Walnut Creek ‘cat lady’ leads non-profit’s efforts to reduce cat overpopulation

Gemma Boyd grew up with cats in Long Beach but never imagined that cat welfare would become her life’s work. But in 1997, three lost little kittens inspired her to eventually lead Community Concern for Cats, a Walnut Creek-based nonprofit that rescues homeless felines, who are at risk of starvation, disease and reproducing exponentially.

While running a courier business in Pleasant Hill, Boyd heard about three kittens crossing a major thoroughfare and went searching. She found the kittens but became immersed in an ongoing crisis: the overpopulation of street cats in Contra Costa County and everywhere else. Some 2.9 million cats entered American shelters in 2024, and 273,000 were euthanized, according to Shelter Animals Count.

Boyd connected with “CC4C,” which consisted of a small network