Cat lovers race to find new home for Plumb Beach cat colony

For 11 years, Carolyn Euvino has made her way from Bay Ridge to Plumb Beach, near Sheepshead Bay, to feed and provide creature comforts for the cat colony that calls the stretch of federal Gateway National Park land along the Belt Parkway home. But by the end of June, that trip will no longer be necessary.

As of Friday, June 20—or possibly a week or two later—the cat colony must either be relocated or the National Park Service (NPS) will dismantle it, removing feeding stations and makeshift ‘cat condos’ and then trapping and transporting between 25 to 33 wild/feral cats to Animal Care and Control shelters. The goal, said NPS biologist Doug Adamo, is to conserve parkland and protect native plant and animal wildlife.

“In order to protect birds and endangered species, of which there are a couple within proximity to our area, these feral cats, not just in this one colony, are being focused on,” Adamo told this publication. “We need to control non-native species, including vegetative and insect communities, and protect and reconstruct a native ecosystem.”

In response to the announcement, cat lovers across Brooklyn and beyond have scrambled to find their feline friends a permanent new home.

“I don’t like catching them again because those traps scare the cats,” said Euvino. “But it has to be done and it’s for the cats having a better life where I don’t have to worry if someone’s going to hurt them or they’ll be hungry.”

According to Nancy Rogers of K9 Kastle Rescue, an out-of-state sanctuary has offered to take in the entire colony, so now she and her fellow colony advocates just need more time to catch all of the cats, which are all familiar with live-traps, having been caught and released before for spaying and microchipping.

“I’ve been doing this for years and offers like this do not happen easily,” Rogers said. “We’re given until Friday, but it’s going to take me a couple of weeks to trap them. I have a place for these animals to go and people on standby to help with transport, but I need this deadline moved.”

When told of this development, Adamo said he is optimistic that the deadline will be extended, perhaps to the end of the month. It had already been stretched, from June 13 to the current June 20.

“We understand where people are coming from,” Adamo added. “We just hope that people can develop equal understanding of our position with respect to protecting native animals.”

According to Euvino, removing the colony won’t mean no more cats.

“There’s going to be more cats that replace them,” she said. “But I ran out of money and can’t help them. So they’re going to have to fend for themselves.”

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