Day 2: December 14th.
Despite a mix of rain, hail, and snow, Andrea and I met at the Bergen lot at 5PM -- earlier than the night before in the hopes of catching the early birds.
We set up nine traps throughout the lot and took off for an hour to let the cats feel comfortable enough to look for food. 
This is what a set trap looks like. There's food on one end, with a metal plate in front of it. The door on the other end is raise up and held in place by a small metal rod that simultaneously lifts the metal plate. When the cat goes in for the food, he/she has to step on the plate to get to the bait. Once enough weight is put on the plate, the trap door slams shuts.
When we returned we found our second cat of the project trapped near the front of the lot and next to a construction site I believe the cats have been using for shelter.
This is Mr. Big. He's been drooling non-stop, so the vets on the mobile van will be checking out his teeth when they have him under. Most likely, he just has some bad teeth.
We immediately placed another trap in the spot we trapped Mr. Big and took a short walk. When we returned there was another cat in the trap! This was our sweet spot!
Say hello to Mr. Chin. He's named this because we saw that he had a gnarly abscess on his chin. As such, he's going on the van on Saturday to get neutered and have his chin checked out.
With a sweet spot found we set another trap and got ourselves a pair of great lattés and a brownie at Old Brooklyn Parlor. After getting toasty we set out into the cold to check out traps and our sweet spot proved to be as sweet as the brownie we just ate. 
This is Baby's Mama. I believe she's the slutty kitty the bodega owner told us about. The night before, when we met him as we were trapping, he said, "If you catch the black and white one, you've got the mother of all mothers." Crossing my fingers that it is a she, because then we've sterilized one of the big culprits to this growing colony.
With our adrenaline pumping we set up another trap in our sweet spot and made a run with our three kitties to our holding spot. We have an amazing set-up thanks to two generous sisters. They've donated their basement as a holding space for the cats and our even taking the time to care for the cats cages by cleaning the soiled newspaper and feeding them twice a day. These two are my saviors. I really don't know how I would do this without them. It's a huge deal to offer up your home to ferals, who tend to be stinky as they eat, poop, and pee in small traps for three to five days. These sisters should be given awards by the city for their community service.
Andrea and I returned to the lot to find all the traps empty. We waited until about 10 and then packed it up. We were thrilled with our three catches. Now we had a total of four cats, including the calico we caught the night before.
Speaking of the Calico, she's been renamed Chatty Cathy as she's the most vocal little lady I've ever met. She's also incredibly friendly, purring when she's pet and pushing her head into your hand asking for more. That said, we've got a cat that needs a forever home as we won't be putting her on the streets. She's too sweet not to make someone a wonderful friend. Please email bergenbabies [at] gmail [dot] com if you're interested in adopting or fostering her. She's getting vetted and spayed on Saturday.
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