__
From commentor Caterina:
Our 50+ cat colony in the Brooklyn Navy Yard mostly survived the storm, but many of their feeding stations were destroyed, and we lost a fair amount of stored food. We are afraid some of the missing cats were poisoned by toxic spills, but we are hopeful they will reappear soon. It’s been a tough year for the colony — we’ve trapped, neutered and returned at least 15 kittens produced by intact cats that slipped into the population. Due to raccoon activity we can only feed a day’s worth of food at a time — that means visiting each of the 8 feeding stations every day.
One of our primary caretakers is out of commission because her family lost their home in Staten Island to flooding. Another rescuer in Staten Island who helps us with holding and post-surgery recovery has extensive damage and has evacuated. For the last three years we’ve purchased all the food and supplies for the colony ourselves, with occasional donations from friends. We’re asking for donations now to replace our feeders, restock food, build some new feeding platforms and shelters and to set up a nonprofit (Waterfront Cats) so that we can solicit corporate donations and grants in the future.
We’re inviting NYC cat lovers to join us this Saturday at the Navy Yard for a post-Sandy clean up. Wear warm sturdy clothes and work boots or waders. We can provide transportation by car for a few volunteers each from Manhattan, Brooklyn and possibly Queens.
E-mail Suprina at Suprina11 (at) verizon.net or Caterina at cisobe (at) bsls.org
I’ve got a snail-mail address for Suprina, and I’ve asked Caterina for a PayPal address for donations. Will re-post with further information tomorrow, but I wanted to give anyone in the area a chance to plan for Saturday…
__
comrade scott's agenda of rage
Caterina:
As I’ve said before, there’s a special place somewhere, if nowhere other than my heart, for people who help feral kittehs.
Thanks.
schrodinger's cat
I am Lolcatus of the Borg, resistance is futile, you shall be assimilated.
Allen
Feel so sorry for the the cats and kittens. People knew the storm would be over in a day, the cats must have thought it was the wrath from hell.
WMR
Feel very sorry for the poor cats.
Mary G
Bless your hearts. I will contribute (only a tiny bit, I’m afraid) once a PayPal address is available. Poor little kitties.
ADS
My colony is mostly back but there are a couple of cats missing, including the oldest.
La Caterina
@ADS: I’m sorry to hear about the missing cats. Don’t give up hope- we’ve had cats go missing for as long as a year and then mysteriously turn up none the worse for wear.
Ann Marie
I too will contribute once a PayPal address is available, but you also might want to contact Alley Cat Allies. They work with feral colonies and trap/neuter/release programs and may be able to help.
PJ
Why feed feral cats but not feral raccoons?
La Caterina
@PJ: We save scraps to feed the raccoons and give them dry cat food at times. They prevent us from using dry food dispensers because they not only eat all the food immediately, but they also chew up the dispensers! Since they are more omnivorous than cats, raccoons have many more food sources- they don’t need a diet as high in protein.
Michele
Anne – when you get a PayPal address, will you repost it on the front page? I would be happy to contribute from North Carolina, but would appreciate seeing the reminder on the front page. Thanks!
Anne Laurie
@Michele:
Yes, I’m planning on front-paging this tomorrow with the PayPal address, thanks!
Hypatia's Momma
I don’t have money but I can send cat food, if that helps. However, it will take a few days to arrive.