WILMINGTON, N.C. — A couple of North Carolina volunteers are converting extra coolers people may have hidden away at home, into a place that feral cats can call home. 

Jim Buemgarten and Robert Horn are two volunteers that turn coolers into community cat homes.

They both grew up with dogs for pets, and were always dog people, but now they each own multiple cats.

“I was always a dog person growing up… the first time I saw that kitten use the litter box… I was sold,” Buemgarten said.

Unfortunately, not every cat has an owner like Jim or Robert. Many cats are cruelly dumped in the wild to fend for themselves. 

“They are just out in the woods. And they need some place to go,” Horn said.

“It was out of necessity,” Buemgarten said.

These homes are more than just for the community cats. Horn added they make great feeding stations for your outdoor cats too.

“You’re only limited by your creativity and the amount of supplies you have and your budget,” Buemgarten said.

The two explained that there are thousands of community cats currently in need of some type of home, and Horn says he will see over 30 cats meandering around his nearby Walgreens. 

“One pregnant cat and its mate in three years can produce, in this climate, over 400 offspring,” Buemgarten said.

The biggest piece of advice is to get your cats fixed — stopping the problem at its origin.

“There’s no excuse these days when you have organizations like Wilmington Animal Centric and Paws-Ability willing to help for the spaying enduring costs,” Buemgarten said. Their goal is to decrease the community cat populations in a humane and safe way. 

“In our little corner of the world, [it’s about] trying to prevent as many homeless cats and kittens as we can,” Buemgarten said.