Last weekend, the ASPCA set up alongside feline rescue groups, vendors and social media stars at New York City’s first cat-centric symposium. Cat Camp NYC was a two-day event for cat lovers everywhere to learn more about adoption, rescue, fostering and other efforts to enhance cats’ lives nationwide.  

On day one, the ASPCA and two of our lovable kittens, Sari and Jeri, joined Hannah Shaw (The Kitten Lady) during her scheduled talk where she shared her experiences in kitten rescue, and further explained her efforts in “cat activism”. Hannah’s segment included her position on “Tiny but Mighty,” a campaign that sheds light on the way we perceive the tiniest and most vulnerable felines: orphaned kittens. Over the years, Hannah has used her various social media outlets to educate her followers not only on her work, but also on how they can also make kitten rescue and neonatal kitten fostering a part of their lives. The entire Kitten Lady segment also included adorable slideshows and a Q&A that ended with a raffle prize drawing. Two lucky winners were awarded the opportunity to tour the ASPCA’s Kitten Nursery during the 2017 kitten season.

During our time at Cat Camp, we also ran into our good friend Lil BUB and her pet parent, Mike Bridavsky. The pair attended both days of the symposium where fans anxiously awaited meet-and-greets with the ever-adorable BUB, and a talk with Mike to share BUB’s inspirational story and to promote rescue.  

The ASPCA was also lucky enough to run into the Cat Man of West Oakland at his booth, where he was promoting “Hoodcats,” a photo series that became a trap-neuter-return (TNR) support project. Cat Man, a.k.a. Adam Myatt, is based out of West Oakland, California, and his work in cat rescue began while he was photographing community cats. This project lead him to open Cat Town Café, the first-ever cat café in the United States. Since then, Adam has been promoting TNR with his quick-witted, quirky projects that encourage rescue, adoption and TNR through humor and charm.

Judging by the enthusiasm from attendees, the 2017 Cat Camp was nothing short of a success. The symposium spotlighted important issues concerning community cats, promoted fostering and adoption, and allowed cat enthusiasts to enjoy a feline-filled weekend in New York City. The ASPCA is happy to have been a part of this fun event, and will certainly be looking forward to next year’s endeavors.