LIC Feral Colony post-Sandy

This storm has been disastrous for many, and for feral cats, it was devastating.

I got out of the house as soon as I felt I'd be safe today and went to check on some colonies.

My bakery colony looked fine. The warehouse where some live did not seem affected structurally, and there are plenty of places high up for the cats to stay if it flooded at all. The cats that live in the production area seem to have been spared the harshest of the weather, the ground under the overhang/partially enclosed area was completely dry - unbelievable. 

So I headed over to LIC. Greasy Paws seemed OK, no sign of flooding and locals confirmed, but I did not see Beetle or Hexbit. Later in the day, a feeder there sent me this! He said he found him on top of a car and he came right over to eat. Atta-boy Beetle!!! No sign of Hexbit, but that's pretty normal, she's super feral and skittish.

Then I went to a colony on the water (location information not specific as this information can sometimes end up in the wrong hands). I don't manage this colony and haven't been over there since the day after Irene, but I was scared of what I might see, and rightfully so. Look at the water level, it is still in the parking lot on the other side of this fence.

This colony is on the water in Long Island City, Queens. I did not even think about them until I saw the LIC flooding pictures last night. Then it hit me, OH GOD, THE --- COLONY! I don't manage this colony, so it just didn't occur to me until it was too late. Half way down the block, not even at the colony yet, I saw a cat in the road who had met a tragic end. 

As I got closer I saw a black cat run off - THANK GOODNESS!

Then, I made my way closer to the colony, and this is what I saw. This area was completely under water by several feet. Massive objects were moved around and debris from the receding waves was all over.

Water was still very high, scary high. As I looked around, I saw another cat, a gray and white cat! So that's two! He ran off before I could get his picture.

 This feeding station was broken and about 100 yards away from its previous location.

Styrofoam cat shelters were strewn about the area upside-down and sideways, full of water, no straw remaining.

Insulation, lids and straw from plastic shelters completely removed.

Shelters buried under debris.

The water was still right up to the dock and I worried about further flooding tonight at high tide, but when we returned later the water level had gone down significantly.

So, realizing I was completely unprepared for this, I did what I could in the interim. I had packed my bike basket with a carrier, towels, a warm snuggle safe disk, some karo syrup, and that kind of thing assuming I might find an injured cat or abandoned kittens. I certainly did not have bales of straw and other supplies I needed. So I gathered some of the shelters, dumped the water out and set them up under the old feeding station, which was moved and a bit mangled but still sturdy, and planned to return with straw to re-fill them so they will be warm, safe and dry.

Here are a couple more, I put them under this plywood.

Then I made my way out, observing all the chaotic aftermath as I passed.

 The water is right there.

And I got a pleasant surprise on my way out. One more cat was seen assessing the situation under a truck. So that's 3 cats alive. Let's all hope there are more still hiding out and playing it safe.  

  So I rode my bike home, tears in my eyes and wind knocking me around and reached out to my friends. Immediately, Eva jumped in an ordered a zip car and said I'm coming to get you at 2 p.m. and Lisa is joining us - Yay North Brooklyn Cats! Shawn and Dolores both donated straw for the shelters (hard to come by in a pinch). I popped in to pick up the straw from Muddy Paws and when they heard what we were up to they handed us a bag of food and wished us luck. Things were looking up - at least for the survivors. Eva and Lisa picked me up at 2 and off we went!

Please note, the following pictures from here on were taken by Eva Prokop, anyone using these pictures should credit her and link to her Flickr site.

We found a box and removed the remains of the one from the street so he could rest peacefully with dignity. Then back to the disaster area.

Time to get to work.

We saw a black bag around a box, which made us all uneasy luckily it was empty.

First things first, we got food out asap!

Lisa found Mary laying on the ground and found her a nice place in a tree to rest.

Then we went searching for more shelters. We knew there were more, just had to find them. Lisa found this one, put it back together, filled it with straw and bagged it.

Eva went to work on this one.

She filled it with straw (no, we don't know what happened to the insulation) and weighed it down with a sandbag we found.

Lisa found another shelter, but the lid was nowhere to be found, we figured we may have to improvise.

Then we kept searching, not just for shelters and the lid to the blue shelter, but for anything that helped us understand what all went down over there. 

We are all happy to report we did not find anything we hoped not to find.

Then...epic find by Lisa! The lid to the blue shelter! SCORE!

Now we were just putting it all together. We used plywood to cover and weigh down these shelters. 

Then over to the old feeding station where I put the shelters I found earlier in the day.

We filled them up with straw.

Then we arranged them around the food and water and made sure the doors pointed in so wind and water entry would be minimal.

Then we leaned some plywood against it to provide more shelter from bad weather.

And there we go! Safe, dry and warm shelter with plenty of food for the survivors.

