Lefferts Place Mews: Cat Tales!
By Cheryl Lorenz and Abigail Ramos

“You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats.” ~ Colonial American Proverb

Wham! The trap smacked the concrete, capturing two female adult cats and some very young kittens. Bolting from our hiding spaces, we surrounded the trap. Abi and I held a sheet over the structure, creating darkness inside to help the cats feel safer (exploiting the simple “if I can’t see them they can’t see me” misconception that is key to a feral cat’s survival). The action of holding the sheet over the structure also prevented the frame from being pushed up by the hostages that were now demanding their freedom. We each pressed our weight against opposite sides of the 3’x3’ box while at the same time attempting to dodge the claws that were frantically reaching at us through the mesh walls. Lynn, a friend and member of Slope Street Cats, readied the exit door in the side wall of the trap so that the animals could safely be transferred from the group prison to individual cages.

This was the first of many long and late nights of stalking Lefferts Place cats that Abi and I undertook in conducting the Lefferts Place “Trap, Neuter and Return” project or “TNR”. Throughout September, Abi Ramos, Lynn Ruffini, Andrea Orlando and I trapped 30 cats and kittens--2 on Classon and Lefferts, 5 on Grand and Lefferts, 2 on St James and 21 on Lefferts Place (most at or near #70). This count does not include the “false incarceration” of David Conrad’s cat “Earwig” (trapped and released unharmed as soon as we discovered his celebrity and already neutered status).

We are delighted to report that as a result of the 2006 Lefferts Place TNR project, eight kittens have been removed from harsh lives on the street and are being nursed to health and socialized lovingly at Rosie’s South Slope Kit-dergarten – being prepared for good homes and lives of pampered, spoiled luxury. (Read #4 below for information about how you can adopt one of the adorable Lefferts Place kittens.)

Bragging Rights

Here is a statistical overview of our September project:

• 32 cats/kittens trapped with the help of Slope Street Cats (SSC) volunteers. SSC also lent us the traps, free of charge.
• 8 of the trapped animals were kittens that are being cared for at Rosie’s and are now permanently off the street. If we hadn’t rescued these kittens, the Lefferts Place Colony would NOW be 30% bigger than it was in August. We have been providing Rosie with food for our kittens and will help find homes for them. If you would like to donate food for the kittens, please make a tax deductible donation to Slope Street Cats earmarked for the Lefferts kittens.
• SSC trapped 14 of the cats on Lefferts Place with and for us. They also provided a basement where these 14 cats stayed pre and post surgery and volunteered for 2x a day cleaning cages and feeding for the week that the cats were awaiting surgery and recovering. SSC paid for whatever costs we could not afford for these cats during that period as well.
• SSC searched diligently and located 14 free spots on the ASPC spay/neuter van so those surgeries didn’t cost us anything.
• Abi and I trapped an additional 10 cats and 8 kittens. Slope Street cats paid for the surgeries of 4 of the cats at the Humane Society and found spots for 2 of the cats on the free spay and neuter van for us. Four other spay/neuter surgeries were performed by Hope Veterinary Clinic and the Humane Society -- costs for those surgeries were covered by the generous donations of people living on Lefferts Place and St James Place.

Misconceptions about stray cats

Misconception: If you feed them, more will come.

In fact, feral cats are territorial and rarely allow an outsider into the colony.

Misconception: Rats are attracted by the cat food.

While there have been reported cases of rats, raccoons and even opossums eating cat food alongside felines, this is rare. Cats more actively catch and control rodent populations than cohabitate with them. Additionally, by controlling when and how the cats are fed, visits by rodents can be minimized.

Misconception: If fed, stray cats won’t have a need to catch mice and other rodents.

In actuality, cats are opportunistic feeders, eating what is most easily available, and many rely on garbage and handouts from people (Alleycat.org). Feeding feral cats has the more direct effect of stopping them from digging in the garbage. You can help make cats less able to get at your garbage by properly securing it!

Misconception: Cats that live outside prefer it, and can survive the winters just fine with their winter coats.

The cats did not choose to live on the street originally…they were left to fend for themselves by irresponsible owners who moved away or otherwise got rid of them. The offspring of these cats were raised in the wild and are now too wild to be re-domesticated. The cats that live outside do suffer in the cold!

Misconception: If the cats weren’t fed they would just go somewhere else to be fed.

Stray and feral cats won’t go far to search for food. They will dig through garbage or die.

Misconception: Since living life on the street is so hard, and food so scarce, feral cats are not able to reproduce.

Actually, a cat can go for two weeks without any food and will still be able to reproduce.

Misconception: Feral cats are diseased, live very short lives and can make our children sick.

Actually, studies have shown that feral cats have about the same lifespan as a domestic cat and do not bring disease to the neighborhood (wildaboutcats.com). Children should be instructed not to touch any animal that they do not know and especially not the feral cats as they are too wild to be touched safely.

Misconception: Cats in the neighborhood are a menace to my garden!

We have gardens too and have experimented with several methods of keeping cats away and stopping them from digging in flower beds. If you would like to discuss some of the things that have worked for us, or would like help cat-proofing your yard, please call 646-641-1958.

Misconception: Killing these cats is the most humane way to solve the problem of too many cats.

Actually, thirty years of trapping and euthanizing cats has done nothing to reduce feral cat populations. In fact, communities using this approach generally have more cats than ever (www.alleycat.org). If these cats are killed, neighboring cats will move onto the block to eat our garbage replacing the original cats. It is called nature’s vacuum effect: create a vacuum and it will be filled. It just takes one unspayed female and one unneutered male to create a large colony within a year. Females can have litters every three months and can begin breeding as young as 6-months old!

Misconception: A stray cat should be picked up by an animal organization and brought to a shelter for adoption.

Stray cats can be adopted, if they are stray and not feral (a stray cat is friendly enough to live domestically). Please call us if you know of a stray cat that needs adoption: 646-641-1958. However, a feral cat cannot be adopted and there are thought to be upwards of 50,000 feral and stray cats in NYC. The local animal control option (Center for Animal Care and Control) which is the organization that is contacted if you call 311 to report a stray cat or dog, is a kill shelter and they euthanize cats, kittens, dogs and puppies within 72 hours or less from when the animals arrive at their facility.

Misconception: Feral cats are aggressive and mean.

Actually ferals are afraid of people and will run and hide as a general rule. In most cases they will only hurt you if you try to touch them. When we conducted our TNR project, we never touched the cats. They were cared for in a manner in which they remained in the cage the entire time they were in captivity.

Misconception: Feral cats can be re-domesticated.

A stray cat that once was domesticated can re-learn to live the domesticated life. A feral cat with a disposition favorable to domestication may be able to be domesticated but generally they are wild animals just as squirrels are and you wouldn’t want them to live in your house with your family or other domesticated animals.

For more information, please call 646-641-1958