There are tens of thousands of stray and feral cats—also known as “community cats”—living in NYC. And with the chilly weather here for the season, some cat lovers are working to create outdoor shelters for the animals. Paula DiGioia, a graphic designer who lives in the Rockaways with her husband, hosts a number of stray and feral felines around her home—and she’s just added luxury housing: Heated kitty pods.
We asked DiGioia about being a mom to the outdoor cats in her neighborhood, and advice for those who want to get involved to help their own neighbor kitties.
How many feral cats do you have visiting you?
Six cats—Biff Howard, Obama, Fluffy, Van Gogh, One Eyed Willy and Blondie. The names are literal representations of how they look. Obama’s black and white, Van Gogh has one ear, One Eyed Willie has one eye and Blondie is blonde. Biff Howard is a charismatic bully inspired by Biff from Back To The Future.
Out of my six, three are feral, three are strays. The difference between a stray and a feral is the extent to which they are socialized to humans. Strays are mostly friendly towards people; they may put their tail up when they see you, meaning they’re confident in their surroundings and happy. They’re vocal (unlike ferals) and you can often pet them! A feral will shy away when they see you, keeping a safe distance. Ferals have not had human interaction within the first 12 weeks of their life.
Dancing With Fools 
Hang in there Bob! We are all pulling for ya! Keep us updated Carol, please.
Dr. Den sez, his plan to drain clogged lungs is to strap the patient down to a slant board and tilt it feet up head down to allow gravity to drain clogged lungs, cough the gack into a bowl. Coughing alone is not enough if you have weak lungs in the first place sitting or lying on your back since the gack has to go uphill to get out. Just a suggestion, BIG PHARMA would not approve I’m sure, not on their list of protocols.
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Ditto first paragraph.
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LOL! We must have primitive health care up in Lansing, no one has tipped Bob upside down yet.
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A slow 30 minutes down to the Foundry due to all the frozen melt. Was going to go all the way out to the Birch & Barley but decided not to as I want to go home while it is still light.
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Then back the same way, up the College Hill Climb and Maple Street Extension, for a daily total of 58 minutes. Sunny on the way home and easier, no pause up the College Hill Climb and Maple Street Extension.
Day 5: 167+58=225 minutes. Making up for last week.
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Back from the grocery store before all the light is gone from the sky.
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Den — Your card came today. Thank you.
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I did all of my cooking in one day. Tomorrow Brian will pick Quincy up at noon so when I get up in the morning I’ll walk Q, play with him for a bit, do my hair and get to Lansing. I’m going to spend all day with Bob.
They got his blood pressure down, but I don’t know by how much. As for the actual problem, his breathing hasn’t improved. I just talked to him again on the phone about 10 minutes ago. So nice to hear his voice. I could hear the unhealthy breathing though. Of course I’ve been breaking into tears here and there all day, mostly didn’t when I was actually in the kitchen.
It’s weird, FedEx was supposed to deliver something yesterday, it’s only a set of sheets for my daughter-in-law and Pete, but they want me to sign for it. So, of course, they left a note.
I was in the kitchen for almost 10 hours today, no Fed Ex so around 6:30 I called them. Had to talk to a guy in Mexico instead of someone in Lansing, but he said they tried again today but they would try again tomorrow. What the hell? I must have been in here on the phone with one of my sisters-in-law so I never heard him. So, I burst into tears briefly. That’s the way it’s been all day, but as long as I stayed in the kitchen cooking, I was ok. I listened to the Diane Rehm show, about Trump, of course, and that cheered me up. LOL! Well, my anger at the jerk kept me from thinking about Bob and that was good.
Jill just called to see if I’m ok and I didn’t start crying, thank goodness. Now I’ve written this post and no tears. Hurray.
Now I’m off to read the news.
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I hear you.
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Hang in there kiddo! Don’t read the news, you won’t feel better. Schnapps and beer is the cure.
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I’m gettin outa here…
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