And here is a sneak peak inside:)

We lost many of our feral friends last night, all over the North East. If you want to help please donate to local TNR rescuers and groups, get certified with Neighborhood Cats to perform TNR-Spay/Neuter, foster, adopt, pledge to spay/neuter 5 cats next year, volunteer...there are many ways to lend a helping hand. My friends and I are not a group, we're not an organization, we don't have any funding, we just go out and do what we can to help, and you can too. You don't need special skills to do TNR, all you need is a desire to help. 

Thank you for reading and please share your own stories with us of your colonies and TNR efforts.

Grommet Emerges

I had released Grommet, and for a couple of weeks saw no sign of her, until...

Needless to say, I was thrilled! I was so happy to see her and know she was safe and sound. She lives over in this corner with Hitch. It seems they are working out their new living arrangement...Hitch is still her sassy and nasty self! But Grommet must be OK with that because she chooses to stay over in that area with her despite the enormous size of the warehouse with unlimited hiding and nesting areas. I now see them both every Sunday when I go to refill all the water and dry food. And they come running fast when I pop the top of the Fancy Feast! Yay!

Now Hitch's attitude...well, we'll just have to see how it all unfolds. She comes pretty darn close to me now, so her comfort level is improving. Hitch used to be a sweet, carefree little girl, but something changed over Greasy Paws, we don't know what happened and she has been skittish with people and hostile to the other cats since. I hope she and Grommet can become friends again like they were when they were younger. Especially now that they have a safe indoor home with a constant supply of food & water and no worries about anyone trying to hurt them. I hope this reduces their stress levels so Hitch can chill out  a bit and Grommet's respiratory issues can calm down. By the way, Hitch is putting on weight:) She had been in pretty bad shape when first removed from Greasy Paws. Grommet's breathing seems less labored and her weight looks good.

As for Desmond, aka Piston, who was released across the street at the production area, I have not seen him yet. The workers over there tell me they have seen him and he is eating at this feeding station I left. Stay tuned for an experiment in automatic photography...

That just leaves Beep, who was taken in by one of the Greasy Paws feeders. We hear he is still doing well...and may even be getting a little friend! A kitten friend!

I went by the lot yesterday and see there is still food and water out for Beetle and Hexbit. I do hope they are well. Maybe one day we can go back for them if we find a place for them to go.

For Hood, Muffler, Honk, and Turbo, who were trapped by one of the lot owners and dumped in some park, we hope you have found food and shelter and are well. (This person has not admitted to this, so we do not know where these cats were released. Our source, a friend of this person, told us he removed 4 and released them at a park far enough away they would not be able to find their way home)

For those who we think we have lost over the years; Hemi, Axle, Winch, Bolt, Torque and the new guy who never got a name, we hope you are resting in peace.

The original Greasy Paws: A Proper Introduction

How the Greasy Paws found themselves in trouble: What is Happening at Greasy Paws

What is happening at Greasy Paws?

This one we call Muffler

Greasy Paws is an un-managed feral cat colony in Long Island City. In 2009, Lisa and Shawn, of North Brooklyn Cats, were asked by someone to TNR some cats in some parking lots in Long Island City. They told me, Big City Little Kitty, and I asked if I could help out. So we started with some recon to find out how many cats were on the site, you can read about it here. 
As we finished up recon, we had a handle on how many cats were at the location and were able, with pictures, to differentiate between them for a full count, 13, and we introduced them with a Proper Introduction. Our fist night trapping, we caught a Lucky 7...in the rain! Over the next few nights, we trapped all but Muffler. Over the years we tried to trap her but were never successful. In December of 2009, we took the cats for A Day at the A, or spay/neuter at the ASPCA. They were spayed/neutered, vaccinated for rabies, received FVCPR vaccinations, received revolution for parasites and were eartipped to show they have been spayed/neutered. This was paid for our of our own pockets. As they recovered, we built some winter shelters to keep them warm. Only 1 of the 3 lots allowed us to put the shelters out for them. We then released them back to their home, the lots. We checked in to confirm there were feeders feeding them and that everyone was doing well after surgery. In January and February of 2010, everyone was doing well.

A trap (not ours) at the lot

In June of 2012, North Brooklyn Cats got a call from one of the feeders in the neighborhood that an exterminator had been hired to trap the cats. When exterminators trap cats in NYC, it is the law that they take them the NYCACC where they alert Neighborhood Cats if they are ear tipped, but if not ear tipped they are killed very quickly because they are feral and not adoptable. For ear tipped cats, Neighborhood Cats will reach out if the colony is registered to find the caretaker to bring them back to their colony. However, this is an un-managed colony and the lot owners were the ones who had them trapped, so relocation would be the only option and that is very rarely an option. When I went by on a Saturday, I saw this trap, baited and set, that had been left unattended, overnight IN A THUNDERSTORM, and was now in a puddle. This is unacceptable and inhumane. We NEVER leave a trap unattended. When cats are trapped, they are frightened and try to get out of the trap banging into the sides. So as soon as a trap snaps, we rush quickly to cover them with a sheet to calm them down, and then they are safe. Imagine if these cats were caught in this trap AND sat in them during intense thunderstorms! Terrible!

