Miles Palmer

Nothing brings the community together like cats. This past weekend, dozens gathered in Brunswick for the first ever Columbia Avenue Cat Tour.

Attendees arrived at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and were given a “Cat Tour Map,” laying out 13 cat stops at the houses of Brunswick cat owners with descriptions provided, four possible bonus cats, a donation station and a hydration station. Many attendees sported cat-themed signs and even cat stuffed animals.

Bianca Luque, who organized the event, was inspired by Minneapolis’s viral 9th annual Wedge LIVE! Cat Tour in June for the Brunswick neighborhood event.

“I was like, ‘I can’t really be flying to Minneapolis right now,’ and I know in this neighborhood we have a lot of cats because when we take a walk, there are just lots of cats out on their front steps,” Luque said. “And so I thought maybe we could just have one.”

Luque began advertising the event over the summer with posters hung around Brunswick, an Instagram page and slips of paper with QR codes left at houses for cat registration.

Luque, having volunteered as a dogwalker and laundry worker for Midcoast Humane, registered the event with the society. She passed out volunteer information flyers and was pleased with a healthy crop of cat food and treat donations people brought to the tour.

“I just got back from dropping off the donations,” Luque said. “I loaded them up, they almost didn’t fit in my trunk, and then filled up the whole cart [at the shelter]. So that was really incredible.”

Some cats stayed in their owner’s clutches as people came to pet them, while others roamed freely, greeting visitors.

Evanthia Konnaris ’29 has missed her cat while at Bowdoin, where she’s found lots of dogs on the quad. To her, the cat tour was a reminder of home.

“I have a cat at home, and I really miss her,” Konnaris said. “I feel like on Bowdoin’s campus, you see so many dogs, but there’s no cat representation. I really liked the cats that were outside and how fat some of them were. I think they were really cute, and they just reminded me of my cat.”

Brunswick resident Dr. Nirav Shah, best known for leading Maine through the Covid-19 pandemic as the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and for his recent gubernatorial bid, is a big supporter of Midcoast Humane. Shah and his wife saw the signs, and despite their status as dog owners, they showed up to the cat event with lots of donations.

“I am a dog person who is a tolerator of cats, and my wife is a dog person who is a lover of cats,” Shah said. “But anything that raises awareness for animals in need and helps gather resources for them, we’re all there.”

Still, the event wasn’t all about the cats. Shah highlighted another appeal of the cat tour: community building.

“It’s events like this that are actually, what a lot of community is built on,” Shah said. “It’s a kooky kind of thing, but it’s for a good cause. You get people showing up who maybe don’t know each other very well. My wife was pointing out that the other place that we are aware of events like this happening is Minneapolis, which is a city renowned for its strong sense of community identity. And so anytime … there’s a group of people coming together in support of the community, we’re gonna be there.”

Luque identified with Shah’s sentiment. To her, the event was not only for her love of cats but also for the sake of her community.

“I grew up as a Navy kid, so I’ve never lived anywhere with the expectations of getting to stay,” Luque wrote in an email to the Orient.  “Ever since my husband and I moved back here in 2021,… I’ve been consciously trying to become part of the community. I like meeting people, I want to know my neighbors, and I want to do my part to spread joy and help the town I’ve committed to living in.”

Luque hopes to do another cat tour next year and expand her partnership with Midcoast Humane. And cat lovers and dog lovers alike, or anyone looking for community, should keep their eyes peeled for posters.