INWOOD — A group of cat lovers came to the rescue after a concerned neighbor spotted a mother cat with her litter of kittens near a popular dog run in Inwood Hill Park.
The nursing mother cat, which is safely in the care of Lisa Scroggins, head of the Inwood-based cat adoption and rescue group called A Winters Tail, was first spotted Monday morning near the run by an eagle-eyed Inwood animal lover.
Emily Ackerman alerted locals and a Parks employee about the location of the cats, sparking a hunt by a Parks Dept. worker who scoured the park for the furry animals.
Locals persevered, and by the end of the day a group of residents had lured the cats out of a hollow in a tree into a cage by using a can of cat food.
Advocates caught the mother and one kitten by 7 p.m. and another two kittens after dark. It took another two hours to corral the remaining grey and white shorthaired tabby kittens who weigh between 3 - 5 pounds. It took two brave women who staked out the tree and pulled them out with their bare hands.
“All are with me, resting comfortably with mom,” Scroggins wrote Tuesday. “I think Mom may be friendly.”
Scroggins is currently seeking veterinarian care for the mother, who suffered cuts under her eye and was infested with fleas. Once they have been weaned and given a clean bill of health, Scroggins hopes to find them a new home.
The kittens are not the first domestic animals to be found in the park. Cats are a common sight nearby and abandoned dogs are often dumped in nearby Homer’s Run dog run.
Some say the area near Homer’s Run in the park has become a popular spot for distraught pet owners to abandon animals, because it is quiet and dark at night.
A white duck spotted in the park nearby may have also been an unwanted pet, sources said.
Anyone interested in adopting the cats can email lisaandeileen@aol.com or call 917-617-1669.
