Find your perfect match at the cat adoption event in Astoria on Saturday

Moyna will be available for adoption at the LIC Feral Feeders adoption event this Saturday. Photo: LIC Feral Feeders

December 4, 2024 By Shane O’Brien

LIC Feral Feeders, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing essential care for homeless and feral cats, will host an adoption event this Saturday in Astoria.

The event, taking place Saturday, Dec. 7, between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Earth & Me, 30-38 Steinway St., will feature about a dozen adoptable cats and kittens rescued from the streets of Queens .

Jannatul Ahmed, operations manager at LIC Feral Feeders, said Saturday’s event aimed to promote the nonprofit’s work in the local community and help find permanent homes for cats in the Feral Feeders system.

Feral Feeders recently stopped taking in new cats due to insufficient living space. This is a temporary measure to house cats rescued from the streets before they enter a foster home.

Ahmed said Feral Feeders’ main sanctuary is currently being renovated, which will limit the number of cats the organization can take off the streets. Feral Feeders’ mission is to provide permanent homes for neutered and medically cured cats and to find foster homes for outdoor cats currently awaiting rescue.

The organization monitors homeless cats for a significant period of time before trapping and neutering the animals to help control New York’s feral cat population. Cats deemed friendly are accepted into Feral Feeders’ foster care system to prepare them for permanent homes, while cats deemed unsuitable for the human environment are trapped, neutered and released (TNR).

Ahmed said Saturday’s adoption event aims to educate the public about the extent of the stray cat situation in New York City and to educate community members about the foster care system.

“Some new neighbors may not know about the world of cat rescue and how bad the problem of stray cat overpopulation is,” Ahmed said. “The goal is actually to find foster homes for our perfectly adoptable and medically approved cats and kittens.

“We are also hoping to find some foster homes willing to take in cats that are either waiting to be rescued from the outdoors or cats that are temporarily kept indoors and need to be placed elsewhere.”

Victoria Koulouris, president of LIC Feral Feeders, said the organization always follows the policy of “adopt, don’t shop,” explaining that the nonprofit conducts video interviews and reference checks with anyone who wants to adopt or foster a cat.

“Adopting instead of shopping is something we value all year round. We are trying to move away from the idea of ​​buying animals of any kind and I think we are making some progress in this area,” Koulouris said.

Ahmed said Saturday’s adoption event will also raise awareness of Earth & Me, a small, independent business that sells a range of eco-friendly self-care products. Earth & Me recently announced it will close its Ditmars Boulevard location at the end of 2024.

“We really hope we can support this amazing small business that focuses on a zero-waste lifestyle that goes hand in hand with many of the issues and initiatives we focus on,” Ahmed said.

Meanwhile, Feral Feeders is also hosting a “Whisker Wonderland” fundraiser at Urban Vegan Roots at 34-47 31st St on Saturday, December 14th from 7-9 p.m

The event, which includes singing performances, raffles and live portrait drawings, will raise funds for Feral Feeders’ rescue and care operations.

“This is the first-ever fundraiser of this kind that we are doing,” Koulouris said. “We are always looking for resources.”

She said the nonprofit’s TNR services are critical to keeping New York’s cat population under control.

“TNR is critical for the city to address the overpopulation of homeless cats,” she said. “It’s a huge undertaking and we’re not the only rescuers working on it, but we can certainly use a lot more help in terms of funding. “Unfortunately it’s not a free service.”

Tickets for the fundraiser are $20 and all ticket holders are automatically entered into drawings for prizes provided by local organizations, including the Museum of the Moving Image and Weruva.

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