About Us

About BBAWC

The mission of Brooklyn Bridge Animal Welfare Coalition (BBAWC) is to empower people and communities to be more compassionate by experiencing a commitment to cat welfare. Specifically, our focus is to proactively address the root causes of cat homelessness and overpopulation in New York City. We do this through collaborative community engagement, providing access to education, support, and direct services, all demonstrated by our signature programs, The Brooklyn Cat Café and the BBAWC Rescue Clinic.

We envision a compassionate community that is motivated, educated, and empowered to ensure that by 2050 there are zero suffering cats on the streets of New York City.

Nine years ago, we created our community adoption and rescue space, Brooklyn Cat Cafe, one of the only cat cafes in the country operated as a non-profit, rescue organization. Brooklyn Cat Cafe introduced the general public to animal rescue and facilitated rescue and adoptions.

In 2021 we opened the BBAWC Rescue Clinic, the first rescue operated public high volume spay/neuter clinic in New York City  offering low cost spay/neuter services to pet owners and rescuers.

Now we are expanding our outreach efforts and focusing on the relationships we have developed in communities with large homeless animal populations to proactively address the root causes of animal homelessness and overpopulation.

Our network of passionate animal rescue veterans is on the ground raising community awareness and facilitating accessible participation by the public. We work in basements and crawl spaces, rescuing cats and newborn kittens. We work in public schools and housing projects to educate neighborhoods about how they can help cats and other animals in need and actively address the root causes of animal homelessness and overpopulation. We empower members of the public to participate in animal rescue and respond to homeless animal problems they find in their communities.

The Brooklyn Cat Cafe is our public face and our adoption center — and what a resource! In 2024, over 30,000 members of the public have come to play and interact with our adoptable animals. Hundreds more have attended our private events and classes, creating an unparalleled opportunity for us to connect with and educate cat lovers from Brooklyn and beyond. We are a hub for promoting humane education and we make cat rescue accessible and exciting. Constant phone calls and visits from concerned neighbors and stressed pet owners make it clear that we are a needed resource.

Since the coalition formed in 2007, we have rescued and adopted over 8,000 cats. In 2024 alone we took in 1121 animals, with 775 adoptions, 192 TNRs (trap-neuter-return), 4,268 spay/neuter surgeries, 92 special surgeries and 264 dentals.