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Rain or Shine, Inwood’s Cat Queen Shows Up

Whatever the weather, cold or warm, rainy or windy, the cats that camp out in Inwood Hill Park must eat. Inwood resident, Teresa Youngblood, has made it a priority to feed and care for the stray cats—every day at 3:00 p.m. 

Youngblood, 64, suffered a brain injury four and a half years ago that hindered her memory, but she always recalls her dad’s wise words: “We’re all equal, and we should care for everyone and everything.” 

That’s the legacy she’s been carrying out her whole life, as a firefighter, nanny and now through her love for the cats of Inwood.

This story first appeared on nycitylens.com.

About the author(s)

CHRISTOPHER ALVAREZ is a disability activist, reporter and filmmaker based in Queens. His work has appeared in New New York, Columbia News Service, Mas Latinos and NY City Lens. He co-wrote, co-produced, co-directed and acted in a feature film, El Padrino, about a disabled young man and his home aide on an emotional journey to avoid deportation by U.S. ICE agents in 2018.
email: a.christopher@columbia.edu
Twitter: @JournAlvarez
Instagram: @ChristopherAlv__ and @theywantca

MARIEL RODRIGUEZ-MCGILL is a video journalist and documentarian based in Manhattan. She is from Massachusetts by way of Colorado, where she produced and directed a historical documentary series for Rocky Mountain PBS. After a three-year stint with the Colorado Film Commission, Rodriguez-McGill relocated to New York City to pursue journalism. She received a BA from Boston College and holds an MA from the University of Denver. She can be reached via email at mr4068@columbia.edu, you can follow her on Twitter at @MarielEats, or find her on Instagram at @MRM_NYCLens