The Cat Collaborative

🌧️🐾 ANOTHER TRAPPING PROJECT COMPLETE — IN THE POURING RAIN! 🐾🌧️

This latest project came to us through a friend of one of our founders, so we knew we needed to make it a priority. And on paper, it sounded fairly straightforward.

Spoiler alert: IT WAS NOT!!!!😹

This colony had actually been worked by other TNR organizations in the past, and many of the cats were already fixed. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, a handful of unfixed cats joined the colony and weren’t reported — and, as cats tend to do, they started having babies. Before long, the population was growing all over again 😡😡.

If you have ever trapped cats, you understand that there are few things more frustrating than trying to find 5–10 unfixed cats mixed into a colony of 20–30 already-fixed cats. The ear-tipped cats happily walk into your traps while the cats you are actually trying to trap sit ten feet away staring at you. You trap. You check. You release. You reset. And you do it over and over and over again 😢😡😢😡.

The big trapping day was scheduled for this past Sunday and some of you may remember waking up to an absolutely INSANE rainstorm. 🌧️🌧️🌧️. Most ordinary people would have looked outside and called it a day. Thankfully, however, our trappers are far from ordinary❤️😻❤️!!!

They were out there at the crack of dawn, IN THE POURING RAIN, and they stayed out there until the job was done. And when we say done, we mean done!!

🎉 EVERY SINGLE UNFIXED CAT IN THIS COLONY WAS TRAPPED. IN ONE DAY. 🎉

We can say that with confidence because this colony has a dedicated feeder who knows these cats. Our trappers understand how incredibly important it is to establish relationships with caretakers and coordinate with the people who actually know the colony. That teamwork allowed us to confirm that every cat who still needed to be fixed had been trapped.

What sounds like a “one-day project” actually represents 5-15 hours of volunteer time — hours these people could have spent warm and dry doing literally anything else - even just sleeping in. Instead, they spent those hours making a huge difference for so many cats. The cats got to the clinic and we were celebrating that the colony was FINALLY going to be completely sterilized, thinking this project was actually going to end easily.

We should have known better. 🤦‍♀️

During their veterinary care, we discovered that TWO of the cats have significant dental disease and desperately need dental surgery.

One of the promises we make when we take on these projects is this - we will NEVER knowingly release a cat with a significant medical problem without doing everything reasonably possible to address it first.

So now we’re committed to getting TWO dental surgeries done and, of course, we have to foot the bill.

One cat — the more feral of the two — is scheduled for surgery this Thursday. His procedure alone is expected to cost at least $500, and once he has recovered, he’ll return to the colony healthy and pain-free.

The second cat may actually have some friendly potential, so we’re giving that kitty a little more time while we explore the possibility of rescue placement. We expect that between the two cats, these unexpected dental expenses could reach approximately $1,500.

That $1,500 wasn’t in our plan. $1,500 spent on unexpected medical care is $1,500 that can’t go toward sterilizing the next colony of cats waiting for us.

We are thrilled to say this colony is officially sterilized, which is a huge victory. But there is always another colony, another emergency and another cat who needs more than we expected.

If you’re able, PLEASE consider making a donation toward these two dental surgeries. Even $5, $10 or $20 adds up. Every dollar helps us get these cats healthy while allowing us to keep saying YES to the next trapping project.

And finally, we need to give an enormous THANK YOU to the volunteers who made this happen. ❤️❤️❤️

🌟 🌟 Whitney Martinko — our team lead, who arrived at the crack of dawn and worked through absolutely horrific weather without ever losing focus or momentum. Her extraordinary attention to detail, unwavering determination and exceptional work ethic were essential to the success of this project.

🌟 Hilary Coulter — truly the best of the best, whose invaluable pre-project knowledge, unwavering support and hands-on dedication helped make this entire operation a success. She went above and beyond every step of the way — including catching that LAST cat.

🌟 Christina Irene — who showed up early, helped with trapping and transporting cats to the clinic, and stayed focused and dependable throughout the project. Her willingness to jump in wherever she was needed — especially in such miserable weather — made a tremendous difference and helped keep everything moving smoothly from start to finish.

🌟 Alexis Doherty— who also got up at the crack of dawn and showed up to support this project when most people would have taken one look at the weather and rolled back over 🤪😂. The cats couldn’t say no to the irresistible food she brought with her!!

