The temperature has dropped to 27 degrees, the bitterly cold air coating each drift of snow in an icy carapace. People pass by, plump in extra layers of clothing put on as protection against the pushing wind. And somewhere on Roosevelt Island, a frightened pet cat struggles to survive in that unfamiliar and unforgiving world, abandoned because of sickness or pregnancy, perhaps, or the nuisance or expense of neutering, spaying, or otherwise caring for a once-chosen and once-cherished friend.

Winter is a favorite time for dumping cats on the Island. Over the past three months, four new cats have been seen at the edges of the outdoor-cat colonies that dot the area, spotted by volunteers for Island Cats, formed in 2005 to neuter and care for the Island's longtime population of feral and stray cats.

These cats have not been reported as lost, and no one appears to be looking for them. Sadly, Island Cats can no longer provide temporary or permanent homes for the cats. Judging from adoption events, there seems to be little interest in taking home anything but kittens, so charmingly small until they grow to be adults. And the group's foster homes are full.

So there seems to be little choice but to leave the cats outdoors, suddenly thrown out, without time to grow protective winter coats, into a world without walls where traffic roars by and where food and shelter, if any are found, are the hard-won province of other, turf-protective cats. "Most lost or abandoned cats, frightened and lonely, die of exposure, starvation, or dehydration," says an Island animal rescuer with 20 years of experience.

It is sometimes argued that the outdoors is the historic natural environment for cats. But domestic animals are no more the primitive creatures that once roamed the earth than Roosevelt Islanders are prehistoric humans, dressed in animal skins that would never be mistaken for the parkas and thick overcoats that warm them today as they dart from one heated enclave to another.

Abandoning pets is illegal in New York State, punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine. And so, in an attempt to curb the dumping of pets - and help to find lost ones - Island Cats has created Operation Archy. Photographs of abandoned cats will be published in The WIRE in the hope that the cats and their owners will be recognized. A $500 reward will be offered for information that leads to the conviction of the person abandoning the cat, payable on conviction.

Dumping is not the only alternative. Island Cats, though a small all-volunteer group, will provide lists of no-kill shelters and information on programs that may help pet owners keep their cats. (Organizations offering free or low-cost neutering, for example, include the ASPCA at www.aspca.org and 212-876-7700 and the Humane Society of New York at www.humanesocietyny.org and 212-752-4842, which is a block from the tram. Another good source for information is the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals at www.animalalliancenyc.org and 212-252-2350.)