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I’ve been told that my great talent is that I’m good at figuring things out. I think that I’ve been trying to figure out how to help abandoned kittens and cats since I was 5 years old. I couldn’t understand how people could put Kittens in garbage cans thinking that someone would come along and take them home. I suffered wondering “What happened if nobody took them?”
It still breaks my heart to see cats obviously suffering while people walk past them with not even a look. The child in me still can’t understand how anyone could be so harsh. Like Orphans in a Charles Dickens novel abandoned animals feel hunger, pain and cold. Do they need to die when there’s food, medical care and warmth all around? I recently went downstairs to throw out the garbage; the janitor was cleaning out the garbage cans. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a cat squeezing itself into a corner of the building: He was terrified. The janitor was steps away from that cat and didn’t even look up. He was tossing large bags of garbage, loudly throwing cans into a pile and spraying water onto the pavement. I picked up the terrified cat and took him to a vet where he was tested, vaccinated and neutered. He was a sweet cat that someone had tossed out! How can someone see this and not help? These are the throwaways that can’t ask for help. They are terrified because our streets are a battlefield for them; many were once someone’s pet. I’ve been doing my best to figure out how to help them.
This is my weakness I do my best to make a positive difference. I grew up, like many do, being told not get involved that someone else will help it or pick it up. My adult mind tells me that I am here now and the ball is in my court. I can help or I can slink away. The challenge is hard but it’s more painful to know that I could have helped and didn’t - that would be a burden of Shame.
The phrase “it takes a village” came to mind when I realized the amount of work and money it would take to be effective without resources or community support. Brooklyn Rescue Umbrella was supposed to be an umbrella for Individual Rescuers to come under and be that village. I expected Heroes and Champions to join me, what I got were surrendered cats and kittens with major medical issues and Orphaned Kittens brought to me in the middle of the night. Let me be clear I HAVE been fortunate: There have been people on FaceBook and at Adoption Events who have blessed me with donations. They made it possible for me to pay immediate medical expenses, buy traps and cages for TNR and adoption events. They helped with Transportation to the Adoption events and back to the holding space. There have been other rescuers who helped me to network with clinics and who have provided me with Recovery Space. I realize that it takes a village and a lot of hope.
From 2011 – 2014, my goal was to perform an organized hands-on approach in Trap Neuter Return (TRN). I thought that I would be able to raise funds to pay for the Vet Care, Food, Medication and transportation to clinics for all of the cats and kittens that I rescued – later, when the dust settled.
Demolition to build a theater on the Boardwalk suddenly began and kittens in that lot needed to be removed quickly because the Developers wouldn’t be concerned with their removal. I couldn’t reach the Developers and the bulldozers were moving in within days. There was no time for Fundraising; the wheels of progress were rolling. Loki and Thora were the last kittens removed from the site – the next morning the bulldozers leveled everything. Loki and Thora would have been crushed and no one would have known about their birth or their violent end.
The dust did not settle, the fundraising never happened because of the incredible work load. There was never time to just sit and manage the paperwork so there was no income. There was just a lot of work. Trap Neuter Return on the Coney Island Boardwalk was an effort that I knew could stabilize the population of cats and prevent many from dying of sickness, starvation and freezing underneath the Coney Island Boardwalk. The Project needed active support that never came. The CIBC Project got wide coverage by Brooklyn's Newspapers: there were no donations - just more cats. Many meetings with the Community Board and Leaders of the Community were fruitless and left me feeling helpless and hopeless. The vet bill I have now leaves me feeling the same way – Helpless and Hopeless and very disappointed.
While trying to find homes for the cats that were still friendly the events kept attracting people who wanted to "get rid" of their cats. Many of these cats also needed medical care. In the end 55 cats were spayed/neutered and returned to the Coney Island Boardwalk. There were many Throwaways that were friendly and started a new life as Indoor cats – over 100 in 3 years. This does not include the many cats and kittens abandoned or surrendered during adoption events at Petco on Stillwell Avenue.
Finally, after a long term family obligation I had to stop working on the CIBC Project and focus on paying the medical bills for that work. I am a Caregiver, this time taking care of my mom who is in a nursing home with Dementia.
Whether you’re able to make a donation or not, hopefully this site will show what really happens in Animal Rescue/Trap-Neuter-Return. It’s not a compliment to call anyone a Crazy Cat Lady. I don’t go out with a can of cat food trying to find cats to feed; people actually call me to perform the service of Animal Advocacy.
This is how I became an Advocate for the cats surviving under the Coney Island Boardwalk. The next time you visit Coney Island you’ll see the cats through the eyes of Understanding. http://josephinemarrero.wixsite.com/coney-island-cats-
The work done by Individual Rescuers is an uphill battle on an icy slope and your donation recognizes that the goal is the same and the Individual Rescuer deserves support too. So far, even with monthly payments of $500 the vet balance is still at $22,000. I’ve used up all of my money ($30,000 in 2011 and over $25,000 since then and that doesn't include the pre-2007 ripoff by the Manhattan rescue group) so whatever you can donate will help to chip away at the money owed.
I want to get back to Coney Island; I want to finish what I started there and I need to finish what's on my plate first.
Thank you for your Donation.