Philadelphia is a cat town: According to the U.S. Census, we rank first among the top 15 big cities in cat ownership — almost 600,000 cats, two cats for every five Philadelphians. But outside our homes, an astonishing 400,000 stray cats live outdoors in Philly, according to ACCT Philly.

Here, as elsewhere, these cats live with constant and immediate danger: freezing cold and sweltering heat, starvation and thirst, disease, death by car, blinding infections. Some get snatched up for bait in illegal dog fights; others suffer other terrible forms of abuse. Life for a homeless cat is often brief. According to an NIH-published study, the majority — 75 to 90 percent — of stray kittens in urban environments die before they reach 6 months old. Stray adult cats typically reach only one year of age. Meanwhile, the average indoor-only cat lives between 13 and 20 years.

The good news: Across the city, a network of rescue groups are working to save cat lives. Among the bravest and most successful: Project MEOW (Make Every One Wanted), a 150-person organization based in West Philadelphia. Last year, the scrappy, all-volunteer nonprofit trapped and spayed / neutered 775 strays, got 235 kitties into foster care — and found permanent homes for 575. How do they do it? One cat at a time.

How Project MEOW began

Debby Boyd founded Project MEOW in 2007. At the time, she was living with her partner at 58th and Catherine streets and was “flabbergasted by the enormous number of stray cats” — around 20 per block — in her neighborhood. Boyd read in a magazine about TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) considered the best practice for reducing cat overpopulation.

Kittens as young as 4 months can get pregnant, and the numbers add up quickly. An unspayed cat can have two to five litters of four to eight kittens. If that cat was born in 2020, she could now be great-great-great-great-grandmom of over 2,000. Without spaying and neutering, Philadelphia stands little chance of getting a handle on its stray pet problem.

“I was immediately intrigued; I’m a prevention-minded girl,” she says. “A lot of the cats were suffering, so I rolled up my sleeves and started to trap them and try and get them fixed.”

Shortly after, Boyd started running workshops for caregivers at A-Space, a community center in West Philadelphia, and raised $700 at a rummage sale. Those caregivers, and the money, helped launch Project MEOW.

Trap, neuter, rehab, release (or preferably rehome)

For decades, Philadelphia’s strategy for urban cat population control was “trap and kill.” Thousands of cats and kittens were trapped and euthanized each year — but without sterilization, the population didn’t decrease. That changed in 2014, when PetSmart funded a TNR study that decreased euthanasias from 6,055 to 1,971 per year, and shelter intake of cats dropped from 19,017 to 12,791, a 33 percent decrease.

Terry* is the head of TNR and rescue for Project MEOW. An executive assistant by day, she spends 30 hours a week catching sick, injured, starving, or pregnant cats and kittens and getting them healthcare — in addition to spaying or neutering vaccinations, flea treatment, whatever they need. On weekends, she and a partner lure the cats into cruelty-free cages — in backyards, storm drains, under porches or inside abandoned buildings. Once rescued, the group works to match them with a good home.

Project MEOW relies on foster families to keep cats safe indoors while a permanent family is found. Only about 10 percent — those who aren’t friendly to people — are released back outdoors, where they typically live in colonies and volunteers take care of them.

“In the past two weeks we pulled 48 kittens off the streets, plus their moms,” says Terry. “Whenever I can save a cat is a good day. Whenever we can find a foster or get them adopted is a good day. A good day for me is not releasing a friendly cat back to the street.”

A home for homeless cats

Project MEOW’s current home base is a large, West Philadelphia rowhouse. Here, cats recover after surgery — which could be for a leg injury, decayed teeth, an eye infection — before going to a foster or permanent home.

“Cat rescue is a happy / sad situation,” says Terry. “There are good days and bad days. We recently saved a cat with mange (a skin disease) named Ralph, but then I had to put him to sleep because his liver was shot. I cried all yesterday and I’m on the verge of crying now. You don’t always get the happy ending you are hoping for.”

