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Meet the NYC Feral Cat Initiative Team: Mike Phillips

Mike Phillips teaches 'Taming Feral Kittens for Adoption' and other workshops for the NYC Feral Cat Initiative of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals. (Photo by Marc Birnbach)
Mike Phillips teaches ‘Taming Feral Kittens for Adoption’ and other workshops for the NYC Feral Cat Initiative of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals. (Photo by Marc Birnbach)
Mike Phillips, a long-time champion for pet and community cats, has been working with the NYC Feral Cat Initiative (NYCFCI), a program of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, since its inception in 2005.

Mike’s current focus is on education and community outreach. He is an instructor for several NYCFCI workshops, including Taming Feral Kittens for Adoption, Building Shelters for Outdoor Cats, Enhancing Neighborhood Relations Surrounding Community Cats, and Advanced Trapping Techniques. He helped develop and also teaches the organization’s TNR caretaker certification workshops. In addition, Mike shares the responsibility of responding to e-mails from those seeking advice on how to help feral cats and who want information about what the NYCFCI has to offer. “I almost always recommend that those new to feral cats take the TNR caretaker workshop and get certified,” says Mike. “It’s a fast-track first step toward understanding what services are available to help them take positive action.”

At a recent workshop, Mike demonstrated the tools, materials, and methods used to build simple winter shelters for outdoor cats. (Photo by Marc Birnbach)
At a recent workshop, Mike demonstrated the tools, materials, and methods used to build simple winter shelters for outdoor cats. (Photo by Marc Birnbach)
In fact, getting more folks certified is one of Mike’s major goals for the NYCFCI as it moves forward. “Ongoing monitoring of a colony is most efficiently done when caretakers are certified and understand the process and our program’s services,” he affirms.

Mike is a Licensed Veterinary Technician as well as the President and a Co-founder of Urban Cat League, a non-profit organization founded in 2002 that is dedicated to humanely improving the lives of street cats. In addition, he has a career as a theater director and choreographer that has spanned several decades.