I went to speak with the people at the lot where the traps were. I was not welcome, but after some discussion they were open to having a conversation. They told me "I was welcome to take the cats" which I explained was not an option (and I'm pretty sure they already knew that;) because they were feral and there's no where for me to put them. Lois, of Neighborhood Cats, joined me and we learned that the main issues with the cats were overfeeding by feeders which left a lot of mess on their property and cats pooping on the lot where people walked. So, I told them I can't help with the feeders other than talking to them, but I can put out some litter boxes. The other lot owner just repeats to me "the cats have to go". I have explained to him repeatedly "I did not put the cats here, I don't feed here, I don't work here and I don't own the lot. So I am not responsible for these cats, however it was me and my friends that spayed and neutered them so they would not keep having kittens, so we were the ONLY ones to do anything about it and I'm doing what I can to help, but I won't do anything I feel will put the cats in any danger or harm them". He just gets more frustrated, but is cordial to me and says "The cats have to go". As of 7/27 the litter boxes are being used. The problem is, one of the lot owners was trapping and word on the street is he has trapped about 4 cats and has driven 10+ miles out and dumped them at some park so they can't find their way home. This was devastating to hear. Not only is it ILLEGAL, it is also disrespectful to dump cats to become someone else's responsibility (somethings that has been done to this lot owner on his lot) and IT PUTS THE CATS IN DANGER. These cats eat food provided to them. They don't hunt for it and they won't 'know where to find shelter and who knows what kind of trouble they may end up in. You can't just dump cats!  Luckily this person agreed to stop trapping and give the litter boxes a try.

Some other unfortunate events, the lots' owners/leasers and the feeders are having confrontations and things are just getting out of control. Some confusion about the law has popped up, here's the upshot of how it works. It is illegal to withhold food from animals, and its legal to feed on public property, such as the sidewalk area outside the lot; however, if food and garbage (cans,plates,bowls,food) are left behind, it can be considered a public health problem and this will trump the feeding law. So to do it properly, if a property owner refuses to feed and will not allow you to feed on their property, you can feed just off their property on public property, but YOU MUST REMOVE ANYTHING UNEATEN BEFORE YOU LEAVE! You must not leave anything behind. Feeders have been going on their property and putting out food on the lot leaving plates and bowls behind and shoving food and things under the wall of their shed creating a terrible mess and a lot of frustration. So the shed was cleaned and sealed so no cats or feeders could get in and the litter boxes were put out. We spoke with feeders we met to explain they can't leave litter out, some have really done a great job, others have not changed and continue to leave things behind. We had hoped that with these changes would mean less frustration for the lots and less trouble for the cats. 

What has changed everything is that one of the cats is suffering due to the reduced feeding and shelter close. We call her Hitch you can see how her sides go in under her ribs. I found that she was now skin and bones and I couldn't take it. I reached out to the manager of a warehouse where I manage a colony and asked if I can relocate a cat there. He said I could bring 4! They need more cats to manage the rodent population across the street from where I manage the colony in their warehouse! Woohoo! Now, please note, relocation is not always successful and has no guarantee, but if these cats do well, they will have a safe home where they have steady work, plenty of food and shelter to keep them safe. And a feeder is planning to take 1 as well so that's 5 of the 5 or 6 that are remaining on the lot. North Brooklyn Cats was trapping last Sunday trying to catch the cat that's friendly to one of the feeders. He is going to relocate this cat to his back yard. They didn't catch him, but they did catch Hitch.  So Hitch is in my kitchen in a crate awaiting relocation to the warehouse tomorrow, 7/29. She is not happy in my kitchen, but she will have a great new home soon. Stay tuned for more information! I will have another update done by the end of the weekend for what we are doing in the lot to prepare the cats for trapping.
I want people that don't know us to understand this is not our job. We don't get paid for this. This is not what we want to do. I will be financially responsible for 4 new cats for their lifetime, that adds up. We all work full time and have our other responsibilities, hobbies and obligations. So this going to take a lot of our time, money and effort to make this happen and then to manage and care for them for the rest of their lives. We could really use some help, so if you can make a donation (on the right side of this blog) please do. You can reach out to us at greasypawsLIC@yahoo.com for questions or information. If you are familiar with this colony, please read the signs and help us succeed in giving these cats a happy ending.