Catnip Nation's March Report - What Happened to the Seaside Heights Boardwalk Cats? | Lola The Rescued Cat
Monday, March 19, 2018

Catnip Nation's March Report - What Happened to the Seaside Heights Boardwalk Cats?

In January I brought you the fifth installment in a series of posts by Tina Traster, Producer and Director of the documentary film Catnip Nation. This month Tina brings us the exciting news that Catnip Nation will be at the Catsbury Park Cat Convention in just a few weeks! Tina and the Catnip Nation folks will be discussing the dismantling the TNR program for the Seaside Heights Boardwalk Cats and the uncertain fate 60 cats faced. In their presentation they will discuss how things worked out for the  cats, and the universal issue of protecting colony cats and their caretakers. I can't wait to see the Catnip Nation crew again and attend their session, which I'll definitely be reporting back on. Are you going to the Catsbury Park Cat Convention? Let me know in the comments below. 




If you'd like to support the documentary film Catnip Nation, click here. You can also spread the word about the wonderful work they are doing to make a difference in the lives of community cats. And don't forget to follow them on social media! 

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Dawn  

CATS CATS CATS – DOWN THE SHORE THIS APRIL

Mark Your Calendars! The Catsbury Park Cat Convention, New Jersey’s first cat lovers’ convention, is taking place on April 7th and 8th, at the Asbury Park Convention Hall in Asbury Park, NJ. The convention, sponsored by the owners of Catsbury Park Café and Tea House, New Jersey’s first cat café, will give cat lovers a New Jersey-style opportunity to convene, cavort, and connect.

Catnip Nation will be there too – presenting “No Longer Under The Boardwalk: How the Seaside Heights Cats Ended Up In A Better Place”.  Our 45-minute presentation will take place on Sunday at 4 pm in the Paramount Theater, next to the convention center. You can also stop by our booth in the main convention hall on Sunday.


Catnip Nation|Seaside Heights Cats
Seaside Heights Cats. Photo by Alley Cat Allies


Cat conventions are truly good fun. There are lots of people vamping, wearing ears, cat tails etc. There’s good merch, too. Cat people love to tell each other their stories. Share their passion. Spend time with other cat lovers. And the truly devoted go to events like this to meet icons like L’il Bub and Hannah the Kitten Lady. 



But there’s a serious underlying reason to attend these conventions, which are now spreading nationwide. Those of us in the “cat” world understand how important it is to spread the word about making better lives for cats. That means addressing everything from adoptions to learning about Trap Neuter Return to engaging in political activism. These conventions have great resources for learning mixed in with unfettered fun. 


Catnip Nation|Seaside Heights Cats
Seaside Heights Cats. Photo by Change.org

In our presentation, “No Longer Under The Boardwalk”, we’re going to show a short clip that previews some material in our upcoming documentary “Catnip Nation.” After the screening, Tina Traster, director of Catnip Nation, will be moderating a panel on the tale of the Seaside Heights with Ken Salerno, cat hero, Sara Cameron, owner of Calling All Cats Rescues, and Pam Ward, an animal activist. The iconic Seaside Heights cats had been under the boardwalk forever. After Hurricane Sandy, Seaside Heights Animal Welfare Organization, a local animal welfare group, along with Alley Cat Allies, created an official TNR program. Although it was highly successful, it was dismantled in 2016 by Seaside Heights’ officials, and the fate of more than 60 cats remained uncertain after city officials said cats could no longer live under the boardwalk. 


Catnip Nation|Seaside Heights Cats
Seaside Heights Cats. Photo by Ken Salerno

Come to our presentation to hear how things worked out for the Seaside Heights cats, and to talk about the universal issue of protecting colony cats and their caretakers.

If you’d like to let us know you’re planning on attending our presentation, drop us a line: catnipnationdocumentury@gmail.com.

Visit our website to learn more about our film: www.catnipnation.com

Please weigh in. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this.



Tina Traster is a socially-conscious, award-winning journalist, author, and filmmaker. Her 30-minute documentary, This House Matters, is an examination on historic preservation in the Hudson Valley. The film has screened at the YoFi Film Festival, the Kingston Film Festival, the Hoboken International Film Festival, and the Nyack Film Festival. Traster's work has appeared in scores of newspapers, magazines and literary journals including The New York Times, The New York Post, Huffington Post, The Daily Beast, The Atlantic, Redbook, Family Circle, Parade, Time Out New York, Audubon, Ski Magazine and many others. She is the author of the award-winning memoir Rescuing Julia Twice: A Mother's Tale of Russian Adoption and Overcoming Reactive Attachment Disorder. Since 2006, Traster has written the "Burb  Appeal" column for The New York Post. 





