For decades, the village of Cambridge has been home to an established colony of cats. Their main abode was the Gates farm on Lower Pleasant Valley Road, where they caught rodents. The cats also roamed across the street to visit the dumpsters at the Cambridge Village Market. In 2023, multiple floods displaced the colony, and new cat-friendly owners bought the market. 

Melissa Mitchell, Cambridge’s former animal control officer, got involved when community members noticed a cat that they named Ear — later renamed Hero to reflect his tough spirit. He was in rough shape, with a bloody stump where his ear used to be. Sadly, Hero didn’t survive, but the community stepped up to help the rest of the colony.

Mitchell befriended the Gates family and started a Facebook page for the Cambridge Community Cats. The market raised funds for the colony’s care using a donation jar on the counter; the money was used to trap, spay and neuter about 30 cats. The animals received shots and flea medicine, and the colony was monitored for new arrivals. One feline named Kevin was reunited with his family from Milton in 2025 thanks to a post on social media. Over the past few years, some of the cats were adopted, and some died. Today, only four cats remain in the colony: Buddy, Lily, Mouth and Potion split their time between the market and the farm. 

In the latest episode of “Stuck in Vermont,” Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger met two of the cats and learned about how the community came together to help them.

Music: TrackTribe, “Blue Ribbons”

This episode of “Stuck in Vermont” was supported by the Vermont Community Foundation.

This article appears in September 30 • 2026.

Seven Days senior multimedia producer Eva Sollberger has been making her award-winning video series "Stuck in Vermont" since 2007. In 2024, she won first place from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia for her video, “Barbie Collector.” She received the Margaret L. (Peggy) Kannenstine Award for Arts Advocacy from the Vermont Arts Council in 2023. This map details her travels around the state; her 500th video was a musical. New episodes appear on the Seven Days website every other Thursday...