Meet the Skyway cats and the volunteers who care for them

SUNSHINE SKYWAY SOUTH FISHING PIER — Colby climbed across the tall grass and nestled into her usual evening spot at the top of the hill, in front of an Australian pine tree. Water splashed against the rocks 20 feet below as the sky turned pink and the sun set over Tampa Bay, the remaining light reflected from the white whiskers on her calico face. She watched Panda, a black-and-white tuxedo cat, prowling down by the water.

Frost, a tabby with orange-and-brown patches, had her tongue stuck out while climbing on the rocks under the base of the Skyway south fishing pier. This is life for the cat colony now, about a decade after Gregg Schroeder found them.

Schroeder was driving southbound in his 40-foot tanker truck and had just crossed Tampa Bay with the lights of the Skyway glowing behind him. He saw faces — cats, he realized — as they walked along the guardrail. “You could see them down there in the dark.”

Gregg Schroeder, a Skyway Cats volunteer, parks his 40-foot tanker truck and carries jugs of fresh water to fill cat bowls this month at the Sunshine Skyway south fishing pier. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

So he stopped.

That was how Schroeder, 56, first discovered the Skyway cats. “They were starving with no water and no one around,” he said. “There were probably 40 cats.”

He had to do something for them, he thought. He stopped at Tractor Supply in Sarasota. “I bought bowls and brought water. And then I never left.”

The Skyway cats

Today there are about 20 stray cats living at the base of the Skyway south fishing pier, according to Kim Caswell, the president of the nonprofit Skyway Cats Inc. “They’ve got a beautiful view,” Caswell, 62, said.

For about 10 years, a group of volunteers from both sides of the bridge has looked after the cat colony.

The cats are trapped, neutered or spayed and vaccinated. The tip of the left ear is cut off to indicate that they have been cared for — it’s the universal symbol of an outdoor cat that has been fixed. The group has worked to get the most domesticated and friendly cats adopted and into loving homes, Caswell said.

Panda, left, and Colby give kisses as they say hello while passing by on the rocks at the Sunshine Skyway south fishing pier. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

The remaining cats aren’t sociable with humans, so they live outdoors. Caswell, a retired Verizon executive who lives in St. Pete Beach, started caring for community cats in 2018.

“I love animals, particularly cats,” Caswell said. “I saw there was a problem with the cat populations and cats suffering.” She connected with a small group caring for the Skyway cats in 2020 after she helped with a bird rescue at the south fishing pier and noticed a cat there.

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In addition to helping with the Skyway colony, she manages colonies in St. Pete Beach and St. Petersburg. “I feel like it’s a need and it’s overwhelming. Any kind of animal rescue is overwhelming,” Caswell said. She and her family have seven rescue cats at home, and the most recent addition is a tabby rescued from the Skyway. “It’s very depressing at times. Somebody’s got to do it and why not me,” Caswell said.

Kim Caswell, president of the nonprofit Skyway Cats Inc., works to get fresh water for the cats at the Sunshine Skyway south fishing pier near the toll booth in Manatee County. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

A tabby named Winter basks in the sun along the rocks after being fed by Skyway Cats volunteers at the Sunshine Skyway south fishing pier. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

Katie Cagno, 16, is one of the volunteers. She can’t wait to see their little faces, hear their happy sounds, watch their graceful movements. Katie remembers when she first got involved with caring for the cats. “I’d finish my schoolwork, we’d pick up my brother and then go straight to see the cats,” Katie said. She manages a cat document that is shared between all the volunteers and helps catalog the animals. It includes a family tree, a picture and description of each cat. It also includes their names, many given by Katie. “They all have such sweet personalities and are all very different,” she said.

Skyway Cats volunteers Flora Cagno, left, and her daughter, Katie Cagno, 16, smile as they look out at the cats after working to feed them at the Sunshine Skyway south fishing pier. "They literally live on the side of a fishing pier," Katie said. "I've seen some try to fish by the water's edge. They really are bonded to where they are." [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

Another friend

“Eight dollars,” Debbie Steele says to a customer as she puts the cash in the register at the Skyway south fishing pier. In addition to sun, water and people fishing, the view from her toll booth often also includes glimpses of furry feline friends. She calls them her babies.

Debbie Steele of St. Petersburg looks over the railing to see if there are any cats resting below while taking a short break from her job as a toll booth operator at the entrance to the Sunshine Skyway south fishing pier. "I feel bad for them," said Steele, 57. "I wish I could take them all in. They just have each other and the Skyway Cat people who come out and feed them." [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

“I have a couple of them that lay under my car to keep cool,” said Steele, 57, from St. Petersburg. “They’ve got the water and they have me.”

