Last week, a New York City resident was walking down the street when a piece of cardboard strapped to the entrance of a local warehouse caught their attention. Their heart dropped as they read the words “free cats” on the cardboard sign, and they immediately approached the business for more information.
After talking to the warehouse owner for a few minutes, the Good Samaritan’s fears were confirmed.
“The owners — who started with two cats and now had four — were intending to give away two adolescent kittens to anyone who would take them,” Greenpoint Cats wrote on Instagram.
The Good Samaritan was heartbroken. These kittens were part of a larger animal welfare crisis in the city, in which unspayed warehouse cats continuously reproduce, adding to the growing stray population.
“The finder explained to the owners the importance of spay/neutering the entire family — especially before handing off the kittens who were old enough to have kittens of their own,” Greenpoint Cats wrote.
The warehouse owners considered the concerned visitor’s point of view and soon changed their minds about giving away just two of the four kitties.
“The owners decided they really didn’t want any of the cats,” Greenpoint Cats wrote.
That’s when the Greenpoint Cats staff took over. They shuttled the cats to their local veterinary clinic and had them each vetted and spayed.
You can watch more footage from their rescue here:
It’s been a week since the cats were rescued, and one of the sweet kitties has already found a forever home. The other three are still up for adoption, but their friends at Greenpoint Cats are confident that their happily-ever-afters are just around the corner.
“Crepe Suzette is a one-year-old tortie love bug, who prefers to be the only cat,” Greenpoint Cats wrote. “[Her] daughter, Soufflé, is equally affectionate and described as ‘more puppy than cat’ by her foster.”
The third and only black cat of the group, Flapjack, is still warming up to humans but becoming more social each day. As the folks at Greenpoint Cats see it, it’ll only be a matter of time before Flapjack, or Flappy, learns to trust people again.
The Greenpoint Cats staff can’t wait to see Crepe Suzette, Soufflé and Flapjack go off to their forever homes, but their mission won’t end there. Sadly, there are more warehouse cats like this little family who need saving, and Greenpoint Cats is committed to helping every last one of them.
“We’ve taken in more than 40 unwanted cats and kittens from local warehouses this year,” Greenpoint Cats wrote. “It’s a real problem that we hope more neighbors, businesses and city agencies will help address — for starters, by requiring and providing spay/neuter services to stop the cycle of suffering.”
