Friends of feral cats at Le Havre

So, how do you raise money to care for, and control, the population of ownerless, outdoor cats? With a flea market, of course.
A handful of activists in Le Havre on the Water, an area of 36 residential buildings in the shadow of the Throgs Neck Bridge, determined to do something about a population of roughly 70 feral cats which lived in the tall grass along the shoreline, or wherever they could.
In August, 2001 they formed a group, “Le Cats on the Water,” to raise money for a “Trap, Neuter/spay, Release” (TNR) program, according to group president Gloria Green.
“After the cats are trapped, they get veterinary care including rabies shots, are spayed or neutered and then released,” Green said. They are also “ear-tipped,” a relatively painless procedure where the tip of the left ear is removed, so that “the agencies will know that the animal has been treated,” Green explained.
She also pointed out that the group supplies homeowners who want to “do more” with outdoor shelters that they can put on their property.
To support the program, Le Cats on the Water, which is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit charity, sells tee-shirts, tote bags and has flea markets, “three or four times a year,” according to Green.
As any pet owner can tell you, veterinary care doesn’t come cheap, but Green said the neighborhood response to the flea markets has been “amazing.”
Most of the items offered, “are only a dollar, but we‘ll raise $1,500 to $1,600 at one flea market,” she said.
Another member, Joan Barber added, “We’ve been busy all day - people around here come out to support the organization.”
“If we trap a very young kitten, we try to get it adopted,” said Carol McLoughlin, one of the original members of the catchy-named group, “but they become feral (the official word for domestic creatures gone wild) very rapidly, so almost all of the cats go to TNR.”
Cats can have three litters a year, with an average of six kittens in a litter, according to the group. “Most of them don’t reach adulthood,” McLoughlin said ruefully.
Still, she said, “Once they stop having kittens, their numbers drop rapidly.” Where there were once 70 cats, “There are only about 12 now.”
Apparently, by reducing the population of cats being born in the area, other cats have found it easier to move in, because they’re still finding untreated feral cats.
That’s fine with them, though - they don’t want to eliminate the cat population, which helps to control the number of rodents who also live along the shoreline, and find their way into Le Havre looking for food and shelter.
As for just how accepted the group and the idea is in the community, Barber related an anecdote.
One of the neighborhood kids saw one of the feral cats carrying a rodent it had caught. “I’ll bet he’s bringing it to show Gloria,” they said.