They're killing the cats at JFK again. I rescued 2 of the cats that were trapped last fall and taken to the ACC for euthanasia. I put them in my feral cat colony at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. I see one all the time - a pretty little gray tortoiseshell who rolls at the feet of the queen bee of that particular colony. The other one disappeared. If Port Authority would only let us trap/neuter and return all of the ferals to the airport, the cats could live happy lives and keep the airport rodent-free at the same time.

The Port Authority has claimed that feeding the cats attracts rodents (and birds!) but that's not true. I know rodents, believe me, from my work at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Those are rats! I've created several colonies throughout the Navy Yard and I work with a handful of dedicated feeders to fill automatic feeders and waterers once a week in the feeding stations. The workers love the cats because they no longer see the rats that used to overrun those areas. The cats are fixed so there's no noise, no smell, no fighting and no kittens. The fixed cats fill their territory, and new intact cats that appear move right on through, so the population grows smaller gradually from natural demise.

The Mayor's Alliance for Animals and Neighborhood Cats registers the colonies in their database and trains us how to trap, and the ASPCA Mobile Clinics fix the ferals for free – yeah, New York City! It's been proven the only way to control the horrible rodent problem here is to create feral cat colonies.

So why is Port Authority killing the cats at JFK?

There's a rally at Union Square next week:

An In Defense of Animals Action Alert:

Stop Roundups of Cats at JFK Airport - July 24

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey's board of commissioners has demanded that Port Authority and JFK Airport staff explain on Thursday why the agency is continuing to round up feral cats at JFK Airport, and why they continue to refuse offers of assistance from the NYC Feral Cat Initiative to implement a humane Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program. Please join us for a rally outside of Port Authority headquarters to voice your support for stopping the cat roundups at JFK Airport, and demand that they allow a pilot TNR program.

What: Rally for feral cats at JFK Airport
When: Thursday, July 24th - 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Where: Port Authority Headquarters in Union Square, 225 Park Avenue South, (between 18th & 19th St.), New York City

Tags: feral cats