THIS is what The Cat Collaborative stands for.

People willing to show up.
People willing to get soaked.
People willing to give up their Sunday.
People who don’t quit because the job is frustrating, inconvenient or downright miserable.

Our volunteers are truly the best of the best, and we are incredibly proud to have them as part of this organization. ❤️

Please help us thank Whitney, Hilary, Christina and Alexis — and if you can, please make a donation toward these unexpected dental surgeries so that the incredible work of TCC can continue.

🐾 One more colony sterilized. Two more cats getting the medical care they deserve. And then… on to the next one on our insanely long waiting list🐾

🧺❤️ A MONSTER THANK YOU TO ANTHONY’S APPLIANCES! ❤️🧺

We have a HUGE thank you to send out today to Anthony’s Appliances for an incredibly generous donation that absolutely made our week!

Last week, we were pretty devastated when the washing machine at our facility suddenly went on the fritz. And when we say we do a lot of laundry… we mean A LOT of laundry. Between bedding, towels, cleaning supplies, and everything else that comes along with caring for so many cats, a working washer isn’t exactly a luxury around here — it’s a necessity.

We immediately started looking for a replacement that could handle the amount of laundry we do, and we were pretty discouraged when we saw how expensive they were going to be.

Enter two of our very favorite trappers, Pat and Sandy Costello. ❤️
Pat and Sandy mentioned that they had previously helped someone with cats who happened to own an appliance store. They gave us his contact information and suggested we reach out to see if he might be willing to give us a good deal on a washer that could handle our needs.

Well… a good deal would have been wonderful.

FREE was beyond anything we could have imagined! 😭❤️

When we reached out to Anthony’s Appliances, he offered to DONATE A BRAND-NEW WASHING MACHINE to The Cat Collaborative. To say we were over the moon is putting it mildly. And to make it even better, we actually like this washer even more than the one it replaced!

Seriously — THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to Anthony’s Appliances! Acts of kindness like this make such an enormous difference to a nonprofit like ours. Every dollar we don’t have to spend replacing equipment is a dollar that can go directly toward helping cats.

So, if you’re ever in need of a new appliance, please consider checking out Anthony’s Appliances. Supporting a business that supports organizations like ours is one small way we can return the kindness they showed us. ❤️

And, of course, our hats are off to Pat and Sandy Costello as well. They don’t just do an incredible job helping cats — they build genuine relationships with the people they meet along the way. Those relationships matter, and sometimes they come full circle in ways like this that benefit our entire organization.

We are incredibly grateful to have people like Pat Costello Frank Sandy Costello in our corner — and now Anthony’s Appliances, too!

Thank you for keeping our laundry spinning and helping us keep helping cats! 🐱🧺❤️

🐾 37 CATS. ONE WEEK. ONE INCREDIBLE TEAM EFFORT. 🐾

We are incredibly proud to say that the enormous group trapping project we recently took on was completed in just ONE WEEK — and that only happened because so many people stepped up and worked together to get it done.

When we first went out to this location, we knew we had a big job ahead of us. There were dozens of cats living together in a colony that had gotten completely out of control. Tackling something of this size takes SO much more than simply showing up with a few traps.

It took volunteers getting traps ready and making sure we had enough supplies. It took a huge team on trapping day. It took people transporting cats to the clinic and others meeting us there to help get all the cats unloaded and set up. It took dedicated trappers going back day after day after day to ensure all the stragglers were trapped. It took more volunteers transporting cats from the clinic back to the location — and others transporting cats who had somewhere better to go.

And somehow, this absolutely enormous job was completed efficiently and effectively in ONE WEEK. ❤️

The final number:

🐱 37 cats trapped and spayed/neutered!!

Even better, 11 cats did NOT have to be returned outside.

Two were small kittens who were lucky enough to head to Foxy's Cradle. THANK YOU for making room for them! ❤️

The other nine cats are currently hanging out at The Cat Collaborative facility while we work on determining how social they are. Several are young, and we are giving them every opportunity we can to become comfortable with people, put on their very best “I belong on a couch” faces 😻 and hopefully secure rescue placement rather than returning them outside!

But this part of the project requires work, too! Having nine additional cats at the facility means they need to be fed, cleaned and cared for every single day. We know we probably sound like we are constantly begging for volunteers — because, well… we ARE. 😂 There is always another cat who needs something and always another job that needs to be done.

