ENFIELD — What started as a small grassroots effort to help a handful of cats has grown into a lifeline for hundreds of community cats across Enfield.
Founded by Dawn Struck and a small group of dedicated volunteers, the Enfield Community Cat Project has spent nearly a decade working to humanely reduce the population of outdoor cats while improving their health and quality of life.
“The Enfield Community Cat Project was founded by a small group of local volunteers who recognized a growing need to address the population of community cats in a humane and effective way,” Struck said.
Today, the organization’s mission centers on reducing the community cat population through TNR, providing medical care for sick and injured cats, and educating the public about responsible, compassionate coexistence with outdoor cats.
Community cats, sometimes called feral cats, are often misunderstood, Struck said. Unlike lost pets, many are born outdoors or have spent most of their lives outside and are not socialized to people.
“These cats are not strays in the traditional sense,” she explained. “They are part of a managed population that can live healthy lives when properly cared for.”
ECCP currently manages five feral cat colonies in Enfield, with volunteers feeding the cats twice daily, providing fresh water and maintaining winter shelters. The work is demanding, requiring volunteers to trap cats, transport them to veterinary appointments, monitor colonies and ensure the animals remain healthy.
“It’s a labor of love that relies heavily on community support and understanding,” Struck said.
Central to the organization’s efforts is Trap-Neuter-Return, a nationally recognized approach in which cats are humanely trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated and returned to the outdoor environments they know. Preventing reproduction not only reduces future litters but also improves the health of the cats while reducing behaviors such as fighting, spraying and roaming.
For ECCP, the results have been tangible.
“We have successfully completely managed two feral colonies, which is proof that TNR works,” Struck said. “By consistently trapping, spaying and neutering, vaccinating, and monitoring the cats, we were able to stop population growth within those colonies while significantly improving the health and welfare of the cats living there. Cats in our TNR program are healthier, and nuisance behaviors like fighting, spraying, and roaming are greatly reduced.”
Beyond helping the cats themselves, TNR also reduces the number of kittens entering shelters and allows rescue organizations to devote more resources to friendly cats and kittens that can be adopted into permanent homes.
The organization’s success, Struck said, would not be possible without community support.
“Our work would not be possible without the incredible support of local residents, businesses and community partners,” she said.
Volunteers assist with everything from trapping and transporting cats to fostering kittens and socializing shy cats before adoption. Residents report colonies, monitor outdoor cats in their neighborhoods and often become foster families or adopters. Local businesses contribute through donations, sponsorships and raising awareness of the organization’s mission.
Despite its accomplishments, ECCP faces growing challenges. Rising veterinary costs and limited access to discounted services have made it increasingly difficult to provide the surgeries and medical treatment community cats need. At the same time, demand for the organization’s help continues to grow.
“While this shows that the community trusts us, it also means we are constantly stretched thin in terms of resources, funding and volunteer capacity,” Struck said.
One rescue, however, continues to remind Struck why the work matters.
She recalls receiving a call during one of the coldest stretches of winter about what was believed to be a feral cat in a resident’s yard. When she arrived, she immediately realized the cat, later named Smitty, was not feral at all.
“The moment we locked eyes, I knew he wasn’t feral,” she said. “He was simply trying to survive, and he was freezing to death.”
Struck tucked the severely underweight cat inside her coat to warm him before rushing him home and then to a veterinarian. Smitty had frostbite on his ears and a dangerously low body temperature.
“What I’ll never forget is how grateful he seemed,” she said. “He would wrap his front paws around my neck and hold on as if he was giving me a hug.”
Although Smitty has since passed away, Struck says his story serves as a reminder that not every outdoor cat is feral and that taking the time to help can save a life.
Looking ahead, ECCP hopes to expand its TNR efforts, strengthen partnerships with veterinarians and continue educating the public about humane solutions to managing community cats. Volunteers, foster homes and donations remain essential to achieving those goals.
Since founding the Enfield Community Cat Project in 2016, the organization has helped save more than 4,000 cats and kittens throughout Enfield and surrounding communities. Those numbers represent thousands of animals that have received a second chance through rescue, medical care, foster homes and adoption.
ECCP’s work extends well beyond adoptions. The rescue accepts owner-surrendered cats and kittens, rescues friendly stray cats from the streets and remains deeply committed to Trap-Neuter-Return efforts for community cats. Among its signature initiatives is the Kitten Surrender Program, which offers free spay surgeries for mother cats when residents surrender litters of kittens to the organization. The program helps prevent future accidental litters while ensuring the kittens receive veterinary care, are spayed or neutered, and are ultimately placed in permanent homes.
Struck is also quick to credit the people who make the organization’s work possible.
“While I may be the face of the organization, none of this is possible without our volunteers,” she said. “Every transport, every foster home, every trapper, every adoption counselor, every fundraiser, every donation, and every person who answers a call for help plays a vital role. Watching our volunteers come together time and time again has shown me what a true village looks like. I am incredibly proud of what we’ve built together and deeply grateful for every person who gives their time, compassion and heart to this mission.”
