Help Q Gardens Trap, Neuter & Release Local Feral Cats

The crew behind Q Gardens, the vacant lot behind the Church Avenue B/Q station on E 18th Street that’s being turned into an enjoyable green space for the community, spent last Wednesday attending to some furry business–trapping the first round of feral cats they hope to get fixed and released back into the neighborhood.

“A month or so ago, a dedicated, local TNR advocate contacted us to warn us that the feral cats residing in and around the future Q Gardens lot would almost certainly be procreating soon, if a concerted effort was not made to trap them and get them neutered/spayed,” says Q Gardens’ Anne Schoenborn. “She offered to lend us cat traps and cover the costs of the vet bill, if we would do all of the leg-work. This, of course, was an offer too good to refuse.

“We had our first cat-trapping day recently, documented on our blog. We discovered that, in fact, there is a colony of close to 20 cats living in the alley behind the lot. We are planning a series of subsequent trapping activities in the coming weeks/months (coordinated by Q Gardener and TNR-certified neighbor, Elizabeth Champ, and in collaboration with the primary feeder of the colony). We are also hoping to trap one litter of kittens that has already been born to a mother in this colony, with the hope of finding them homes.

“We are not opposed to co-existing with cats at Q Gardens,” says Anne, who thought neighbors should be aware of the TNR efforts at the garden site. “We just want to make sure it is a contained, healthy colony.”

If you have any questions, have experience with TNR in the area, or would like to help with trapping, transporting cats, or housing them temporarily before or after vet visits, don’t hesitate to shoot Anne an email at qgardensinfo@gmail.com. You can also keep up with the latest on the project at QGardens.org or via Facebook.

Photo via Q Gardens