By Jade Vasquez, Age 10
Some cats don’t have homes anywhere right now. There are approximately 500,000 stray cats in New York City, according to Brooklyn Paper. I don’t want cats to suffer like this anymore.
But many animal shelters are overcrowded. If the shelters get any more animals, they will not be able to take care of all of them. And some shelters might not have enough veterinarians or money.
In the first half of 2023, three city-run shelters rescued about 4,500 cats and 2,429 dogs, according to The New York Times.
Some reasons why people sadly end up surrendering their pets are because they might have lost their job, do not have enough money to care for them or pay vet bills, which can be expensive, or their apartment may not allow pets.
As a way to help address this problem, the government could convince landlords to allow pets in apartments. They could also help shelters by giving them more money for more space. In addition, they can help spread awareness to stop pet surrenders and encourage people to foster and adopt, not shop for pets from breeders.
Eva Prokop, the founder of a cat rescue group in Brooklyn, said to The New York Times that pet rescue is “considered not a serious issue, but it’s an issue about compassion and humanity.”
Being a cat rescuer can be difficult, because stray cats are often injured or have health problems, and paying for the vet is expensive. Cats can be scared, and getting them to cooperate can be hard, too. And once someone helps one cat, they might find another, and it becomes a cycle. And finding a cat can be hard to plan for, because you will have to buy it everything it needs right away.
Another thing that rescuers do is trap-neuter-release, or TNR. This is when they trap stray cats to take them to the vet, then vets spay or neuter them so they won’t be able to have kittens. Once they do the surgery, they put the friendly cats up for adoption. They only release the feral cats in the street because feral cats are too wild to be adopted. This helps because it prevents there from being even more kittens or stray cats on the street.
Flatbush Cats is a cat rescue organization that provides veterinary care, supports cats in the community, and finds cats foster homes. The New York City Council is funding a new program for Flatbush Cats to provide low-cost spay and neutering procedures for pet owners.
Flatbush Cats performs between 5,000 and 7,000 spay and neuter surgeries every year. They will perform an extra 3,500 surgeries with this funding. According to Brooklyn Paper, New York City cats need 190,000 affordable spay and neuter procedures per year.
In 2024, a new city shelter opened in Queens. It can take many animals, it is very big, and it helps other shelters that are overcrowded. Animal Care Centers are also located in Manhattan, Staten Island, the Bronx, and Brooklyn.
According to Laura Weiss, a journalist who adopted a stray cat from Queens in 2021, “When cats are on the street, they get hungry, and they can get too hot or too cold, and they can also have too many kittens, so it’s better for them to be inside so they can have proper care.”
Animal Care Centers were able to take in 1,560 animals during May 2024. According to The City Reporter, 80% of the animals were adopted, and 7% died or were euthanized. Euthanizing is when animals have to be put to sleep. This happens when animals are too sick or have behavioral problems and there are no other options.
This issue is important to me because I have two adopted stray cats of my own. My family decided to adopt my cats because I wanted one for my eighth birthday. We went online and searched for cat adoptions, and we found an animal rescue called Puppy Kitty NYCity in Brooklyn.
My mom got me two cats, and not one, because they were bonded sisters. The shelter interviewed my mom and godmother to see if they would be good cat parents and if we had everything they needed.
My cats Lexi and Luna were very shy at first, but Luna was especially excited to be adopted. Luna was running around while Lexi fell asleep in my arms. Luna is a tuxedo cat, and Lexi is a tabby cat. They were 1 year old when we got them. Now they are 3 years old.
My cats have become more comfortable with us than when we adopted them. They try to hang out with us more or yell at us to pet them. My cats changed my life. I love them.
If someone is not ready to adopt a pet, they can foster. If they don’t want a cat or can’t have one in their house, they can volunteer at a shelter. They can also donate money to a shelter so they can hire more vets or have more space. We need to do whatever we can to help.
