Dozens of cats need rescue from condemned College Park apartments

Volunteers working to save dozens of cats before apartments demolished

Volunteers are working to save cats left at Chelsea Gardens in College Park, Georgia after its abrupt closure. At least 39 cats have been rescued so far with help from new property management. The team of volunteers is rushing to relocate the remaining cats before demolition resumes.

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. - A group of volunteers is working urgently to rescue cats left behind at a condemned College Park apartment complex about to be demolished.

More than 40 cats already rescued from Chelsea Gardens

What we know:

The organization Tri Cities Friends of Kitties says they have trapped 39 cats on the property, and suspect there are many more.

"Whenever people are uprooted, when their lives are blown up, I mean, it affects the animals too," Natalie Pilgeram, with Tri Cities Friends of Kitties, said. "The animals suffer as well."

Bulldozers were expected to start ripping up the asphalt this week.

What's next for the rescued cats

What they're saying:

"Many of them are quite friendly. Some have been microchipped, some are already spayed or neutered. So we know that they were loves. They were pets. We know that this community loved them," Pilgeram said. "This is a shorter timeline than we're usually working on. So we've really just had to kind of hit the ground running," she added.

"We have been working on relocating, spaying, neutering, vaccinating and getting medical care for the cats that have been left at this property," Sydney Nettles-Coates, also with Tri Cities Friends of Kitties, said.

How you can help the cats

What you can do:

Tri Cities Friends of Kitties hopes 18 cats and kittens will be adopted. Some of the animals have already migrated to a neighboring apartment complex, where volunteers say they’ve found food.

To learn more, they say you can visit their website.

The backstory:

The Chelsea Gardens apartment complex in College Park was abruptly shuttered in March, displacing dozens of residents.

As demolition crews moved in, volunteers discovered cats still hiding throughout the property.

The rescue group says it had less than two weeks to intervene.