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Loading...1,000 Street Cats in Jerusalem Get Better Lives
Judith Weaver was working for the U.S. Department of State and assigned to the American Consulate in Jerusalem where she became acquainted with not only the history of this fascinating city, but also of the multitude of feral cats. What started as a mild curiosity soon became a full scale mission to offer food and spay/neuter surgery for more than 1,000 of them.
Judith lived only a few blocks from her office at the Consulate and on her walk to work, she would see at least 50 cats roaming the street, most of them thin and battered.
“There was one street that had an alley going back behind some buildings, and there must have been a shed or some form of shelter at the end of the alley because there was a large colony of cats that stayed mostly in this alley,” Judith explains. ”I would always carry a plastic bag full of cat food with me and every morning and evening would stop at the entrance to the alley and put down small piles of food for the cats. They sort of got used to me, but only one cat to the point where he would let me pet him.”
The city has a massive population of feral cats. Could a couple of volunteers really make a difference?
Judith, who had never even had a pet cat before she arrived in Jerusalem, soon connected with Air Force Leiutenant Colonel Michael Feltman from the Seattle area who was also assigned to the Consulate. He lived at a hotel a few blocks in the other direction from the Consulate and also saw lots of feral cats on his walk to work. Having had a background in rescue, he knew just what to do.
The two began working together and trapping the adult cats to be spayed and neutered. They also fostered the kittens and socialized them to prepare them for adoption.
“If I went out of town for the week-end, Michael would come to my apt. and feed the kittens and play with them,,” Judith explains. “ I didn’t have a car, so Michael did often drove us to my vet.”
Judith and Michael would find homes for the kittens
Judith and Michael eventually connected with a veterinarian sympathetic to their cause who gave them a special rate of 300 shekels (which was about US $50) for each spay/neuter.
“Michael and I paid for most of it, but employees American, Palestinian, and Israeli employees at the Consulate soon learned about what we were doing and began donating money to help us,” Judith said. “We used these donations for the spay/neuter and for cat food.”
“When my assignment was up and I left, another Consulate employee moved into the apartment,” Judith said. “Michael talked to her and explained about the cats and bought bags of cat food. She continued to put the food out for them.”
By the time she prepared to leave Jerusalem, Judith had taken part in the spay and neuter of more than 1,000 cats and placement of a multitude of kittens. When the time came to return home, she took Bootsie (the first kitten she rescued in the city) with her and that turned out to be more of an adventure than she bargained for.
“Bootsie had never traveled before, and I was carrying her in a soft-sided carrier,” Judith explains. “When I transited Frankfurt, Germany, I had to go out of the secure area as I was changing airlines. Then to get to my flight to the U.S., I had to re-enter a secure area in another terminal. The security agent told me I had to take the cat out of the carrier and put the carrier through the X-ray but could not put the cat through it. I warned the security agents that the cat could be a problem, and they said just hold on to her. Right! Not as easy as it sounds. I took her out, holding her tightly in my arms, and as I expected, she popped out of my arms like a champagne cork and took off. The agent was putting the carrier through the X-ray and I took off after Bootsie. People in line were yelling, jumping out of her way, yelling at others to get the cat, and here’s Bootsie streaking down the concourse with me following and the security agent following me with the carrier.”
“It must have looked like something out of the Keystone Kops,” Judith continued. “Finally, she ran under a bench and the people sitting on the bench jumped off like she was radioactive. I fell to the floor, reached under, and got her by the collar. She was tired by now and let me pick her up and hold her. We put her back in the carrier and walked back to the X-ray area. All along the way, people were talking about her. One lady told me she was scared silly. I replied “How do you think the cat felt?”
Today Judith is back home in Florida and sharing her home with eight rescue cats. See photo of Bootsie
Please use the comments section below to share your feelings about Judith’s rescue work, or to share your own rescue story and photos, please visit The Great Animal Rescue Chase website. Several days a week we feature the work of everyday heroes here on Care2.com.
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Read more: American Consulate Jerusalem, cat rescue Jerusalem, great animal rescue chase, Judith Weaver
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136 comments
+ add your ownNice story.. but just saw the picture of Bootsy.. hope she's not required to wear that bell around her neck all the time.. can you imagine having to jingle everywhere you go? My cats don't even wear collars and seem to appreciate that.. but they don't go outside either. If they were outside cats I guess I might do the collar thing. But a bell? Now that's just annoying. Not to the birds I guess but in all the time I spent outdoors with my (and other cats) before taking them home, I never once saw them catch a bird anyway.
wonderful story, wonderful people doing the right thing!!
good work - thanks
This is a great story. It also brings attention to the major cities in the world about the problem of feral cats. This is such an enormous tragedy, I don't know where to begin.
The problem is of course there are not enough people to trap these animals. Then once they do, who is going to pay the cost?
Someday, the major cities in Europe, and even the US will devote a portion of money to the spaying/neutering of cats, and devote a stipend for every person who brings in a cat.
great story, great work. Thanks for sharing
GOOD WORK JUDITH
Thanks for this soothing sweet story...i wish there were more of these stories at least once in awhile,but it sure is special when you get 1 of these...there are some good people out there,we need so many more...open your hearts and love all animals. Happy New Year.
А great story! Wonderful people! Thank you ever so much for sharing. I take care of a colony of feral cats as well . Find a home for kittens and sometimes puppies. I wish all people of the world could help our "little brothers" to survive. God Bless you, Judith and all animal-lovers!
This story touched my heart so deeply. I have visited Israel many times, and as stunning and amazing a country as it is, I have always been heartbroken by the number of stray and feral cats. I too would go around with cans of cat food and bowls of water when walking through the old city, but as a tourist, there was very little more I could do. I am so grateful that a small group of concerned people are helping care for these innocent creatures.
Your efforts are heroic. How did Jerusalem come to have such a big feral cat problem?
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