Community Cats

Looking Out for Our Feline Friends at Raimondi Park

by Dawn Pieper

The Ballers are no strangers to animal rescue, whether it’s reuniting a dog with his person on a Colorado road trip or a certain vice president fostering possums in his backyard. Superfan and supervolunteer Dawn Pieper, subject of a previous fan-ily profile, has the story of the latest B’s community effort closest to home.

Update: Interested in adopting Mayor Mike and Esai when they become available? Keep up with Full Circle Cats on their website and social media. Dispatches will also post an update when they are ready for their forever homes.

All photos and video courtesy of Dawn

Those who are close to me know that my two drugs of choice are cats and baseball.  

I live for baseball from May until September, so when baseball season ends, I have to turn to cats to get my other fix. As it so happens, not long after our Oakland Ballers won the 2025 Pioneer League Championship, I got a message from Casey (Pratt, VP of just about everything). He said there’d been an orange kitten seen at Raimondi, darting from behind the visitors side of the dugout to the warehouses across the street. And there might be other kittens too. Hmmm. 

Since I’m a volunteer at Oakland Animal Services, where our very own Adam Bogosian and Davis Drewek paid a visit earlier this season, I knew exactly how to address the situation. Cat overpopulation is a huge concern in the community, and I was very worried that the kittens would soon be old enough to procreate. (Did you know that cats can reproduce from as young as five months of age? Spaying and neutering your pets is instrumental in keeping them safe and healthy, but most importantly, it’s the key to keeping down the ever-growing population of cats and dogs in our community.) 

First, with the support of the Ballers, I monitored the area for a week to learn their routine and to provide them with daily meals. (If only those bullpen hot dog tosses continued after the season!) Turns out there are three cats hunkered down behind the 3rd base dugout. An orange tabby kitten I’m calling Mayor Mike, a sweet and shy black kitten—he shall be called Esai—and a young calico (yes, I am naming her Kelsie!) who is likely the mom, although she is pretty young. 

Next, the plan is to use humane traps to get the kittens to a safe space and then we can start to assess them. I’ve recruited a friend of mine, Tiffany, who is well versed in what we call “community cats”—cats who don’t have a traditional home because they aren’t socialized to humans, but they live outside and are part of the community, and they have regular caretakers. There are many of these cats in and around West Oakland. Tiffany and I will spend the next few days trying to humanely and safely trap the cats using the absolute stinkiest of food: tuna or Kentucky Fried Chicken! Once that happens, I will set them up in a safe space in my home so that I can assess their temperament and see if I can socialize them. The ideal window for socializing kittens is between four and six weeks of age. If that window is missed, then they are considered “feral.” Mayor Mike and Esai seem to be a bit beyond that, about nine-ten weeks based on their size, but with time and patience and work, they may still learn to love people despite not having any human contact for the first several weeks of their lives. Chances are Kelsie will be returned to her safe space behind the visitors dugout at Raimondi after recovering from her spay surgery, since she is likely truly feral at this point. This is what is referred to as “TNR,” which means Trap, Neuter, Return. It is a very safe and effective way of keeping down the cat population. Both concerned individuals and rescue groups in Oakland are continuously working to stay on top of community cats. 

The last part of the plan is to get the cats spayed/neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. Veterinary care is very challenging to come by these days, but Tiffany and I are fortunate to have a solid relationship with Full Circle Cats (FCC) in Oakland. FCC, a very small organization made up of all volunteers, has offered to give us some of their highly sought-after spay and neuter spots so that we can get the medical care these three need in order to start them on the right path. I will hold onto them until they are fully recovered from their surgeries, then we will figure out their plan going forward.

UPDATE: SUCCESS!!

December 10: Because inquiring minds and cat lovers want to know…Tiffany and I met at Raimondi at 2:00 yesterday. We set up what’s called a “drop trap”, hoping to get both Mayor Mike and Kelsie at the same time. We had everything set up by 2:15 and by 2:20 they entered the space and we safely trapped them. I brought them home and set them up in a warm, cozy spot where they will be fed and loved on for the next several days. But most importantly, they are scheduled to get vaccinated, microchipped, and spayed and neutered (sorry Mayor Mike—it’s for the greater good!) tomorrow. Our work is not done yet though. We go back tonight to hopefully get our shy guy Esai!

Again, huge thanks to Full Circle Cats for providing us with the timely and crucial medical care these guys need.

UPDATE: ESAI IS IN THE HOUSE!!

Dec. 11: I think the baseball term is GOT HEEEM!! Esai took a little longer than his mom and brother, but after a 45-minute wait, he came to see what was for dinner. Tiffany and I had another successful night of trapping and now the whole Raimondi cat family is reunited.

Thanks, once again, to Full Circle Cats, Kelsie, Mayor Mike, and Esai will be headed to a clinic in Alameda tomorrow morning to get “the works” and then they’ll come back to my place for recovery. The plan is to return Kelsie back to her home at Raimondi on Friday. I’ve already recruited a few folks from the neighborhood who are willing to be her caretakers and regular feeders. And you know I’ll be checking on her too!

Mayor Mike and Esai will stay with me for a bit so I can start socializing them and working toward their path to adoption. Full Circle Cats is officially taking them into their foster program and will make sure they get the best care going forward.

I am so very happy with the outcome of this little project. My cat fix has definitely been met! Now how many more days until the season starts? (Answer: Too many).

UPDATE: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Dec. 13: Kelsie, Mayor Mike, and Esai came through their surgeries with flying colors on Thursday. They were all a little groggy that night but their appetites were great. All three were bright and alert on Friday, and the two boys are even learning to play a bit. Last night I took Kelsie back to Raimondi and released her next to her favorite spot behind the 3rd base dugout. After having her in my house for three days, I got a little attached, but she’s not a people person and she’ll be much happier back at the park. There is a crew of neighbors who have already committed to feeding her starting today.

A woman, let’s call her T, who lives in the neighborhood and walks her dogs around Raimondi reached out to me when she saw Kelsey and the boys hanging around the ballpark. She saw them walking back and forth between the ballpark and the warehouses and was concerned, mostly for the kittens because they were so little. She reached out to me via Instagram after seeing Casey‘s post when he adopted the Ginny and Juice from OAS. Many of the other neighbors also walk their dogs around the ballpark and they were equally concerned. T and I have stayed in touch throughout this project. She and her neighbors are very committed to making sure that Kelsie is looked after now that she’s returned to her home at Raimondi. I’m hoping she’ll make friends with Rachel, the B warehouse cat across the street.

Now I will focus on socializing Mayor Mike and Esai until Full Circle Cats finds a longer term foster for them. I predict they’ll be ready to go and adopted long before Opening Day :).

Want to get involved and learn more about Full Circle Cats and the great work they do?  https://www.fullcirclecats.org/

And to donate, click right here.  

From the top: Interested in adopting Mayor Mike and Esai when they become available? Keep up with Full Circle Cats on their website and social media. Dispatches will also post an update when they are ready for their forever homes.