Taking pets like no problem

October 22, 2022 7:18 AM

"Bodega cats are royalty in New York City," but it's not always an easy life (YT 4:47). Flatbush Cats is a nonprofit that gives non-judgmental help where people care for neighborhood cats but cannot afford to have them treated. Chill music and explanatory videos help them raise money for their own spay-neuter clinic. They patiently foster spicy kittens, tough old boys, and girls in trouble, along with helping cats who got themselves stuck. [cw: animal injuries]
posted by Countess Elena (24 comments total)

Bodega Cats is also an excellent name for a Tito Puente tribute act.
posted by Abehammerb Lincoln at 7:24 AM on October 22, 2022 [5 favorites]

A topic near and dear to my heart. We do volunteer cat work at home, as part of a network of people who volunteer their time and space to help with things that the bigger organizations aren't able to help with, or just generally catch things that we can handle and keep the formal orgs from being quite as overloaded.

There was a hoarding situation last year in our neighborhood where an elderly man passed away with approximately 50 cats in his house, and they were not discovered or rescued for a couple of weeks. These cats were in rough shape. Initially, the bulk of them were kept in a couple of impromptu bulk shelters that some people volunteered space for. As time went on, they were able to be placed in more intensive foster situations, adopted, or formal adoption clinics. About a dozen of them went through our home as part of this rehabilitation pipeline, and we still have two of them. Cha Cha is very adoptable, but Grace is only marginally sociable. However, the two are tightly bonded and we will only adopt them away together. Still looking for the right place, and in the meantime, the right place is right here!

For those in the Chicago area, these are some resources that we support:
Chicago Harmony House for Cats
Hinsdale Humane Society
PAWS Chicago
posted by notoriety public at 7:52 AM on October 22, 2022 [22 favorites]

Flatbush's How to Socialize Feral Kittens video was a huge help to me when I started fostering kittens, and is also just a rather chill way to spend 15 minutes.
posted by AlSweigart at 8:13 AM on October 22, 2022 [13 favorites]

I genuinely enjoy this channel for years now and was thinking about sharing them as the content has moved more strongly into specific call-to-action statements - they really do know how to craft a story. I love these cats.
posted by cendawanita at 8:50 AM on October 22, 2022 [3 favorites]

This is so encouraging to read. All those who help kitties should be blessed by whatever gods or goddesses there be!
posted by mermayd at 10:59 AM on October 22, 2022 [4 favorites]

Not related to the good work Flatbush Cats are doing, but very much related to bodega cats is @Bodegacats_ on Twitter (nitter). For all your bodega cat needs
posted by lewiseason at 11:10 AM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

I'm having that thing, where you want to eat the cute thing? I love all of these cats, I want to smooch n boop them, eat them (but like, not in a harmful way) I hope all the little kitties will be ok and I'm so glad these wonderful people are helping them.
posted by supermedusa at 11:17 AM on October 22, 2022 [3 favorites]

spicy kittens

Takes a pet like “actually some problems”.
posted by Artw at 11:17 AM on October 22, 2022 [6 favorites]

Perfect Caturday post. (Also, A+ post title.)
posted by kitten kaboodle at 11:27 AM on October 22, 2022 [3 favorites]

Although I'm no longer physically able to do it, this makes me miss all the time I spent working with the feral kitties. I love the "spice level" and "purr volume" stats on the kittens. And I'll always have a huge soft spot for the tough old boys.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 11:52 AM on October 22, 2022 [6 favorites]

Oh man, battered old King George self soothing by nursing on a piece of clothing in the "tough old boys" video 😭
posted by Zumbador at 11:53 AM on October 22, 2022 [13 favorites]

Here's my sad rescue cat question, from yesterday, on AskMe. Dear, sweet Jonathan just let my inexperienced-with-cats neighbor pet him for 30 minutes straight and loved it. Links to photos at the end. (He may not actually have kidney issues; waiting on a verdict on that).
posted by amtho at 3:33 PM on October 22, 2022 [12 favorites]

My heart goes out to you and Jonathan, amtho. I can't imagine anyone more fit to fight for an orphaned cat than the one who fostered him.
posted by notoriety public at 5:08 PM on October 22, 2022

bodega cat: first day on the job
posted by sebastienbailard at 5:27 PM on October 22, 2022 [8 favorites]

The Flatbush Cats videos were a big help when we adopted a bonded pair of 3🌶️ big purr kittens last year. They'd been reasonably tamed by their foster, but between the trauma of adoption, and just needing some intensive finishing school, it took a couple weeks to sort them out. In the end they're the sweetest mushes though.

The last time I adopted a feral, he was already an adult, and a formidable adult, so the intensive handling work was more than I was able, but his nature took his course and he's turned out lovely. I found him and the kittens ALL in a pile together next to me this afternoon after nap time
posted by wotsac at 7:00 PM on October 22, 2022 [13 favorites]

I should add that while I haven't had much to do with Harmony House in over a decade, I'm very fond of them, having adopted a couple of beloved friends there, and had to pass a 0 🌶️, big purring tiny kitten I rescued out from under a friend's porch over to them.
posted by wotsac at 7:13 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

amtho, I see from your Ask that you're working with IAR. Just wanted to say thank you for that. My wife and I adopted two of our cats from them back in 2008/2009. Sadly both of our IAR rescues succumbed to kidney disease within the past year; we're still heartbroken and miss them every day. But I'm super appreciative of everyone who fosters and volunteers for local animal rescues, and IAR is a great one.
posted by biogeo at 7:53 PM on October 22, 2022 [2 favorites]

excuse me but DOG IN ELABORATE BODEGA CAT COSTUME
posted by Countess Elena at 7:24 AM on October 23, 2022 [7 favorites]

If you'd like to see more animals rescued from awkward situations, the folks at Canopy Cat Rescue in the greater Seattle area have a pretty active Instagram account where they rescue cats from tall trees.
posted by rmd1023 at 10:47 AM on October 23, 2022 [2 favorites]

I'm sort of torn about this. In one way most European countries health & safety laws wouldn't allow animals lying around on top of foodstuffs.

On the other hand, BODEGA CATS.
posted by GallonOfAlan at 6:48 AM on October 24, 2022

A huge part of the charm of bodega cats is that US health and safety laws also forbid animals lying around on top of foodstuffs... but the penalty for it being a cat is about the same as if it were mice, and everyone is waaaaay happier about seeing the cats.
posted by TwoStride at 7:09 AM on October 24, 2022 [6 favorites]

That's a great video, really well done and politically astute - Flatbush Cats does a lot better than some of the other rescuers in the city that are less sanguine when interacting with shop owners. As much as I LOVE bodega cats, a lot of them have it pretty rough.

So much of it does come down to the fact that vet care is SO expensive and there is little community wide care available - getting a (free) ASPCA spot in NYC is like getting concert tickets, you have to be constantly refresh when they release them, its insane.

=
posted by RajahKing at 1:51 PM on October 24, 2022

The spicy kitten angrily eating baby food killed me.
posted by Mavri at 8:23 PM on October 24, 2022 [6 favorites]

The spicy kittens reminds me of someone on Twitter who works in a vet practice, and when they get a particularly feisty cat in and have to wrap it in a towel to handle it, they refer to it as a

SPICY PURRITO
posted by GallonOfAlan at 5:18 AM on October 25, 2022 [6 favorites]