Totally run by volunteers, Cat Pals, Inc. is a nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization. We supply food, water and medical care to feral and dumped or abandoned cats living in colonies along the 56-acre beachfront park known as Hollywood North Beach. (A “feral” is a cat born in the wild to a mother who was dumped, abandoned or lost.)

When the program was started there were more than 300 stray and feral cats struggling to survive in Hollywood North Beach Park. Today there are approximately 125 cats still living in Hollywood North Beach Park, thanks to a program known as T/N/R; trap, neuter and release (Please go to www.AlleyCat.org for more info on TNR, they also list lost and found pets for free)

T/N/R was presented to both the City of Hollywood and Broward County in 1994 as a better way to control the growing population of unwanted strays in this and other areas. Dr. James Dee of Hollywood Animal Hospital believes in our program and was a major reason that the City of Hollywood allowed us to implement this method. Dr. Dee, along with Hollywood’s Animal Code Officer and Cat Pals volunteers worked for 7 weeks, 7 days a week from 5am till 8am trapping and transporting the animals to the vet. Each cat was tested for disease, sterilized, vaccinated and the ear was tipped for identification purposes (Ear tipping is the universal sign of a spayed or neutered stray or feral cat. While the animal is asleep in surgery about a ¼ in. is clipped off the ear so that it is flat instead of pointed. Spotted easily, it does no harm to the feline.) All healthy cats that were not adoptable were returned to their colonies.

Our goal at Cat Pals is to educate people and animal organizations on the benefits of T/N/R. It is much easier for a kindhearted feeder to allow a TNR group to spay or neuter than it is to have the City haul them off to a certain death. When feral cats are removed from an area, new cats move in (the “vacuum effect”.) The new cats are usually not fixed and the cycle begins again. The main objective is to get the feeders to act early, implementing TNR before the colony is massive. Cat Pals has instructed many feeders on the use of traps and where to find low cost spay/neuter vets. With increased donations, we could help defray these costs as well.

Efforts of Cat Pals in finding homes for the dumped house cat to the feral kitten have kept the population growing smaller and smaller. Fewer than 10 of the original cats remain of the 300 cats when the program began. The uncaring pet owner that dumps his or her feline along the beach has not considered the hardship involved for the cat or the group of volunteers. Feral cats tend to colonize. They will not allow a new cat to eat or have water. Many times they will fight the newcomer out of the area and into traffic or illness. It is always best to find your animal a home among the people you know. Most caretakers have too many cats and have filled the homes of every relative, coworker and friend with one or two frightened felines.

Remember, the goal of Cat Pals, Inc. is managed population with no growth. As the cats die off naturally, the population subsides.

Please consider becoming a Cat Pal. We have very limited funds and such huge hearts, we need people like you to sponsor the un-adoptable by sending donations, volunteering to feed or tame or foster (even for 24 hours after surgery). We also need people like you to adopt any adoptable cats we come across in the Hollywood North Beach area. Please note that Cat Pals, Inc. is an all-volunteer organization, 100% of your donation goes to help the cats. Click on The Faces you feed now for a sampling of the faces that need you, feline faces…we human volunteers are camera shy!