After one year in existence, the Friends of Gloucester Community Cats has hit its stride in providing support for local cat colonies and their caretakers. The group recognizes community cats as those who live outdoors and are not kept as pets.
“We’re defining ‘community cat’ fairly broadly,” said Deborah Butler, co-founder of the group.
Community Cats has amassed over 200 members on Facebook where people can seek help feeding colonies if they fall ill or need to go out of town, advice on how to build proper shelters and assistance with trap, neuter, release or return, and care (TNR-C).
TNR-C is a way to humanely diminish the feline population by trapping feral cats, neutering or spaying the cats, returning the cats to their home and making sure they are cared for with food, water and shelter. This process greatly reduces the numbers of unwanted cats and kittens.
“These animals are getting hurt,” said Katie Evans, co-founder of the group, about stray cats. “These kittens are subjected t...