If you have been looking for a way to become more involved with TCC, helping with feed and clean is a HUGE need right now. Even a few hours of your time can make an enormous difference.

And we are also going through food and especially treats like CRAZY as we work on socializing these guys. Churus and similar lickable treats are basically currency around here right now. 😂 If anyone would like to send some food, treats or supplies our way, we would be incredibly appreciative.

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/26FA2AASTJ1CN?ref_=wl_share

This project is such a perfect example of what can happen when everyone takes one piece of a gigantic job.

37 cats will never contribute another kitten to this colony. Eleven may never have to live outside again. And it all happened in ONE WEEK.

To every trapper, transporter, clinic volunteer, feed-and-clean volunteer, rescue partner and person who helped behind the scenes to make this happen — THANK YOU. ❤️🐾

This is what teamwork looks like. And this is how we make a difference.

KITTEN HEARTBREAK 💔😢💔!!

When The Cat Collaborative first started, our focus was almost entirely on outdoor cats—getting them spayed and neutered to stop the endless cycle of kittens being born outside.

But it didn’t take long for us to realize there was a huge missing piece: owned cats whose families simply could not afford to get them fixed. These cats may live indoors, but when they aren’t spayed or neutered, the outcome can be just as devastating. Two or three cats can become 10, 15, or 20 remarkably quickly. Families become overwhelmed. Kittens are given away unfixed, continuing the cycle in another home. And sometimes, they even get put outside 😢😢😢.

This is exactly why our Pet Clinic is so important. We are incredibly proud of what this program has accomplished, but the reality is that our waiting list grows faster than we can provide appointments. Our budget only allows us to fund so many surgeries each week, and no matter how many appointments we try to carve out for owned pets, there are always more families desperately waiting for help.

Recently, we were reminded just how heartbreaking the consequences of that wait can be.
A family had originally taken in just two or three cats. They loved them, but they didn’t have the financial resources to get them fixed. Before long, those few cats had multiplied into 11 cats in the home.

That was when the owner began frantically reaching out for help.
Eventually, we were able to get the adult cats into our Pet Clinic and stop the cycle—but not before another litter of three kittens was born.

The family knew they simply could not properly care for these babies and made the difficult decision to surrender them to us. It was obvious that these kittens were loved but, unfortunately, love alone isn’t always enough when people don’t have access to the resources they need.

When the kittens arrived to us, they were painfully thin, suffering from terrible diarrhea and dealing with a significant flea infestation. Even more heartbreaking, two of them had serious wounds.

One little girl had awful sores covering her back that looked very much like chemical burns. We can’t know for certain what caused them, but we suspect she may have had a severe reaction to an inexpensive over-the-counter topical flea treatment. Some flea products can be dangerous or even toxic to cats when the wrong product or dose is used.

Another kitten had a terrible wound around her neck where she had been wearing a flea collar.

They are safe with us now. They’re receiving proper nutrition, treatment and lots and lots of love. They’re beginning to gain weight, and we are seeing improvement—but they still have a ways to go.

And they are the sweetest little cats. Despite everything they have been through, they want nothing more than affection 😻😻.

Their story is exactly why accessible spay/neuter matters so much. This isn’t just about preventing kittens—-It’s about preventing suffering.

It’s about helping families before two cats become 11.

It’s about keeping cats from being given away unfixed or put outside when a household becomes overwhelmed.

And it’s about giving people who truly love their animals access to resources they otherwise simply could not afford.

Our Pet Clinic is prevention at its most basic level. Every appointment has the potential to prevent dozens of future cats from being born into circumstances where there simply aren’t enough resources to care for them.

We desperately wish we could do more. Right now, our budget is what limits us. There are only so many appointments we can fund each week, even as the requests continue pouring in.

Please keep these three little ones in your thoughts as they continue to heal. ❤️ And if you are able to donate toward our Pet Clinic and the cats who need us, your support allows us to say YES to more families before their situation reaches a crisis point.

Every surgery matters. Every appointment matters. And every litter we can prevent means fewer cats suffering later.

🐾 Donation information:

Venmo -
PayPal -

Mailing address:
The Cat Collaborative
PO Box 5969
Philadelphia, PA 19137

Thank you for helping us continue this incredibly important work. ❤️

Today was a long and exhausting day, both physically and emotionally, but it was also an incredibly important one. A dedicated team of volunteers with The Cat Collaborative spent the day tackling a large colony in Philadelphia after receiving a report that approximately 40 cats were living on a hillside behind a parking lot.

