We lead
"[T]he feral-cat rescue group Neighborhood Cats leads the way for street cats in New York City and around the world." (Catster, November 2014)
"Feral cats are the focus of this pioneering and influential Upper West Side rescue." (The Spirit, Best of Manhattan, December 3, 2019.)
"...Neighborhood Cats, a national TNR advocacy organization originally founded in New York City." (Animal Sheltering, Fall 2019.)
We work hands-on with the cats
At Neighborhood Cats, our knowledge comes from the cats themselves - we're out there every day trapping, helping caretakers, working with animal shelters, teaching workshops and launching new programs. We have people on the ground in New York City and Jersey City, and on the island of Maui in Hawaii. The many thousands of cats we have personally handled have taught us how to make their lives better and support the people who care for them.
We innovate
Neighborhood Cats originated many of what are now common practices in the Trap-Neuter-Return field. We popularized mass trapping, the TNR of entire colonies at once. We helped develop targeting, the trapping and spay/neuter of a high percentage of free-roaming cats in high need areas. Caring for feral cats in traps instead of cages, a method we invented, has become the industry standard, saving space and preventing injuries. The first mass mass-manufactured drop trap and the new Neighborhood Cats Gravity Trap were co-designed by us. Cat Stats, a free online colony database for TNR programs, is software we built.
We teach
An essential part of our mission, and what has allowed us to have such a strong influence, is passing along what we learn to others. We produced the video How to Perform a Mass Trapping, wrote the Neighborhood Cats TNR Handbook, and co-authored The Return-to-Field Handbook. In partnership with the Community Cats Podcast, we present monthly online TNR certification workshops and in-depth quarterly webinars to an international audience. In addition, our website is full of instructional material and receives thousands of visitors a week.
We succeed
The communities we work in were once all rough places for cats with high euthanasia rates at local shelters. Today, New York City, Jersey City and Maui boast high save rates instead. That's not all our doing - we have great partners - but we've played a pivotal role. Our educational materials have been named Best in Category five times by the Cat Writers Association in their annual contests, and our work has received the ASPCA Special Humane Award and the AKC Companion Animal Recovery Award. Most importantly, TNR has become the favored approach for managing feral and stray cats in the United States.
We listen
Whether you run a TNR program, trap on your own, take care of a colony or simply are concerned about the cats, we welcome your input. Please send your thoughts and questions to info@neighborhoodcats.org.