Catonsville Woman Helps Save Area Feral Cats, More Support Needed

CATONSVILLE, MD — Feral cats are a known concern in the area, but one woman is spearheading an initiative to care for them. Karen Kalczewski Cerkez leads Cats on the Grove, a group of just a few volunteers who, at their own cost, feed and shelter feral cat colonies at Catonsville's Spring Grove Hospital Center.

Upwards of 100 feral cats are cared for each day at an expense of at least $100 per week in cat food that comes out of the volunteers' own pockets. Cerkez also builds small shelters with hay so the cats can stay warm.

More than 10 years ago, the feral cat colonies became a part of Baltimore County's Trap, Neuter and Return Program. That was when there were upwards of 200 cats on the hospital grounds.

To help cover expenses, Cerkez and Kelsey Cerkez have created a GoFundMe page to help cover the expenses of becoming a nonprofit foundation so they can start raising awareness of the organization and secure donations to help care for the cats.

"The cat number can also go up due to people dropping of unwanted pets. This is truly the saddest situation for us," Cerkez shared on the GoFundMe page.