Why We Exist
No cats on the street. No cats in shelters.
Flatbush Cats is working to keep more pets with their families by expanding access to veterinary care in Brooklyn and beyond.
We focus on proven, proactive approaches that keep pets with their families and cats off the street.
By increasing access to veterinary care and support services for the communities that need them most, we reduce shelter surrenders, support outdoor cats, and help prevent more cats from ending up on the street.
A better future for cats starts here
Every cat deserves the good life. But too many live on NYC streets, shelters are stretched thin, and veterinary care is out of reach for many families.
What started as a couple of independent rescuers has grown into a community working to change that—connecting rescue, affordable veterinary care, and neighborhood support to help cats before they reach a crisis.
Watch our story to see what we’ve learned and what we’re building together.
A New Model of Care
Today, over 50% of U.S. pet owners can’t afford a basic vet visit. When people can’t access essential care, their pets suffer. And so do their communities.
Together, we built Flatbush Vet, a high-volume spay/neuter clinic serving both low-income pet owners and rescue/TNR volunteers across Brooklyn. Now we’re performing 7,500+ surgeries each year. And we’re just getting started.
This is a scalable model, and we plan to bring more clinics to more neighborhoods, until every pet owner in NYC has access to care.
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We’re bringing trusted medical care directly to families who need it most.
We host free Community Clinics on select Saturdays, providing our neighbors and their pets with no-cost wellness exams, vaccinations, preventative care, treatment for minor conditions, and pet food.
We service an average of 150 pets in a single day at no cost to families — offering hope, compassion, and dignity to our community in the process.
And because thousands of cats are fighting to survive across Brooklyn, we also run a Community Cat Program that specializes in rescuing friendly cats and performing TNR (trap neuter return) for struggling feral cats.
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We expand access to essential veterinary care for pet owners facing financial hardship, providing affordable spay/neuter surgeries, primary care exams, and other veterinary services for cats and dogs across Brooklyn.
By making care more accessible, we help pets stay healthy, keep families together, and address one of the root causes of NYC's animal overpopulation crisis. Spay/neuter is our most powerful tool for preventing unwanted litters, reducing the number of kittens born outdoors, and easing pressure on an already overwhelmed animal welfare system.
Join 20,000+ animal advocates driving real change.
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Go deeper to understand NYC’s cat crisis.
Underfoot is a new podcast about the hidden cat crisis in NYC and what we can do to solve it. In this podcast, we go beyond rescue stories to reveal the systems that created this problem in the first place, and ask the question: What would it take to build a city where no cat is left behind?
Read our 2024 Annual Report
