On Sunday December 11th cat colony caretaker Charlotte called Curtis & Nancy Sliwa on WABC during their Animal Welfare searching for assistance. Charlotte & other cat rescuers in the area have been adopting out, fixing and caring for feral cats in the Queensbridge NYCHA housing. In the previous week Charlotte had encountered resistance to feeding of the colonies from a NYCHA related contractor who sealed up a basement area with a cat inside. Charlotte had been unable to get any assistance formally to rescue the cat and resorted to self-help. This caused her to have the cops called on her! Thankfully last week the kitten was finally freed from the enclosure and relations with the managing staff at the complex are calm for the moment.
But now we are hitting another critical moment in assuring that these cats will be permitted to remain cared for and they will allow unfettered egress into the buildings and or/their shelters will remain unharmed. Keeping warm will be particularly important this week as New York City temperatures dip below zero this Friday. We will be closely monitoring the situation in Queensbridge this upcoming week while conducting our winter cat colony checkups. We will be distributing food, water and warm enclosures and heating for existing ones.
Over the next few days please be mindful of animals living outdoors who may need assistance keeping warm, drying off from the elements or finding any source of freshwater in freezing temperatures.
