Animal activists hope to shed light to the stray cat epidemic with documentary shot in Brooklyn

A new documentary filmed in Brooklyn aims to raise awareness about the stray cat epidemic in the city.

News 12 Staff

Oct 14, 2019, 11:59 AM

Updated 1,661 days ago

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A new documentary filmed in Brooklyn aims to raise awareness about the stray cat epidemic in the city.

The film, made by animal activists Claire Corey and Stuart Siet, highlights the thousands of stray cats around the city.
“I  saw cats being hit by cars, like, with frequency, so I realized there was a huge problem, and that's when I started doing something about it," says Corey.

The film, "The Cat Rescuers," follows four people, over the course of four years, who set across Brooklyn rescuing cats from the streets.

"These animals are often dumped. They're often friendly, they're usually house cats and suddenly if you can imagine a 5-year-old child being taken from a home and then stuck on the street, they really don't know how to survive," says Corey.

Once rescuers trap the cats, they take them to get neutered and then return them to the streets in an effort to maintain the cat population.

“We trap the feral cats, we bring them to a vet or the ASPCA to have them neutered and then they're returned to the same location that they're trapped in. By that point they're sterile and they don't multiply, and at least the population stays stable,” says Siet.

Rescuers say they've taken on saving cats as a full time voluntary measure, but are also juggling full time jobs.

They say they're hoping that with raising awareness of the issue, more people will get involved.

"There's so many things we need help with because we're all working full time jobs we can't do it all,” says Corey.

The film is set to release digitally on streaming platforms Tuesday.


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