Large-scale trapping operations like this one require an enormous commitment of resources. They require volunteers, traps, transportation, clinic appointments , supplies, scheduling, data entry, photographs, labeling, record keeping, and significant financial resources. However, we realized the situation was quickly going from bad to worse and knew we couldn’t wait any longer.

What we found was heartbreaking 😢😢😢. There were so many cats and so many of them were older kittens. Beautiful gray cats — most looked like gorgeous Russian Blues, with a few black cats mixed in and one big black-and-white tomcat that may be the father of many of them.

Many of the kittens are likely past the point of socialization, which means that most of them will probably have to be returned to their outdoor home after being sterilized. While we’re incredibly grateful that they will no longer contribute to the cycle of overpopulation, it’s still really, really hard to accept that they’ll spend their lives facing freezing winters, scorching summers, and the daily struggle to find food and stay safe.

But, we have to focus on the positive and feel good that we made a huge dent in the colony today.
We trapped 29 cats today and another group of volunteers will be back first thing tomorrow morning to try for the remaining cats. We’ll continue working over the next several days until every single cat has been trapped and we can be confident that the breeding cycle has finally been stopped.

Days like today remind us why The Cat Collaborative exists. When situations become too big, too complicated, too expensive, or too overwhelming, the responsibility often lands with us because we have built something truly special.

We have an incredible network of volunteers who show up on their days off carrying traps, transporting cats, unloading supplies, entering data, taking photographs, processing paperwork, preparing cats for surgery, and doing whatever else needs to be done. It’s impossible to adequately express how much work goes into a project like this or how many people sacrificed their Sunday to make it happen.

Today was physically exhausting and emotionally draining but, together, we made a difference.

To every person who gave their time today: thank you from the bottom of our hearts - you are truly the best of the best 😻❤️😻❤️😻.
Hilary Coulter Whitney Martinko Laurine Hart Zuzu Bee Pat Costello Frank Sandy Costello Ashley Smith Jamie Sue Van Buskirk Daysi Morales Gillian McCarren

And, if you have ever considered supporting The Cat Collaborative, please consider making a donation. Large-scale projects like this place an enormous strain on our budget, but they are also some of the most important work we do because every cat we fix today prevents countless more from being born tomorrow.

Venmo -
PayPal -

Mailing address:
The Cat Collaborative
PO Box 5969
Philadelphia, PA 19137

$1,000 and counting… and we couldn’t have done it without YOU! !!! 🙏🎉🎊🎉🎊🙏

We want to send an enormous THANK YOU to Bargain Thrift Center and to every single person who has helped make this fundraiser such a huge success.

Whether you donated items, helped transport donations, picked up donations, sorted items, or contributed in any other way, you played a part in this incredible achievement.

We are beyond excited to announce that we have already raised more than $1,000 through this partnership with Bargain Thrift Center, which is absolutely amazing!!!!!! 🎊🙏🎊🙏

What makes this fundraiser even more awesome that it requires so little, yet it creates such a significant impact. Simply clearing out items you no longer need can help support The Cat Collaborative, while also giving other families the opportunity to purchase those items at affordable prices. It’s truly a win for everyone.

But we’re not done yet!
The donation drive continues through the end of September, so there’s still plenty of time to participate. Let’s make a huge push during this final month and see just how much more we can accomplish together.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your continued support. We are so incredibly grateful!

Bargain Thrift
5261 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19144

In the mood to eat out tonight?
Order take out or dine in!
Just dont forget to use code meow20 when you order!

Don't forget this awesome opportunity to enjoy good food and help Philadelphia cats!

Join us for a Dine and Donate day at Barclay Pies in Cherry Hill on Wednesday, August 12th!

Use the code MEOW20 and we will receive 20% of your bill! Dine in or order take out online. Open for lunch and dinner.

Barclay Pies has delicious pizza and salads and is family friendly. Plus the Philadelphia Inquirer just raved that their gluten-free pizza is the best in the region.

Please consider spreading the word, especially if you know folks or businesses in the Cherry Hill region. Thanks in advance for your support 😻😻😻.

https://barclaypies.com/

Huge thanks to one of our amazing trappers, Whitney Martinko, for taking the initiative to get this set up!!