Meet Sheila Massey, Founder of Hard Hat Cats from New York City
Long-time New York City resident Sheila Massey is a problem solver and a planet Earth protector. Aware of the health and environmental dangers of trying to rid businesses and other places of disease-carrying rats by using rat poison, Sheila offered a better option: 'hire' feral and community cats. Tune in to learn how she founded Hard Hat Cats, a nonprofit group that works with animal shelters and businesses in need of rat eradication in the Big Apple. Discover how Sheila and her team of cats are making a difference!
BIO:
Thanks to Sadie, a stray kitten who changed her life, Sheila began doing TNR in 2008 in New York City. Stray cats roamed a prison, a large evangelical church, and a landmark mansion and grounds. By necessity, community relations became a specialty.
Sheila co-taught “Neighborhood Relations” and TNR training courses for the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC Animals’ Feral Cat Initiative.
In 2019, Sheila founded Hard Hat Cats® to rescue unadoptable feral cats from the NYC animal shelter and place them in steady jobs with “employers” seeking non-toxic rodent control. The cats adapt remarkably well to various environments, such as breweries, distilleries, gardens, and hotels. Hard Hat Cats live healthy, independent lives, doing what they do best, ignoring people and deterring rodents.
Prior to becoming a cat-lady, Sheila conducted fraud audits of multinational corporations in the US and abroad.
Hard Hat Cats® is a 501(c)(3) incorporated in New York.