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  1. My human wishes she could come to this - but she's way too far away!

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  2. Glad things have worked out for the Seaside Heights cats!

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  3. That group sure does some amazing things!

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  4. wavez two de seasiderz frum de trouterz N we reel lee reel lee REEL LEE hope bye all de fish in de sea ....that everee thing werked out mega grate for each oh ewe ~~~~ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥

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  5. Thanks for the update! Glad the cats are doing great.

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  6. Wow. I'd love to go and learn more!
    ps - Congratulations on being a finalist in several categories! We especially love the Sleepypod post :)

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  7. I can't wait to see the documentary. Definitely looking forward to your reporting back on attending the Catsbury Park Cat Convention. And I agree, it's so great that these cat conventions are gaining in popularity. The one that I live by isn't focused so much on workshops and education, but it's still fun to attend anyway.

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  8. What a wonderful group of people doing absolutely amazing work for the wellbeing of those cats! How cute is that ginger!!

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  9. Awesome - thanks for the heads up! I'm not normally a "cat person", not being able to keep them myself, but I marked my calendar and might try to attend this event. Looking forward to watching the documentary as well!

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  10. I have worried a lot bout the Seaside cats and their helpers and caretakers.

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  11. Looking forward to more updates! I would love to attend the event but I know you will tell us about it so that is something. A big thank you to all those who you named above that have done so much for these cats!

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  12. What a fun and great convention to go to and I especially chuckled over how you told us about the costumes people wear, the stories and of course the merchandise. The documentary sounds awesome and the discussion panel sounds really great. I love documentaries and discussions as we learn a lot plus it opens our eyes to all the problems surrounding the issue. Cannot wait to hear more on your blog

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  14. Lola, Mom & I send CONCATULATIONS to you on being chosen a BlogPaws finalist in two categories! Woot Woot!

    That sure sounds like a grr-eat conference, but alas my human won't be able to go to it as it's a bit far from home. I'm sure everypawdy in attendance will have a wonderful time. -Valentine (& Mom) of Noir Kitty Mews

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  15. Wow, I didn't know the cats had been moved! Now I am curious and will google to see where they are now. I wish I could go to a cat conference. Sounds like lots of fun. I don't think there is one in my area.

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  16. P.S.: This is a dumb question but are the Seaside cats the same as the famous boardwalk cats in Atlantic City?

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    1. Hi Kristin! Seaside Heights and Atlantic City are different towns on the Jersey shore. I'm looking forward to bringing back more info on the Seaside Heights cats.

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  17. To think that peeps would go after other peeps, simply for helpin' cats, disgusts me. Are there not "real" bad people to go after? People doin' harm? Why-oh-why would ANYONE stand in the way of peeps who are doin' their best to do good? WHY? *sighs*

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  18. Anyone who helps community cats is a BIG HERO to me! Heck, I cannot get our city council to make TNR legal, and we are a small community. By the way, if your friend who is in Michigan needs a guide to my two cat cafe's, email me and I'll usher them around!

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  19. I had no idea that they had cat conventions! There are so many important issues to address about cats, whether it be pets or community cat colonies. Sorry to hear that the boardwalk cats got moved, hopefully they are safe? I'm intrigued, gonna have to check out the documentary.

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  20. Oh, how wonderful! Wish I could attend. I spent my childhood summer weekend at Seaside Heights and felt so devastated when the hurricane hit...this really hits close to my heart. I had to double-take on the one black and white tuxedo beauty who looks like my adopted feral. It warms my heart to hear about those very caring people caring for the Seaside Heights cats. Hugs to them all! <3

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  21. Wow! I wish the Midwest had events like this convention. I hope one day to get to see the documentary Cat Nation. Thanks for the updates!

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  22. I am embarrassed to say I did not know about this. It sounds amazing and I am so glad the cats are okay. I love reading your blog to learn about projects like this and so much more, Dawn.

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  23. If I lived up there,I'd attend this convention. I love being around other cat lovers! Thank you for the update!

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  24. It sounds like it will be a lot of fun! I think it is great that there is a cat convention, I never heard of one before.

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