Usually, the group learns about needy cats when a West Philly neighbor reaches out for help; sometimes they find cats in need on social media.

For all the good they do, Terry and other Project MEOW members have been the unwarranted victims of harassment. The reasons are multiple: One person was angry the group didn’t allow them to adopt the cat they wanted; another objected to their care for colonies; some feel the cats should be free, not rescued. (For this reason, we are using only the first names of current group members in this article.)

“Cat rescue is a happy / sad situation. There are good days and bad days.” — Terry

They’ve become used to it, but can’t help but point out the irony. Says Project MEOW board member Victoria, a mechanical engineer by profession, “Terry is easily the most dedicated person I have ever met. For a while, she was coming in twice a day, every day, to feed, care for, and spend time with the cats — inconveniencing herself very profoundly.” Also, Terry lives 45 minutes away.

About a dozen cats dwell temporarily in the West Philly recovery space. They snooze on cat beds, watch birds out a window, play on the floor. Some wear “cones of shame” around their necks to keep them from nibbling their surgical stitches. Volunteers stop by to cuddle the cats, which helps socialize them for adoption.

The first time I visited the recovery space, a round peach and white cat named Rufus padded after Terry during her rounds, supervising her activities. On my second visit, Rufus was nowhere in sight: He’d been adopted by an 81-year-old with macular degeneration, who, says Terry, “is just in all her glory, and so is he … They say there’s someone for everyone. It warms my heart to know that she has him and he has her.”

Caring for cats

Like other rescue groups, Project MEOW relies on animal welfare organizations and generous veterinarians to provide low- or no-cost healthcare: PAWS, the Spayed Club, Forgotten Cats, and the Bridge Clinic, Art City Vets.

PAWS, a longstanding nonprofit, has worked with Project MEOW for years. Director of Operations Natalie Smith recalls, “When there was a house fire in West Philadelphia, a bunch of people’s cats got put outside and were terrified and hard to catch. It was a sensitive neighborhood situation. Project MEOW was able to monitor traps for days and put out food.”

“Project MEOW is a great way to give back. It doesn’t have to be a huge commitment. You can transport a cat in his carrier one time to a foster family. If you can’t adopt a cat, it’s a way of having cats in your life.” — Josephine, Project MEOW

Project MEOW has 150 volunteers and 125 foster families. Some have specialized jobs: Margie recruits and organizes other volunteers. JP manages cat transportation. Ashley is “our best cat trapper,” says Terry. Renee documents the charm and goofiness of each cat on Instagram and Facebook. Debra manages foster care. Victoria runs adoption events and fundraising drives, and plans Project MEOW merch. Others bathe, clip claws and give flea treatments. Says Executive Director Tracy, “Cats like to be clean. They all come out of it into a warm towel. It seems like they think, I’m OK now.”

I recently met Ava and Josephine, nurses who work in neurology and emergency care, selling volunteer-made goodies — ceramic trinket trays with cats on them, little blankets for cats to sleep on, kicker toys silkscreened with faces of adopted cats — at a West Philly craft fair. Both 20-something women are incredibly busy, and arguably already do enough for others in their professions.

But, says Josephine, “I learned how dire the need was for the cats, especially colony cats in West Philadelphia. Project MEOW is a great way to give back. It doesn’t have to be a huge commitment. You can transport a cat in his carrier one time to a foster family. If you can’t adopt a cat, it’s a way of having cats in your life.” Ava volunteers at monthly adoption events at the Discovery Center. She adopted her two cats through the organization.

The group ensures that every job has a backup — so if person A can’t do it; person B can. They use project management software to track the cats, their appointments, location, status.

The system works. It’s also created a caring community. Says Tracy, “We respect each other. And we all want the same thing. We want to make this little section of the world a little more humane.”

*All Project MEOW volunteers requested we use their first names only because of online harassment.

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