system to back us up.

So what happens next? Without immediate intervention — without funding, without spay/neuter access, without policy changes — the city is going to be overrun. Not just by cats, but by disease, by neglect, and by suffering on a scale we aren’t prepared to handle.

We need action now:
• Accessible, affordable spay/neuter in every borough.
• Citywide TNR coordination and support.
• Pet-friendly affordable housing policy reform.
• Emergency funding for rescue and shelter infrastructure.

This is no longer a slow-burn problem.
This is a five-alarm fire.
And the city cannot afford to look away.

(Hocus for attention. She’s lucky to be safe)

22/12/2024

Adorable kittens for adoption. 20 wks old. Will be spayed and neutered. Super cute and friendly.
Queens NY call or text (917) 426-2762 for more information

05/09/2024

Learn TNR online this Saturday, 9/7!
https://register.gotowebinar.com/rt/5162202024417496160
Neighborhood Cats
TNR Certification Workshop
Saturday, Sept 7, 2024, 2 - 4:30pm ET
(or watch the recording

Become part of the solution for feral and stray cats in your neighborhood! Learn how to do Trap-Neuter-Return at our popular virtual training. We'll teach you what TNR is, why it's a great idea and how to do it. Topics include dealing with neighbors, all aspects of trapping, and basic colony care. By the end, you'll know how to safely and effectively get your colony cats fixed.

Instructed by Bryan Kortis and Susan Richmond of Neighborhood Cats, hosted by the Community Cats Podcast and sponsored by Tomahawk Live Trap. Participants receive a Certificate of Attendance and animal control officers are eligible for Continuing Education Units from the National Animal Care & Control Association. $10 course fee.

Extra info on local TNR resources will be available to residents of New York City, Washington DC and Iowa. (Please note: availability of discount spay/neuter in NYC is limited at this time, but we'll help you find and pay for a vet!)

Can't make it live? To become certified, register for the September 7 session and view the recording by September 14. Follow the link above to reserve your spot today!