From condemned home to Schenectady streets: Community cats
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -Among the wildlife in the Bellevue neighborhood of Schenectady, residents also see the “not-so-wildlife”: cats, and lots of them. Back in July, police found around 60 cats in a home on Campbell Avenue. Mohawk Hudson Humane Society caught about 40 and one just got adopted on Thursday.
But some live under Christian Perra's porch. “We’ve taken care of at least ten or fifteen ourselves. We leave food out and do what we can to take care of them.”
Mohawk Hudson calls these “community cats”. As Vice President for Shelter Operations, Nancy Haynes explained they’re not stray or feral because of people like Christian. “As long as there is a caregiver and they are spaying and neutering all of the cats, they create their own community.”
“Doing our part there,” stated Perra. “It’s been a little bit expensive but we do everything we can to spay and neuter the ones we have gotten ahold of.”
If there is no caregiver, Haynes said you should not feed outside cats. More will be attracted to the area and they will continue to breed.
One resident told NEWS10’s Anthony Krolikowski that he’s not a fan of the community cats because they urinate in his yard. Another neighbor said through his Ring doorbell that he’s happy to have extra company around.
“I don’t think they’re doing any harm to the neighborhood. Sometimes, I even wake up with a dead bird on my porch and I’m pretty sure that came from the cat,” described Marvin Permaul.
If community cats are coming around your home and you do not want them to, Mohawk Hudson has some advice:
- Do not leave food in your yard
- Secure your trash
- Keep indoor cats inside your home
Lieutenant Ryan D. Macherone with the Schenectady Police Department sent the following statement regarding the investigation:
Due to medical/cognitive factors of the elderly adult living with the cats, no charges were filed in this case. For privacy, we wouldn’t expand on those factors, but the individual is receiving assistance from family now. The resident was cooperative and did assist our Animal Control Officers in getting each of the cats, which were brought to our partners at the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society. It is my understanding that many have been adopted, which we are happy to hear. We would like to thank the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society for all their assistance in this challenging case.
The Schenectady County SPCA also sent a statement to NEWS10:
The Schenectady SPCA assisted by the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society has continued to address the cat situation in Bellevue as part of the ongoing response to a large scale cat hoarding situation last year. The SPCA does handle stray animals and does not regularly engage in trapping operations, but as part of the response to an animal hoarding situation will set humane traps in an effort to ensure all animals are removed from the situation and are able to receive the care that they need.