An animal welfare organization, which has been spaying and neutering cats in Irvington, has received grants to continue and expand their work.
An Essex County based animal welfare group has gotten two grants to help with the cat population in Irvington.
Communities Promoting Animal Welfare NJ (CPAW) aims to reduce the cat population in Irvington through a targeted program called “Neuter the Neighborhood.”
“Neuter the Neighborhood” launches Oct. 23 with a Community Cat Workshop at 7 p.m. at the Irvington Public Library. Irvington residents are encouraged to attend to learn more about “Neuter the Neighborhood.”
“We need a lot of cooperation from the public,” said Amanda Ondrof, a spokesperson for the group.
Through CPAW’s Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program, community cats are trapped, vaccinated for rabies, neutered, and returned to their outdoor homes for continued monitoring by their caregivers.
As many as 75% of kittens born outside do not survive their first year. Trap-Neuter-Return is the only humane, effective solution to a high outdoor cat population, according to a press release from CPAW.
The United Spay Alliance provided CPAW with a grant that will allow the organization to enroll one person in a Community Cat Program Management course through the University of the Pacific.
The management course draws people from all over the world and was developed for groups like CPAW who want to start or run a program that is sustainable and addresses a community’s concerns about cats.
Upon completion of the course, CPAW can use a “Summerlee Sustainable Solutions Grant” of between $4,000 and $8,000 from the Summerlee Foundation for the targeted trap-neuter-return program in Irvington.
The Community Foundation of New Jersey also awarded CPAW $4,000 as part of their Great Companions Grant cycle. These funds are earmarked for fixing pet cats in the same area. Increasing local sterilization rates will ultimately reduce the number of outdoor cats in the target area, the release said.
CPAW has been around since 2017 and has done similar programs in Bloomfield, Newark and Livingston.
“We have trapped about 500 cats a year over the past three years,” Ondro said.
The group got a boost when the Essex County Commission gave them money for a Trap Neuter, Vaccinate and Return program in 2023 and CPAW made Irvington a priority.
Irvington is a densely populated city with more than 61,000 residents according to the 2020 census. The city is known for its high number of community cats, which is estimated to be in the hundreds. Approximately 18% of Irvington residents live in poverty and experience financial barriers to pet care, the release said.
CPAW has trapped 194 outdoor cats in Irvington with 43 of those later adopted through rescue and shelter partners.
CPAW is an all volunteer organization with no paid employees. They have access to 10 spay neuter appointments a week, which they try to utilize with cats they pick up on the weekends.
Volunteers respond to reports about cats, which can come through the organization’s website, and when they see a cat, often wandering in someone’s yard, they contact the property owner to see what’s up.
“If we see a cat in someone’s yard, we let them know we’re here” and what we do,” Ondro said. “People will (also) come to us and say ‘I have this many cats in my backyard but I can’t afford to fix them’.”
The process can be time consuming because first the cat must be trapped, then it has to be held in a comfortable, safe environment and be fed in addition to the vaccinating, spaying or neutering.
“Its a big reason we need support from the public to help trap, and transport and support the program so it can be as successful as possible,” Ondro said. “Our program helps link all those things together so people don’t have to do it on their own.”
Essex County residents can request help with outdoor cats by visiting CPAW’s website, cpawnj.org, and clicking the Get Help Here button. Irvington residents can visit cpawnj.org/neuter-the-neighborhood to apply for free spay/neuter for pet cats. Submitting an application does not guarantee pets will be chosen as funds are limited.
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