New York City dealing with a massive number of feral and stray cats
NEW YORK -- A booming cat population is overwhelming city animal care centers, as well as volunteers who locate colonies of strays to help them.
There was raindrops and relaxing for members of a cat colony in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, on Friday. About 10 of them live outside and get food from neighbors.
It's a scene that is repeated on block after block across the city.
"I think they get rid of other things that people don't want around, like roaches, rats, other things. They can keep that away," Greenpoint resident Philip Verdirame said.
There is a flood of kittens, like some found early Friday hiding in a construction barrier inside Shore Road Park in Brooklyn. Rescuers and volunteers said they feel overwhelmed.
"They go to colonies, they help cats get vaccinated and spayed or neutered, and then rehome them, but if they're friendly but really sad is there just so many cats," said Abby Brazinski, manager of Brooklyn Cat Cafe.
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Brazinski places cats in forever homes, and, when there is room, her organization accepts cats from city shelters.
Summertime is when the cat population typically grows and this year has been especially overwhelming.
"We're getting warm weather for longer. We get these weirdly hot Februarys and the cats start having kittens," Brazinski said. "Anyone who has found a stray lately knows when you call the shelters all of us have to say we're full."
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During the summer months, Animal Care Centers of NYC typically takes in about 1,000 cats. However, for two weeks this summer, ACC deliberately slowed its cat intake, capping it at 300.
Officials say it's now getting better, but they'd like to see more government funding and private donations for smaller organizations, and more incentives for adopters, like Edith Taylor, a writer for CBS New York who already has two cats, but took in this third stray she named Birdie.
"I'm glad I did it. Otherwise, who knows where the cat would be? My co-worker said she kept trying to run into traffic. If we would have left her, she might've been dead," Taylor said.
Taylor and other cat lovers demand finer lives for ferals, strays and every cat in the city.
There is no official tally of the city's stray and feral cats, but many organizations estimate it's as high as 1 million.