Cats in Action is grateful for volunteers like Eden E. (pictured left, on piping plover watch) for stepping up to the plate when confronted with a difficult situation and for guest authoring this edition of our blog.
“I probably shouldn’t own up to this publicly but of the Seinfeld characters, I found a certain kinship with George Costanza, particularly around his angst with ‘worlds colliding.’ May 12th, 2025 found me at that juncture.
I have loved cats all my life and was introduced to the world of TNR through a friendship with the unstoppable and eternal joy that is Julie A.
Happy to support the work of those trapping and all that comes after it with donations, transport assistance, socializing, etc., I know the agony and ecstasy of this daily push.
In 2019 a new passion entered my life – supporting the recovery of the endangered population of Great Lakes Piping Plovers, a pair of which had (incredibly) chosen Montrose Beach for nesting. My partner and I were the first to sign up when a call for volunteers went out and are here for a seventh season now with plover pair Imani and Sea Rocket. Beyond the beach, I also manage the social media channels for Chicago Piping Plovers when this message came through on May 12th. Worlds colliding.
I immediately contacted Liz Houtz with Cats in Action. A cat dumped in a bird sanctuary with nesting endangered birds in the nearby dunes – Yikes! Wonderfully, the comments in response to this post from members of the birding community, in the main, showed incredible concern for this cat that was clearly out of place. I added my comment, a commitment that this cat would be humanely trapped and rehomed – and not returned to the bird sanctuary.
Liz reached out to Dave H., who surveyed what we were up against. 15 acres with “literally hundreds of hiding places for a cat.” We needed intel and a lot of it in short order.
Intel gathering included monitoring birding chat channels (birders are really well-versed at sharing location specifics and even coordinates), connecting with bird photographers I know because of the plovers, and many cold nights in the sanctuary – a place not generally frequented by women, especially those with flashlights and traps, if you know anything about the nocturnal activities of the Montrose Bird Sanctuary. I met some unexpected but most welcome allies, all feeding me cat sightings.
By Memorial Day I was feeling desperate. Sea Rocket had laid the first egg of a four-egg clutch on May 18th. There would be chicks on the beach soon enough, and, furthering my suspicion the cat had been dumped, a cat carrier was by the bins after a Montrose stewardship day. This poor cat! The clock in my mind was ticking. Liz had suggested I reach out to Pam Z., who had experience with a similarly tricky situation. By now, I had a fairly solid understanding of the cat’s daily routine so reached out to Pam to discuss the situation. On May 30th, Pam visited Montrose with me, reviewed strategies, and, for this cat, provided the secret sauce – Mariano’s rotisserie chicken. “Monty,” as Liz dubbed him, was trapped that night.
Whew! Three plus weeks of intel gathering and two stolen traps later, the cat that was clearly out of place was now safe. My gratitude is unending to all who helped me trap Monty and further, for lessening my angst around worlds colliding.”