A black-and-white tuxedo cat named Calvin leaps over the wall and heads toward the road leading to the Sunshine Skyway south fishing pier near the toll booth. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

Steele has been working as a toll booth operator for a little over a year. “I go out there a lot,” she said. “Especially first thing in the morning. When they see my car, they come out running — they know they are gonna get their treats.”

The Skyway cats are very well taken care of, Steele said. She recalls when a cat named Rusty had a hook in his mouth and the Skyway Cats caretakers came out and got the cat to the vet. “They are very good with these cats, and for that I’m grateful,” Steele said.

Skyway Cats volunteers gather and clean the bowls as they prepare to feed the cats. “It’s special," Skyway Cats president Kim Caswell said. "As I’ve gotten to know the cats and the colonies, I’ve also gotten to know some special people and we’ve formed friendships. It’s just a beautiful, unique place.” [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

A cat crossing sign hangs from a pole near the toll booth at the Sunshine Skyway south fishing pier. "We try to put cat crossing signs there so people slow down," Kim Caswell said. "Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. We try to tell people to watch out for the cats. They do like to go there in the road and just lie there sometimes." [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

Calvin crosses the road leading from the Sunshine Skyway south fishing pier. "He's the funniest cat," Skyway Cats volunteer Katie Cagno said. "He will come up to you and look up and he will either meow at you or hiss at you. It depends on what mood he is in." [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

Sharing the work

Volunteers each care for the cats one day a week. Katie and her mom make the 30- to 40-minute drive from East Bradenton to care for the cats on Thursdays.

“I went to the fishing pier to clean up trash — that’s how I found the cats,” Katie said. “Then a year later I found the Skyway Cats and decided to volunteer with them.”

Volunteer Katie Cagno, 16, works to feed the cats at the Sunshine Skyway south fishing pier. Katie knows all their names and created a cat document with a photo of each cat. "They all have such sweet personalities and are all very different," she said. "It's nice seeing what cats get up to." [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

Katie has two rescue cats at home — she giggles as she refers to them as “foster fails.” Her love of cats keeps her going back.

“It just feels good to be helping out,” she said. “Especially the cats at the Skyway, they need constant maintenance. It just feels like I’m doing something good for an animal I really love and care about.”

A calico with half white fur named Topaz soaks up the sun on a cat hammock while Colby, front left, and Winter mingle along the rocks after being fed by Skyway Cats volunteers. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

June peers out from a protective cat tunnel, which was installed to help shelter the cats from Hurricane Ian, as Frost and Colby eat together after being fed by volunteers. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

When Schroeder discovered the Skyway cat colony, it was a mess. “It was all overgrown and they were really in rough shape,” he said. “Nothing like it is today.” His cat days are Tuesday and Friday. “Now they get the best food and fresh water. I spray for bugs and put sodium bicarbonate down to neutralize the pee smell. We cut the grass.

"I'm just a cat guy," Gregg Schroeder says as he works to fill water bowls for the cats at the Sunshine Skyway south fishing pier. [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

“Me and my wife — we fell in love with cats,” Schroeder said. The Tarpon Springs couple were traveling in a motor home when a friend gave them a kitten. “Boom, it was all over. We then started helping out cats. All our cats are rescues.”

The Skyway colony is stable and new cats cannot be introduced. The existing cats are territorial and will chase any new cats away and they will likely be killed on the nearby highway, Caswell said. “We don’t want people thinking this is a place to dump your cat and they will be cared for,” she said. “We are not a cat rescue. We take care of the community cats. We don’t take cats from the public.”

Calvin huddles by the side of the road as vehicles turn the corner heading to the Sunshine Skyway south fishing pier after sunset. "Gregg's found a number of cats run over on the highway," Kim Caswell said. "That's the downside of having the colony there - too much activity and too many cars." [ DIRK SHADD | Times ]

“Hopefully there’s an end game,” Schroeder said. “Hopefully we won’t see any more out there after they live their lives out. That’s the goal.”

Schroeder arrived at noon on a recent Friday. The cats rushed over. He fed them and cleaned the area. It’s a much different scene than that first sighting at sunrise years ago.

“There’s always a breeze and there are really no predators out there,” Schroeder said, looking out to the rocks and the water and the Skyway cats. “And that’s a million-dollar view.”