Little Wanderers

Founded in 2013, Little Wanderers is a volunteer-run, foster-based 501(c)(3) rescue organization committed to saving cats from the five boroughs of New York City. We focus on (1) TNR, adoption of friendly cats and kittens, and sourcing permanent homes for feral cats that cannot be returned to their communities; (2) rescuing and rehabilitating cats in need of complicated and intense medical treatment; and (3) partnering with the Animal Care Centers of NYC, as a “New Hope” partner, to rescue and support medically needy and behaviorally challenged cats with placement deadlines. We have 15 core volunteers and a network of 250 foster homes. We rescue approximately 1500 stray and feral cats a year. In FY 2021 we adopted out over 900 cats into forever homes.

Although we rescue across the entirety of New York City, our primary geographic focus is the Bronx – a borough of New York City where over a quarter of residents are below the poverty line and which contains the poorest congressional district in the United States. There are few animal rescue organizations working in the Bronx and even fewer resources available to help some of the neediest cats in New York City. In addition, Little Wanderers has also helped cats escape euthanasia internationally and our co-founder recently spent time assisting with the companion animal crisis occurring in Ukraine.

As a volunteer group, we are constantly overwhelmed by the work that needs to be done but seeing how drastically these cats’ lives are improved (and how much joy they bring to those who adopt them) makes all the hard work more than worth it.