Throwing Down for Chicago’s Street Cats
Castle Blackpaw strives to help Chicago’s stray and feral cats, and the people who care for them. We practice and preach trap-neuter-return — the ol’ snip and tip — and try not to take ourselves too seriously.
It’s wild out there, friends, and we couldn’t pull this off without you.
WHAT WE DO
TNR All Day
Most days and cracks of dawn, we’re out in these streets using safe, humane trap-neuter-return (aka TNR) and trap-neuter-adopt methods to fix and vaccinate stray and feral cats. TNR controls the population, increases quality of life, and is a crucial step to achieving a truly no-kill Chicago.
Want to help strays near you? Jump to the FAQ.
Pantries & Clinics
Castle Blackpaw slings supplies, bad jokes, and high fives at food pantries and pet clinics around Chicago. Thanks to you, we’ve helped hundreds and HUNDREDS of pet owners get much-needed cat (and dog and human) supplies and services in this slow-moving capitalist dystopia.
Follow us on Instagram to see where we’re headed next, and consider supporting our work if you can.
City Services
Simply put, we help save stray and feral cats and kittens from euthanasia. Our HBIC conducts behavioral evaluations at Chicago Animal Care and Control to determine whether cats are ready for a home, can be returned to a managed colony, or need a job as a barn cat. (Catch her cat interviews on Instagram Stories.)
The Animal Care and Control staff works hard with their rescue partners and volunteers to provide the best outcome for every single animal (chickens!), but they could use a hand with supplies.
How To Help Chicago’s Stray & Feral Cats
Your support makes it possible for Castle Blackpaw to trap-neuter-return-rinse-and-repeat, hand cat food and litter directly to people who need it, offer a little relief to our strained city shelter, and take on whatever else gets thrown this way.
PS: You’re amazing. 🤍
DONATE
Castle Blackpaw is on Venmo, PayPal, and Cash App, or find us on Zelle as autumncirrus@gmail.com. We’re a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (official name: Kitty Empire NFP). All or part of your gift may be tax deductible as a charitable contribution. Please check with your tax adviser. Thank you!
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WISH LIST
Shop on Amazon for Chicago’s finest trash cats and their caretakers.
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MERCH
OK, it’s just a T-shirt. But it’s pretty cool and comes in black.
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FOSTER / ADOPT
We won’t put a wild animal in your house, swear. Email us if you can help!
Awesome Folks We Work With
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Awesome Folks We Work With 😻
FAQ
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First of all, thank you for caring! You are a good human. The Cats in Action website is packed with information and resources for people looking to help outdoor kitties in their neighborhood. Contact us if you need more info.
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My cat rescue adventures began in 2015 when I moved to Chicago’s Bridgeport neighborhood, across the alley from a crumbling hoarder house I dubbed Castle Blackpaw (like Castle Grayskull but dumber). Hoarding as in stuff and cats — they were everywhere. At the time, I knew nothing about TNR but knew I wanted to help. And wouldn’t you know it, before long I was caring for a colony of over 30 cats on and around the grounds of Castle Blackpaw.
I also learned that the need for stray cat resources goes far beyond my neck of the woods, so I established a nonprofit organization (Kitty Empire NFP) to support citywide TNR efforts with education, outreach, and supplies.
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Oh yeah hey, I’m Autumn Ganza, HBIC at Castle Blackpaw. I prefer to lurk in the shadows, but if you wanna know more about me, check out this podcast or read these Block Club Chicago articles. Or catch my big-screen debut lol in Cat City, a documentary about feral cats and Chicago policy. And @castleblackpaw on Instagram, of course, that’s me too.
~ slinks back into the alley ~