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The Philadelphia region has more cats than any of the country’s 15 largest metro areas according to numbers from the 2020 Census. That translates to 568,000 households in the Philadelphia metropolitan area reporting that they own a cat.
And while these cats are clearly spread across the city and into the suburbs, West Philadelphia’s Cedar Park neighborhood, with its many indoor/outdoor cats, shop cats, feral cat colonies, and a dedicated all-volunteer cat rescue group, has many feline features.
Accessible by SEPTA’s T2 (34) and T3 (13) trolley lines, Cedar Park is best known for its commercial corridor along Baltimore Avenue. Bounded by Larchwood Avenue to the north, Kingsessing Avenue to the south, 46th Street to the east, and 52nd Street to the west, Cedar Park features Victorian and Queen Anne-style architecture with large, and sometimes even wrap-around, porches that celebrate its status as an early streetcar suburb.
Maybe it’s the rambling homes, often built above street level with accessible crawl spaces beneath, that create the perfect conditions for stray cats to nest. Or maybe it’s the caretaking vibe of the neighborhood that encourages the proliferation of so many cats. These cats range from feral and strays to pet cats that live indoors but also stroll outside.
A feline fixture in Cedar Park
One indoor-outdoor feline neighbor, named Huckle after the storied cat in Richard Scarry’s picture books, has been a fixture on Springfield Avenue for nearly two decades. Now in his senior years, Huckle still patrols the street from the relative shade of his porch. If you approach and call his name, he might eventually toddle down the steps to swipe his tail around your legs while “mrowing”.
For many years, you could find Huckle positioned in the dead center of the sidewalk directly outside of his home. A brazen and unruffled fellow, Huckle holds his position despite any oncomers; requiring pedestrians, baby strollers, and even dogs to reroute onto the grass to pass by. Using your body to hold down your turf is the cat version of “savesies.”
An unofficial block captain of sorts, Huckle is so beloved by his neighbors that his dad Andy recently made photo t-shirts bearing Huckle’s face.
For those without pets of their own, a friendly street cat can stand-in as a surrogate. If you’re patient and lucky, you might even have the chance to encounter that rush of joy that comes from running your hand along the spine, or beneath the chin, of a willing cat.
If feral, a cat will let you know its status immediately by taking cover within a shrub or beneath a porch. A less-skitish cat might let you know that it’s actually a pet, or at least not so adverse to people, by either approaching you or allowing you to approach.
Neighbors come to the aid of stray cats
To address the proliferation of feral cats in West Philly, West Philly’s Project MEOW (Make Every One Wanted) was founded in 2007 as an all-volunteer cat rescue group to support feral cats and those who might eventually be adopted as pets.
With the support of a devoted network of more than 100 volunteers and foster homes, Project MEOW helps West Philadelphia residents with the homeless cat population through the Trap, Neuter, Return and Manage process that’s designed to limit reproduction. THe group also provides support and resources to caretakers of cat colonies, and facilitates the care and adoptions of friendly, abandoned cats.
A happy ending for a West Philly feline
One such cat recently found his way into a forever home with the help of Project MEOW and through neighborhood connections. Cedar Park resident Courtney Berne was recently at local favorite Studio 34 Yoga, chatting with a friend who mentioned that he was fostering a cat.
Originally named Hogan Hoopes by Project MEOW, after being found on Hoopes Street in West Philly’s Mill Creek neighborhood, Hogan was renamed Skittles in his foster home after tearing into a bag of candy.
Estimated to be about two years old, Skittles, who was later renamed Max (third time’s a charm) by his now-mom Courtney, was a harder-sell for adoption because he wasn’t a kitten. But, like a true Philadelphian, this underdog was completely unphased by the obstacles in his path.
“I don’t know what he’s been through” Berne reflected, “but I do know he’s resilient and he’s smart and he is communicative and he’s super happy to live inside. He never even tries to get out.”
“And even when he had tapeworms and parasites, he was still this animated. So part of me is like, this is a cat who is grateful. Animals are just so much more resilient and so much smarter than we give them credit for. And he’s like a little angel. He’s just the sweetest boy.”
