Fixing Programs and Cats with Jonathan Howe, Public Defender and New York’s 14th Congressional District Candidate

“Seeing the way that people make this [TNR] their priority, make doing something good for their community a priority, was really inspiring.”

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This episode is sponsored in part by Humane Network, Buzz to the Rescues, and Maddie’s Fund.

Stacy speaks to Jonathan Howe, who is a public defender in Bronx County Family Court and has declared his candidacy for Congress in New York’s 14th Congressional District. Jonathan and his wife were trained and certified in TNR during the COVID lockdown and now manage a small colony in Astoria, Queens. The couple shares their home with two of their own cats, Clara and Art Bell, and have helped two other kittens from the colony find new homes.

Jonathan recounts his story of never having had a cat of his own but first seeing a lot of hungry outdoor cats at a friend’s house about eight years ago. Fast forward to the COVID lockdown and Jonathan noticed the outdoor cats in his neighborhood and realized he needed to take responsibility for them. His early efforts at trapping were somewhat unsuccessful but he eventually trapped and fostered his first kitten. He got tips and advice from Neighborhood Cats and Astoria Cat Rescue on how to manage the colony, feeding, and trapping and attempted to get the colony cats spayed and neutered, even though some vet clinics were not open during COVID. Jonathan and Stacy briefly discuss the shortage of vet appointments and the decision that was made to determine that some vet clinics were considered non-essential services during the COVID shutdown.

With the help of a court clerk Jonathan happened to speak to in a virtual meeting, he was able to get some colony cats fixed at an open clinic in Westchester, NY, and then pursued TNR certification. Jonathan encourages anyone interested in this work to get certified first before trying to learn the hard way. He tells Stacy, “Anyone who heard about what we were doing was eager to help”, including members of the community who dropped off supplies to feed and house the colony cats.

Jonathan would like to see support for TNR at the Federal level and believes local government can also help by “giving vouchers for spay/neuter to local vets.” He thinks that anything that can be done on a legislative front to “make it clear that this [TNR] is a policy that works and is a policy that works to address a problem that we as humans have caused” will help to show that managing outdoor cats can be done in a humane way.

Managing the colony and connecting with his neighbors through his work has made him feel “part of the community” and at the end of the process, he knew everyone in the neighborhood. He is currently fundraising for his campaign and is hoping, for every one hundred dollars he raises, to be able to put out one winter cat shelter he purchased from a company in Long Island, for the colony to use in the winter months ahead.

Listener Links:

• Jonathan’s campaign website www.howe2022.com
• Neighborhood Cats www.neighborhoodcats.org
• Astoria Cat Rescue www.astoriacatrescue.com
• To sign up to attend the Community Cats Podcast TNR certification, go to www.communitycatspodcast.com and click on Virtual Education

If you enjoyed this episode, you may also enjoy Stacy’s earlier interview with animal rights lawyer, Camille Labchuck. | Episode 346.